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Q: Silverlight element binding not working I have a window that I want to appear to the left of existing content and am using element binding to do so. This works perfectly in WPF but in Silverlight the window simply goes to the far right of the Canvas control its in and I dont know why? <Grid x:Name="rightPanelGrid" HorizontalAlignment="Right" VerticalAlignment="Top" Margin="10,10,10,0"> <!-- Other xaml --> <local:mywindow IToolkit:CanvasControl.Right="{Binding ElementName=rightPanelGrid, Path=ActualWidth}" A: Silverlight does not support binding to ActualWidth like this :( For purposes of ElementName binding, ActualWidth does not post updates when it changes (due to its asynchronous and run-time calculated nature). Do not attempt to use ActualWidth as a binding source for an ElementName binding. If you have a scenario that requires updates based on ActualWidth, use a SizeChanged handler.

[The significance of erythrocyte fragment count to predicting hemolysis in roller pumps]. Hemolysis in blood pumps has been measured by various in vitro tests, in which normalized index of hemolysis (NIH) was established. As NIH is complicated and difficult to calculate, erythrocyte fragment count (EFC) is proposed in the present study to predict hemolysis in roller pumps. Five paired in vitro tests were conducted using the POLYSTAN pediatric pump (group A) and COBE pump (group B). Ten whole blood samples (400ml) were circled in the roller pump for 16 hours. Erythrocyte fragments count and plasma-free hemoglobin (FHb) were measured before pumping and every 2 hours through circulation after 4 hours pumping. The morphological changes of erythrocyte were observed by scanning electron microscope. Simple linear regression analysis showed the two groups' EFC and FHb levels increased linearly during a long period of pumping, and the coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.64. These data suggested that Erythrocyte fragments count could be used as an index in evaluating the in vitro hemolytic properties of blood pumps.

October 15, 2018 | 2 minutes read Komodo founder James Lee stated that its clients can choose to use VerusHash, a CPU-friendly algorithm, in their forked independent blockchains. Updated: October 16, 2018 Blockchain builders on the Komodo Platform can soon choose an “ASIC-resistant” and CPU-friendly algorithm to use on their networks. On messaging app Discord, founder and lead developer James Lee shared that the Komodo team is working on integrating the VerusHash algorithm as an additional option for businesses and projects creating their own native blockchains through the Komodo. Komodo, the network in which the cryptocurrency Komodo (KMD) is used, is a blockchain solutions provider that allows for the creation of a parallel blockchain called an assetchain. The network also lets startups to launch their own decentralized initial coin offerings (dICOs). Komodo is currently using the Equihash algorithm. VerusHash is a hash function that allows CPU miners to perform competitively with GPU and ASIC miners. The whitepaper explained that the algorithm provides a solution to the risk of centralization brought by large ASIC mining pools. Verus, a fork from Komodo, uses VerusHash. Lee—known online as jl777—stated that there is no timetable set for adding VerusHash as an option for assetchains. However, he expects the development to be finished this 2018. Dr. Gültekin Çetiner, editor for Turkish publication Protocol for Blockchain Communities, added that the inclusion of VerusHash would be discussed in a workshop held at Marmara University in Istanbul later this month. My friends! You need to understand significance of what Komodo leader #JL777 says here. Having CPU friendly VerusHash algorithm as an Option in Komodo means we could allow and see performances of both ASIC devices and CPUs running in a real competition, pic.twitter.com/OxBmlrgHt5 — MarmaraChain (@marmarachain) October 14, 2018 The release of ASIC miners compatible with Komodo could have spurred this development. Earlier this June, Chinese mining rig manufacturer Bitmain released the Antminer Z9 mini, the first miner capable of mining cryptos using then-ASIC-resistant Equihash. As a result, a number of networks using Equihash—Zcash (ZEC) and Bitcoin Gold (BTG), to name a few—tweaked their algorithms to avoid the risk of centralization brought by ASIC mining pools. Adding the option to use VerusHash could be one way for Komodo to offer its clients with an ASIC-resistant solution as an alternative to Equihash. As of October 15, KMD was trading at US$1.25 against the US dollar. The price increased by around 12 percent since last week’s US$1.12, and by more than 24 percent from US$1.01 a month before. Investors can trade this crypto for other digital coins and fiat currencies on several exchange platforms, including Binance, Upbit, Bittrex, and HitBTC, among others. | Related: Top 7 Crypto Exchanges Where Australians Can Buy Bitcoin Erratum: An earlier version mistakenly reported that the Komodo mainchain will move from Equihash to VerusHash. This has been since corrected.

Retirement Community facilities near Piqua, OH Use our independent living search tool to find the best options for your family - a FREE Service! Location: Only show communities within a mile radius. Room Type: Budget: Many of our communities offer virtual tours. Call us now to schedule. Searching for Retirement Community communities in Piqua, OH? Expert Senior Living Advisors from A Place for Mom can help direct you to Retirement Community communities. Together, we will find the perfect fit for your loved one; and we will provide direction and support as needed. We partner with 50 Retirement Community communities in OH and the surrounding area, so there are many options to choose from. A Place for Mom is the largest senior living referral service in North America, and we can help you make a good choice at no cost to you. Senior housing types near Piqua, OH StoryPoint Troy Two-time winner of "SeniorAdvisor.com Best of Senior and Assisted Living Award" located in Troy, Ohio, StoryPoint, is bringing senior care for all stages including Independent Living, Enhanced Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care. StoryPoint has 37 years of experience in the senior industry.... Danbury Senior Living Huber Heights We are brand new to the area, opening in May of 2018, but not new to the business of delivering great care. We are privately owned and our owner is Bill Lemmon who is a senior of 83 years young himself. We pride ourselves in providing 5 star resort style living to seniors who may or may not need... Scottish Rite Building SMC Independent Living The Springfield Masonic Community offers a number of different independent living options, including spacious garden villa homes and one-, as well as two-bedroom apartments, featuring a variety of layouts and floor plans. Masonic Square Villa Homes For those looking to have... Springfield Assisted Living Springfield Assisted Living is committed to offering high quality senior living services in a home-like environment. Our vibrant community is located in beautiful Springfield, Ohio. Chosen as an 'All America City' in 2004, Springfield is the perfect combination of small town charm, outdoor... Otterbein St. Marys Senior Lifestyle Community Otterbein Senior Lifestyle Choices enjoys a rich heritage and has been dedicated to providing quality services since 1912. As a not-for-profit organization, Otterbein has earned a solid reputation as a trusted and valuable resource in the community. Some of the greatest assets are the people who... 10 Wilmington Place For 30 years, 10 Wilmington Place has been one of Dayton's premier senior living communities and has remained family owned since opening in 1986. Situated on 34 acres of historic beauty in one of Dayton's classic neighborhoods, 10 Wilmington Place offers a wide range of services and amenities at an... Indian Lake Villa Indian Lake Villa is a senior, 55 and older, affordable housing community located in the quaint village of Russell's Pointe, OH. The community itself is located in the heart of the village, surrounded by serene trees and scenery. Russell's Pointe is a small village located in Logan County and is... One Lincoln Park One Lincoln Park and Lincoln Park Manor offer all levels of care ranging from independent living, assisted and skilled nursing. Our community is comfortably nestled in the heart of Kettering's beautiful Lincoln Park. One Lincoln Park is the perfect blend of elegance, incomparable amenities, beauty... Traditions of Beavercreek Traditions of Beavercreek brings a desirable new senior living option to the residents of Beavercreek and greater Dayton. Our rolling and wooded 20 acre campus provides multiple living and care options, including independent living garden homes, assisted living and memory care residences. NOW... Brookdale Kettering Your Next Chapter Starts Now From the moment you set foot in your new home, you may feel a combination of emotions. Perhaps you feel a surge of relief. Or, let’s be honest, you might even feel a tad bit giddy. Why? Because this is the start of your next chapter. You’re ready to say goodbye to the... The Wellington at Dayton Take flight for the good life at The Wellington at Dayton, where desired amenities and convenient services make everyday living comfortable and exciting for seniors. Thoughtfully designed one- and two-bedroom floor plans and myriad recreational and social opportunities provide our residents with an... Trinity Community - Beavercreek Welcome to Trinity Community of Beavercreek! We are a vibrant and welcoming neighborhood of active seniors who have found a place we proudly call home. Whether you seek maintenance-free residential living, some assistance with daily tasks, long-term health care or short-term rehabilitation, Trinity... Otterbein SeniorLife Cridersville The Otterbein Cridersville campus opened in 1988, and is conveniently located off I-75 in northwest Ohio. It blends the energy of urban life with the beauty of a rural retreat. When you visit this beautiful, 120-acre CCRC, you’ll see tidy homes sitting on friendly, little streets with generous... Trinity Community at Miami Township Trinity Community at Miami Township offers a unique independent living experience in the heart of Montgomery County, Ohio. We're close to shopping, local attractions and popular eateries, making our campus the ideal place to call home. Work out in our exercise room, challenge friends in our game... Traditions at Xenia Legacy Assisted Living is a family style home nestled on a 253 acre campus with walking paths, and mature trees. The 22 unit home is known for family style care which accomodates your specific needs. The courtyard looks out on a tree-lined meadow where deer are seen in the mornings. Residents enjoy... Friends Fellowship Community Friends Fellowship Community is a Continuing Care Retirement Community located in Richmond, Indiana, on 125 acres of land. Sponsored by the Indiana Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, the Community provides six levels of accommodations including Independent Housing, Independent... The Wyngate Senior Living Community (Lima) The Wyngate Senior Living Community is designed to meet the needs of seniors with a variety of lifestyle and residential options including independent living in Our Cottages and assisted living in The Inn. The care that The Wyngate Senior Living Community provides can increase or decrease as our... The Madison Senior Living Community Our assisted living programs have become increasingly popular because they combine professional care with homelike surroundings, reasonable cost, attractive private or semiprivate apartments, and well balanced programs of events and activities. We provide both nurses and around-the-clock resident... Garden Manor Retirement Village Strongly rooted in Middletown, OH, we have been making a difference in the lives of seniors within our community for more than thirty years. Independent Living at the Terrace offers personalized studio, one bedroom and two bedroom apartments with tailored services and amenities that allow our... Otterbein Retirement Living Community Otterbein Lebanon is located on 1200 acres between Dayton and Cincinnati on SR 741. Enjoy historic downtown Lebanon, famous for its Golden Lamb restaurant and antique shops. Theatre, shopping, sporting events, parks and more are all conveniently located within a 30-minute drive. Otterbein offers a... Barrington of West Chester The Barrington of West Chester provides independent and assisted living apartments. Located between Four-Bridges Golf Course and the Voice of America Park, it's an ideal setting, close to shops, restaurants, and medical and service providers. Independent and Assisted Living — Barrington of... StoryPoint Fairfield (IL Now Open) Coming soon, StoryPoint Fairfield will provide remarkable retirement living options while allowing seniors to remain independent. StoryPoint Fairfield will provide seniors in Hamilton and the surrounding areas with Independent Living, Enhanced Living and Memory Care services. Our community will also... Doverwood Village At Doverwood Village Ashley Place, we offer a variety of community features. Residents can enjoy regular off-site adventures and excursions. Cats and dogs are allowed in private quarters. Our property is conveniently located near accessible public transportation. We offer free wi-fi. All meals are... Chesterwood Village Chesterwood Village , located at 8073 Tylersville Road in West Chester, Ohio, is situated on 20 acres and the largest of the Hillandale Family of Community facilities. Chesterwood is currently home to: Assisted Living Suites Patio Homes Luxury Apartments Long-Term Nursing Care Memory-Assisted Care... Wellington Village Wellington Village Wellington Village is the absolute perfect senior apartment community for active seniors who want to live in the Hilliard, Ohio area. It is a great combination of design, affordability, and convenience. Wellington Village is designed to make senior housing relaxed and comfortable.... Hopkins Commons Welcome to Hopkins Commons! Hopkins Commons is a brand-new luxury apartment community, located in Maineville, Ohio, that offers maintenance-free and stress-free living for active adults aged 55+ and older. We have studios, one, and two-bedroom apartments with top-of-line interior finishes. Every... Avondale Senior Village Welcome to Avondale Senior Village - a vibrant senior living community located in Dublin, OH. Brought to you by National Church Residences, these peaceful apartment homes offer thoughtfully designed garden-style cottages - providing a level of comfort you won't find anywhere else. Spacious living... Fairfield Pavilion Fairfield Pavilion features 104 spacious retirement living apartments offering Independent and Assisted Living. With Tri-County Extended Care located adjacent to our facility, our residents have access to a full continuum of retirement living options and services as their needs change. Independent... Traditions of Deerfield Traditions of Deerfield brings a highly desirable new senior living option to the residents of Loveland and Greater Cincinnati. Located conveniently on Montgomery Road in Deerfield Township, Traditions will offer Independent and Assisted Living, as well as a secure Memory care for those affected... The Waterford at Fairfield Seize the opportunity to thrive at The Waterford at Fairfield, where residents have the freedom to focus on family and friends thanks to our modern amenities and convenient services. Our Independent Living community in Fairfield, Ohio, offers the privacy and freedom to live the way residents choose... Deerfield Springs Retirement Resort NOW OPEN Deerfield Springs, the luxurious Resort Lifestyle Community, is NOW OPEN! We offer all of the comforts and conveniences of modern-day living that allow you to enjoy your retirement. Deerfield Spring's top-notch, all-inclusive services and amenities will include EVERYTHING you need to live in comfort... Stone Oak Retirement Resort Stone Oak is the perfect choice for people with a passion for living who are looking for comfort, independence, security, convenience, and a friendly community in the place they call home. Month-to-month rent for studio, 1, 2, & 3 bedroom suites provide all-inclusive services including Freedom... Lynd Place Lynd Place is a cozy, homelike community located in a beautiful wooded setting in Muncie, Indiana. Muncie is home to Ball State University which is about four miles west of us, and our residents enjoy the many cultural, educational and entertainment options available there. Our registered dietician... Friendship Village of Dublin Friendship Village of Dublin is a lively, non-profit assisted living community that was originally founded by compassionate and committed residents of Columbus, Ohio. A suburb of Northwest Columbus, Dublin is home to the Memorial Tournament, a stop on the PGA Tour. The Scioto River, which passes... Hawthorne Commons We are a premier apartment community developer who understands and is focused on meeting the needs of the discerning baby-boomer, a renter-by-choice who wants flexibility, care-free living, and the ability to age in place. Treplus offers all the amenities baby-boomers love all while providing... Mayfair Village Retirement Center Mayfair Village Retirement and Nursing Community is committed to beign the premier provider of health care in central Ohio. It is our desire to be the facility of choice in Franklin County. Our programs, services, and facilities are designed and operated with superior quality in order to satisfy... Powell Senior Living In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within our communities, we are not accepting visitors at this time. However, we’d still love to talk with you! Reach out to schedule a virtual tour or e-meeting with a sales representative to learn more about our community. Welcome to Powell Senior Living,... Mallard Cove Senior Living Come home to Mallard Cove, a charming community nestled alongside a beautiful lake. Spacious studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments offer full kitchens, individually controlled air conditioning and heating, and a private balcony or patio overlooking the lake or surrounding woodlands. Our community... Brookdale Trillium Crossing Make our house your home, and live a more lovely life. Visit Brookdale Trillium Crossing and you’ll find a stunning, pet-friendly senior living community offering independent living and assisted living services in Columbus, Ohio. Our city has been ranked as one of the best cities in America by... Danbury of Columbus Danbury in Columbus is an assisted living community located in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. Columbus, which was ranked in BusinessWeek's 50 best cities in America, features endless events, attractions and dining and shopping opportunities. With guided tours through museums and factories, live... AVIA Senior Living Personalized Living that Makes Life More Meaningful! If you are searching for the very best in senior living, you'll find it at AVIA. AVIA Senior Living is the way senior living was meant to be... a comfortable-homey environment that is naturally beautiful, delightfully uncrowded and unbelievably... First Community Village First Community Village has been serving seniors in Upper Arlington and greater Columbus for over 45 years. First Community Village will always be a place hat encourages independence, wellness and personal growth, respecting each person's right to live at their own pace, on their own terms. The Forum at Knightsbridge A hallmark of the Central Ohio senior living community, The Forum at Knightsbridge is a well-established retirement community offering independent living, assisted living, memory care, long-term nursing care, and rehabilitative care. Offering leasing programs with no endowments, The Forum offers... Spring Leaf Place Retire in style, your style! Enjoy exceptional 55+ living at Spring Leaf Place Luxury Apartments! Located in Columbus, Spring Leaf Place is located in a wooded residential area nestled between Dublin and Worthington. Our extra amenities and luxury apartments will make you feel you are right where... The Bristol (Opening Fall 2020) There is a place for you or your loved one at The Bristol in Columbus, OH. We've designed The Bristol community to be resort-like, with our own professionally trained chef, fine dining experiences, salon services, social events, housekeeping and more. We're also close to the Worthington Hills Park... Town Square Senior Apartments Here in the heart of Blue Ash residents enjoy independent living without the high price tag. Enjoy our in house activities or take an excursion in our complimentary van. You will soon have a new family of friends. Town Square is located close to shopping, restaurants, banks, and medical offices.... StoryPoint Grove City Now open to seniors in Grove City, Ohio, StoryPoint offers Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care services. From cozy winters indoors to simple spring walks by the Gardens at Gantz, enjoy gorgeous views, stimulating activities and more. At Independence Village of Grove City, the... The Christian Village at Mt. Healthy Founded in 1966, the Mt. Healthy Christian Home, under the management of Life Care Services, is located on 13 beautifully landscaped, park like acres of land, on the outskirts of Mt. Healthy. Our newly renovated community offers all the conveniences of home without the worries. We offer Residential... Independent Living Many seniors may be capable of living without assistance, but cost of owning a home and the upkeep of the property might deter them from living an independent life. Independent Living Communities provide a convenient alternative to this situation. Daily needs such as housekeeping and meal planning are taken care of, allowing residents more free time to live their lives as they see fit. Along with their daily needs being met, residents can enjoy an opportunity to be among peers, surrounded by others of similar age groups and backgrounds. Residents' quarters consist of private living spaces, each with their own kitchen. The independence of apartment life is still enjoyed, offering opportunities to entertain guests and visitors in a private and personal setting. While policies vary between communities, many residences allow pets as well. If residents decide they would like to utilize the services of independent health care professionalls, they may always do so. There are a variety of benefits and costs to keep in mind when deciding on an independent living community. It is important to determine if these services are covered in the care plan: laundry, parking, housekeeping, meals, private phone, internet access, cable TV, and wellness program. The benefits associated with independent living include fitness center & swimming pool, transportation, beauty salon & barber shop, private rental hall, healthcare center, laundry service, concierge services, and security guards. Demographics and Values In Piqua, 8.6% of the citizens are veterans of the United States military. Out of the total population of Piqua, 63.1% participate in the labor force, 8.1% consider themselves widows, 15.1% live in poverty, and 17.3% have some form of disability. In terms of education, 4.6% have a graduate degree, 13.2% have a college degree, and 41.0% have a high-school diploma. Racially, the population of Piqua is 0.1% Native American, 0.0% Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 3.4% black, 3.9% mixed race, 1.2% Asian, 91.1% white, 0.3% other or not specified, and 1.4% Hispanic. Based on gender, 49.1% are male and 50.9% are female. The median age of Piqua is 39 years old. Piqua has a population density of 691 people per square mile. Cost of Living Cost of living can be a big influence in selecting which community meets the needs of your loved one. Monthly, the median rent in Piqua is $746 and the median price for a home for Piqua is about $86,178. The rent burden for Piqua is around 17.5% of the average monthly income. State Information An overview of Ohio The natural beauty of Ohio is ranked 44th in the nation. Out of a national average of 100, Ohio has a cost of living index rating of 93, a grocery index rating of 99, and a housing index rating of 74. In total, Ohio has 200 general hospitals and 341 health centers that provide care for 11,714,810 citizens. Parma Community General Hospital, Miami Valley Hospital, and Mercy Health-st Rita's Medical Center are among the top three highest ranked hospitals in the state. The quality of life enjoyed by the average Ohio citizen is ranked 39th nation-wide. Additionally, Ohio is ranked 35th by healthcare standards. Social demographics of the state The state of Ohio ranks 42nd in the country for diversity. In Ohio, 38% of the population attend some form of religious service and there are 13,606 different congregations. The top three non-Christian denominations in the state are Jewish-<1%, Muslim-<1%, and Buddhist-<1%, with the most common Christian denominations consisting of Evangelical Protestant-29%, Mainline Protestant-17%, and Historically Black Protestant-7%. In Ohio there are 565 masonic lodges. During the latest presidential election, 52% voted for the Republican candidate while 44% voted for the Democratic candidate. In Ohio, 31% of the population is over the age of 55. The median age in the state is 39. State-wide weather information On average, the humidity rating for Ohio is around 72%. The highest monthly average humidity rating is 79% in the month of December. The average amount of precipitation peaks during the month of January at around 9.65 inches. The average monthly precipitation for the state of Ohio is around 3.31 inches. The average air quality index rating in Ohio is 37.2 AQI. The highest seasonal air quality index rating occurs in the month of May with a rating of 49.9 AQI. During the winter, the average temperature in Ohio drops to around 29F. The average high winter temperature is around 49F in the month of February. In the winter months, the average low temperature falls to around 14F during the month of January. The average temperature in the summer rises to around 71F. Over the summer months the average high temperature peaks at around 90F during the month of July. The average low summer temperature is around 53F in the month of June. While residents of Ohio mostly enjoy pleasant conditions, it's important to be aware of inclement weather as well, which in Ohio can include floods. Wildlife to be found in Ohio The state of Ohio has a diverse array of plant and animal life. Local plant life can consist of ash, pitch pine, witch-hazel, and dogwoods. While venturing throughout the state, you might see animals such as the eastern harvest mouse, the American black bear, the eastern mole, or the north American porcupine. The state animal of Ohio is the white-tailed deer. About A Place for Mom A Place For Mom is the largest assisted living referral service. We are paid by our participating communities, therefore our service is offered at no charge to families.

Controlled Environment Door Solutions. HERCULES Controlled Environment Door Solutions has been operating since 1952. Their experience, technical knowledge, and manufacturing capabilities mean that after 64 years they are still the door of choice for food manufacturers and distributors in the dairy, meat, produce beverage, pharmaceutical and food processing industries.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Padres, Cespedes, Ramirez The Dodgers signed 26-year-old right-hander Hideo Nomo on this date 17 years ago. Armed with an exceptionally deceptive delivery, Nomo struck out 236 batters and was named NL Rookie of the Year in 1995. Here are tonight's links, starting in L.A… Michael Heisley, a billionaire who owns the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA, is bidding on the Dodgers, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports. The 75-year-old led one of the 11 bids that made it through the first round of cuts, Shaikin writes. The Padres have the top farm system in baseball even though they don’t have a top-25 prospect, ESPN.com’s Keith Law writes. The Rays and Blue Jays round out Law’s top three and the White Sox rank 30th. Free agent left-hander Horacio Ramirez will throw in front of scouts in Arizona tomorrow, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. The 32-year-old appeared in 12 games for the Angels last year, spending most of the season with their Triple-A affiliate. Marlins officials met with Yoenis Cespedes in Miami today, showing him around the city and providing him with a tour of their new park, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes. Cespedes is currently blocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, though MLB has declared him a free agent.

They were coming home from work one night, they made that sharp turn you make from Sheridan Road onto Eastlake Terrace. Boom, there it was: a large silver sphere, at the edge of the park, overlooking Lake Michigan. To be precise, it sat at the north end of the park, which is the northernmost park in Chicago, which also happens to be the northernmost point in the city. Surely, that location couldn’t be a coincidence? What did the orb know that the rest of us didn’t? Why was it there? Who was its leader?

Q: System.Net.Dns.GetHostAddresses("") I have an application I have been working on and it can be slow to start when my ISP is down because of DNS. My ISP was down for 3 hours yesterday, so I didn't think much about this piece of code I had added, until I found that it is always slow to start. This code is supposed to return your IP address and my reading of the link suggests that should be immediate, but it isn't, at least on my machine. Oh, and yesterday before the internet went down, I upgraded (oymoron) to XP SP3, and have had other problems. So my questions / request: Am I doing this right? If you run this on your machine does it take 39 seconds to return your IP address? It does on mine. One other note, I did a packet capture and the first request did NOT go on the wire, but the second did, and was answered quickly. So the question is what happened in XP SP3 that I am missing, besides a brain. One last note. If I resolve a FQDN all is well. Public Class Form1 'http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.net.dns.gethostaddresses.aspx ' 'excerpt 'The GetHostAddresses method queries a DNS server 'for the IP addresses associated with a host name. ' 'If hostNameOrAddress is an IP address, this address 'is returned without querying the DNS server. ' 'When an empty string is passed as the host name, 'this method returns the IPv4 addresses of the local host Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click Dim stpw As New Stopwatch stpw.Reset() stpw.Start() 'originally Dns.GetHostEntry, but slow also Dim myIPs() As System.Net.IPAddress = System.Net.Dns.GetHostAddresses("") stpw.Stop() Debug.WriteLine("'" & stpw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds) If myIPs.Length > 0 Then Debug.WriteLine("'" & myIPs(0).ToString) 'debug '39.8990525 '192.168.1.2 stpw.Reset() stpw.Start() 'originally Dns.GetHostEntry, but slow also myIPs = System.Net.Dns.GetHostAddresses("www.vbforums.com") stpw.Stop() Debug.WriteLine("'" & stpw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds) If myIPs.Length > 0 Then Debug.WriteLine("'" & myIPs(0).ToString) 'debug '0.042212 '63.236.73.220 End Sub End Class A: See post #7 here Fix

Uttering dark sayings from of old. Menu Tacomaster Desires Steadfast Love UPDATE: I have cleaned up some sentences and added a couple more since I first posted this. A friend pointed out that the words I chose could be misconstrued. Yes, it’s been awhile. This is my return post, wherein I respond to a commenter at Dalrock’s, who asked for advice. Tacomaster said:Another awesome post Dal and I liked your table.I’m posting before reading the comments so excuse me if this has been touched on. My wife and I are both believers, married almost three years. Initially she didn’t understand the importance of frequent married sex. I was in Hell the first year of marriage with the 1-2 sex episodes/month. I went to the young couples pastor at church who was an Omega, married about 15 years or so (told me him and his wife didn’t have sex much either and it was ultimately her decision) and only saw him that one time for advice. I fought with the idea of divorce because I was tired of living a sinful life of having sex out of marriage and wanted this to work. My wife and I waited til we were married to have sex by the way. She had one previous partner. She’s familiar with the verse you mentioned in your opening and the sex has increased but to be honest, it really sucks. She has a ton of stipulations and rules which destroys the passion and spontaneity of it. Plus the fact that she jumps out of bed immediately afterwards to “clean up” kills the mood—oh, and there’s the pressure to “hurry up and c*m” thing that I hate. I’ve never been a porn watcher in my life (never interested me) but these last few months have gotten into it. Is this what Christian marriage sex is? I can’t talk about this with my guy friends. The sex feels like a duty she’s fulfilling. Any input is appreciated. Here’s my input: Tacomasters’s (TM from here on out) wife is not interested in loving him, or being married to him. They don’t have a sex problem, they have a love problem. Sex is beyond an obligation; it’s a good and necessary function of a marriage; a fulfilling and wholesome manifestation of desire for that person. It is the epitome and consummation of marriage. To say that sex is an obligation of marriage is like saying a mother has an obligation to feed her children. That is to say: A mother who can, but does not, is no mother at all. TM’s wife does not desire him. That’s to say: she does not desire to be desired by him. The first thing TM needs to do is accept this; which is an extraordinarily painful thing to do. This is where TM finds himself: Married to a harlot who is demanding better emotional payment for her services, but expecting a wife. It must be understood that the sexes were designed for our benefit and understanding. Man was made first, and woman was made for man. Women were designed specifically to be desired by men, and by that desiring to bring completion and projection. That completion shows in the physical world as sex, when the man’s desire for a woman brings forth ecstasy and life. It’s easy to see orgasm as completion, and procreation as projection of life, but there is also a projection of ecstasy that makes the difficult times more easy to bear. Sexual delight is a marvelous grace; a physical symptom of the blessing that love can bring to the lover and the beloved, the man and the woman. Yes, the woman is the beloved. I do not say that women don’t or can’t love, because they certainly can, and most often do so when men can’t or won’t. (Nursing homes, orphanages daycares, and hospitals are brimming with women.) Nevertheless, women thrive when they are the object of love. Little girls don’t dream of being possessed by the best man in the world. They dream of be the most desired woman in the world, and they dread being desirable to no one. Grown women fantasize about being swept off their feet by powerful men and forces beyond their control. Their bodies are formed in such a way that they receive pleasure in the most vulnerable of positions. They’re mind-bogglingly pliant, yielding, and literally impressionable. Yet, their physical pleasure centers are arranged in such as way as to be accessible to all but the most corporally aggrieved of men. Their emotions are likewise, and we see this in the breadth of men–and the diverse actions among those fellows–that they find attractive. The desire to be loved is one of the reasons church is so appealing to women. Even if you made churches more male-oriented: as long as mankind is the object of God’s love, and church–that is, communion–is the most tangible expression of God’s love on Earth then women will be beside themselves to get in. The Israelites forbade women from entering the inner courts (you can’t get much more male-oriented than that), and my bottom dollar says ancient Jewesses were dying for access because they were sure those within were more loved by God than those without. No doubt pagans have the same problem. You can always pick out a hindu woman by her dress, but hardly a man. I don’t doubt that for every male worshipper of Zeus, he was but one pebble among the womanly sands of Hera. Among the Muslim extremists, it is the women who are the most extreme. It is women who hold each other’s daughters down for female genital mutilation. It is women who force the burka on each other. These deformities of culture aren’t hate, but perverted concern; that the subjects of such atrocities might be lovable. Within Christian marriage sex is the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, between a man and a woman; between the lover, and the beloved. No one, but the two consecrated by covenant with each other, are allowed to enter into that blessed union. Which brings us back to TM’s problem: his wife doesn’t want to be beloved anymore. They’ve read the passage from 1 Corinthians 7, so she dutifully doles out sexual welfare every so often to fulfill the obligation they believe is set forth in that scripture. The obligation is not to have sex, but to not deny each other of it, and that is the worst case scenario. It is a warning that sexual denial within marriage is a very serious matter threatening the very existence of the marriage, and therefore their relationship with God which is bound up in the Christian marriage. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. For husbands desire steadfast love and not duty, the knowledge of him rather than sexual welfare.* A husband wants to know his wife, wants her to want to be known by him, and wants no one else to else to know her; to keep her separate and secret for himself, which is holy and beautiful and erotic. That passage from 1 Corinthians 7 isn’t a rebuke of husbands and wives who don’t want to have sex with each other. It’s an exhortation to fulfill their good and holy desires with one another. 7 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. We modern Christians (and no doubt earlier ones as well) are putting the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble because we are not taking into consideration to what St. Paul is responding. The Corinthians had send him a letter mentioning that the church had decided that abstinence was the right thing for all Christians, married or not. St. Paul’s response is to say: “No! By all means: husbands and wives are supposed to have sex!” The Christian marriage covenant is such a powerful spiritual bond that it is to be that the husband controls the wife’s body, and the wife the husband’s. His words are meant to free them from heresies and misunderstandings that have led them into sin and sexual slavery. St. Paul is not merely obliging TM’s wife to have sex with him; he is removing the false narrative that good Christians don’t have great sex. They certainly do, and to deny one another is to deny not only the flesh, but God’s intent, as well. The implication then is that TM’s wife has, in fact, become a non-believer in their marriage. She is a like a priest who has rejected her religion, but still pays tithe out of superstition. It’s a sort of witchcraft meant to protect her from any allegations of wrongdoing. Wrongness is not the bloody point! She. Is. Rejecting. Him. And she has no excuse because she has been given that marvelous ability to be lovable, and to be loved. It is not TM’s fault. This is a choice she has made. Even if her emotions are not into the idea of sex, she ought to be saying to TM, “Husband, I desire to be pleasing you, and to be pleased by you.”, which is absolutely true. If she did, she would find that–sooner or later (and the sooner the more she means it)–she would get what she really wants, which is to be loved by a man she considers worthy. In the meantime, TM, do not ask that woman for sex. Stop lying to her and yourself. Stop trying to do what she wants so that she wants to have sex with you. Tell her the truth for a change; that you want to bang her silly, and that she should let you know when she’s ready. Then, stop talking to her except as necessary. When you do, be as polite and formal as you can. Do not hold hands with her. Do not hug her, or kiss her. If she says she loves you, say, “If you loved me, you’d kiss me.”, and be sincere about it. If she comes in for a kiss, then make it a big one, and escalate from there, groping and fondling and all the things a man wants to do his woman until you’re having sex. If she recoils, do not react. Just go back to the routine, and don’t give in. Make your world what you want it to be, to the best of your ability. Do the chores YOU think need to be done around the house, and only those chores. Regardless of what the previous arrangements were: This is now your house, and you decide what is important. Don’t slack. Do make it a point to take care of the things you think need to be taken care of. Get your finances in order, if they are not. Make a budget, and stick with it. Christ informs us of how we should behave when fasting, and I think it should apply even when we are fasting from tasting the fruit of our spouses: 16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. In other words: Make yourself look good; take care of yourself. Groom yourself and dress well. If you don’t know how, start here. I haven’t gone through the new Style Guide, but I imagine it’s even better than their old style series. You will feel better. If you don’t exercise, start. At least go walk every day. In fact, it would be a good idea to invite her to go walking with you, but do not ask. Say: “I’m going walking. Come with me.” and then go. Either way, it will be important and good for you to be active. Physical activity will help you think clearer, sleep better, and feel better. Whatever you do, while you are doing all these things: Try to smile. If she tries to pick a fight with you, say: “I’m trying to love you, not fight with you.” Leave for a bit if you have to, but never for the night. Do not–under any circumstances!–sleep on the couch, or in another room. That is your house, your bedroom, and your bed. You are allowing her to use them because you have grace and compassion. Trust God to bring you through this trial and her and work this out for your glorification, as He promises to those who love Him. As a side-effect: she will wonder what the hell is going on. That is good. Intrigue is catnip to women. BUT UNDERSTAND THIS: That you are not doing these things to please her. You will do what is good, and she will choose to follow, and to be your helpmeet suitable…or not. This isn’t about winning her over, or manning-up for her. That boat has sailed, and she has committed to before God regardless if you’re a lady-killer or a loser. This is about you loving your enemy as your Father in heaven does, heaping coals on her head, and not giving way before the wicked. If she tries to “earn points” or appear like the good wife by paying you compliments, or at least like she’s not so bad** then say something like, “Thanks. If you really liked it you’d kiss me.” Let her know what you want, and that you won’t be satisfied with head pats and compliments. So if she says, “Will you stop that!” You say, “No.” with a smirk, or a knowing smile. If she retorts with something passive-aggressive like, “Geez, I’m just trying to be nice!” then you say, “A kiss would be nicer.” Never lose your frame of reference that this about her accepting your good and blessed desire to love her wholly, and that means physically, and that means sex! This isn’t about her being right, or good, or nice, or anything other than her being fully accepting of her husband as wives ought to be. All the while: be praying for her. It will do you both good. We have been given no occasion to mistreat our spouses, for we are called to love even our enemies…which sometimes our spouses are. Bear in ming that loving them does not mean doing what they want. It means doing what is best for them. Finally, stop masturbating to porn. It is poison. It is so tempting because those dead soulless pictures of dead soulless women exist to please you, and that is what you most desire from your wife. Do not let them pervert your good and natural desire. It will corrupt you, and has negative effects mentally, physically, and spiritually. *I encourage you, dear readers, please: By all means look beyond the verse I’ve quoted to the whole context of the book of Hosea. It’s about a man who marries a harlot who scorns him, and how that is a symbol for how God’s people have abandoned the love of their life; who has provided all for them, forsaken others for them, and Who–with long-suffering–desires for them to be reconciled to Him. **And she will, because she will dread the thought of actually being “that bad”, and therefore unlovable–the one true horror of women. Have you ever written poetry? There is a lot of passion in your words (and a lot of words in your passion!) Anyway, this is harsh but I can’t think of any reason it isn’t true and the right advice: In the meantime, TM, do not ask that woman for sex. Stop lying to her and yourself. Stop trying to do what she wants so that she wants to have sex with you. Tell her the truth for a change; that you want to bang her silly, and that she should let you know when she’s ready. Then, stop talking to her except as necessary. When you do, be as polite and formal as you can. Do not hold hands with her. Do not hug her, or kiss her. If she says she loves you, say, “If you loved me, you’d kiss me.”, and be sincere about it. If she comes in for a kiss, then make it a big one, and escalate from there, groping and fondling and all the things a man wants to do his woman until you’re having sex. If she recoils, do not react. Just go back to the routine, and don’t give in. There is a huge boundary up and it needs to be broken down. They both need to get naked – physically and spiritually – with each other in order to accept each other and have the deep connection they both desire in their hearts. Was there ever attraction here? I haven’t read all the comments at Dalrock’s so I don’t know all the background, but a woman shouldn’t be jumping up to wash away all traces of a sexual encounter as soon as it is done. We modern Christians (and no doubt earlier ones as well) are putting the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble because we are not taking into consideration to what St. Paul is responding. The Corinthians had send him a letter mentioning that the church had decided that abstinence was the right thing for all Christians, married or not. St. Paul’s response is to say: “No! By all means: husbands and wives are supposed to have sex!” The Christian marriage covenant is such a powerful spiritual bond that it is to be that the husband controls the wife’s body, and the wife the husband’s. His words are meant to free them from heresies and misunderstandings that have led them into sin and sexual slavery. St. Paul is not obliging TM’s wife to have sex with him; he is removing the false narrative that good Christians don’t have great sex. I disagree with the bolded part, or at least how I’m reading it, because I very much do read the verse as obliging each spouse in this way. What I would say is it isn’t merely creating an obligation to not deny sex. The entire frame of the passage is that marital sex is the solution to sexual temptation, and he comes right out and says that withholding sex creates temptation for sexual sin. Given how short the passage is, the fact that the instruction not to deny sex is repeated so many times and in different ways, I can’t see a reading as saying he didn’t really mean this. I think the larger subtext you are referring to regarding the holy and profoundly beautiful nature of marital sex is there, but I don’t see this as fine print which negates what appears to be the message in the bold print. However, given the sentences which follow, I’m not sure you and I are really in disagreement: …and to deny one another is to deny not only the flesh, but God’s intent, as well. The implication then is that TM’s wife has, in fact, become a non-believer in their marriage. She is a like a priest who has rejected her religion, but still pays tithe out of superstition. It’s a sort of witchcraft meant to protect her from any allegations of wrongdoing. I will just say that I did exactly this after several calamities brought on by my rebellious wife brought our marriage to the brink. Be warned that if your wife has fully given herself over to rebellion and sin these methods will hasten the realization you must divorce her. It was the hardest, but most Godly and loving thing I have ever done, and it hurt. Heavens, no! Have some sympathy for Mrs. Caldo. She has her hands full as it is without me going to 11… @CL I have. Funny you should mention it. My father just found one in his Bible when he broke it out to read the Christmas story in Luke 2. Yes, I wrote Bible poetry. Don’t tell Mrs. Caldo or I may have to break out the exercise regimen to recover. @Dalrock Thanks. I value your criticism. At your persistence I went back again and re-read the text in multiple translations. You’re right: There is a clear obligation for sex, and in a positive sense, i.e., that the one provides it to the other, not just doesn’t deny it. (I’m sure this is driving Empath absolutely bonkers) ESV says, “give…conjugal rights”. KJV says “render unto..” and “Defraud ye not…” NASB says “must fulfill…duty…” and “Stop depriving…” I like the NASB version best, I think. 7 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. 3 The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I’ve inserted “merely”. Now that that’s settled: I think it’s almost a complete waste of time to tell TM’s wife that she has an obligation. Perhaps it will do TM (and those like him) some good to know, clearly, that their desires are not “dirty”, or “naughty”; that’s it’s not a “base” urge. T, at your blog, is a perfect example of that. One minute she is arguing against the notion of obligation, and the next she reports arguing against a friend who says it isn’t. Tomorrow, when she’s left off the Manosphere for a bit, she’ll take up with the ideas of whatever group she’s put herself in. The one way it isn’t a waste is so, in the interest of fairness, if TM has to put his wife away she was clearly told the rules. Other than that: sacrifice–meeting the obligation–is not the answer. Love is. I don’t think you disagree. I’m just using this comment as a springboard for the topic. Maybe I should do another post… Thank you again for the link. I’m honored. @Ospurt Thanks for commenting. I will do you one better that this worked for me not only when my wife was rebellious, but when I was horrendous in response. There’s a pitfall in thinking that good husbands are being abused by bad wives, or wives who are acting badly out of confusion, or hangups. The nice guy who gets married to have legitimate sex is no more intrinsically good than the wife who wants to have sex with a man she respects. (Which is ultimately the problem: TM’s wife doesn’t respect her husband.) The Christian view is that there are no good people, yet through Christ we can do good things. TM’s wife’s problem isn’t that she’s bad. It’s that she’s not interested in being loved by him; that she’s letting her rebellious nature win. Otherwise you’re absolutely right: This course will make her decide what she wants. She can follow her husband and let him bang her silly–or get the hell out. I do think it is worth mentioning that she has an obligation to cultivate a desire for her husband so that she does not put the responsibility on him to magically push all her buttons just right. She needs to know there is a spiritual war being waged for her mind and heart, and right now the bad guys are winning. She can’t fix the problem overnight, but she can start to cultivate good habits of mind which will blossom into greater desire for her husband. Cane: I wanted to agree with your recommendations but I wasn’t sure I could until I got to these: ““I’m trying to love you, not fight with you” and “Bear in mind that loving them does not mean doing what they want. It means doing what is best for them.” With love as the motivation, rather than game for game’s sake, I concur. Faced with a near duplicate of Tacomaster’s situation, but without yet having read Dalrock, et al., I responded essentially as you’ve recommended here, but most of the time I questioned internally the correctness — the biblical-ness — of my response. Now I simply wish that I had done it as well as you’ve described it here; I verbalized why I was acting as I was, but it was more in the nature of a complaint than “If you loved me, you’d kiss me.” So, for all the good it does, thanks for the after-the-fact validation. “This course will make her decide what she wants. She can follow her husband and let him bang her silly–or get the hell out.” After 29+ years of marriage and 4 kids, mine got the hell out. The divorce was final 15 months ago. In the long run, I am likely to be better off. (I’m 52, attractive, and a good earner. But I won’t be dating until my high school sophomore has graduated, for his sake.) I’m less optimistic for my kids, though; it’s been hell for them, especially the two youngest who were still at home and who are now split, our daughter with her and our son with me. Unfortunately, she compounded the effects of her frivorce by rushing into a remarriage — to a twice-divorced veterinarian who lives 400 miles away, necessitating her relocation so that now our kids are geographically separated from each other and from their non-custodial parents rather than just in separate houses. I’m convinced the remarriage will come back to haunt her — he has a confirmed history of emotionally and physically abusing at least his second wife, and I doubt that he is any less interested in sex than I was or will be any more patient with her unavailability when he figures out that that’s the way it’s going to be. To the extent the manosphere is correct about the role of male attractiveness, she has taken a step down — in age, height, intelligence, looks, income, and theology. So one day in the not too distant future, she’ll be divorced again. What a waste. I do think it is worth mentioning that she has an obligation to cultivate a desire for her husband so that she does not put the responsibility on him to magically push all her buttons just right. She needs to know there is a spiritual war being waged for her mind and heart, and right now the bad guys are winning. She can’t fix the problem overnight, but she can start to cultivate good habits of mind which will blossom into greater desire for her husband. Yes. Not being truthful with her is cruelty, not kindness. But very few Christians today would tell her the truth out of fear of hurting her feelings. This is especially true for women who had sex with men prior to marrying and then find it harder to bond/respond to their husband as a result. In a recent thread on my site SSM brought this up as an issue, and I pointed to another similar case on Sheila’s blog where the woman had done all sorts of things for other men, but now that she is married she is perfectly fine not having sex, and is outraged that her husband wants her to do for him what she did for all of those other guys. Doesn’t he know she is a Christian now! One of Sheila’s readers eventually pointed out how selfish this overall attitude was, and Sheila agreed with the caveat that she didn’t want to add any guilt and that the woman shouldn’t feel compelled to do any of those acts for her husband that she did for other men if she finds it “distasteful”. Instead of helping this woman confront her very serious sin so she can repent and own the consequences, Sheila wrote: Lots of people have abuse in their background, or promiscuity, or tons of problems. You really truly aren’t alone. But to just put up with it–to say, this is way I am, and I’m honest about it, so he can’t ask for anything more–isn’t right. Sex is an important part of marriage, and it sounds like your husband would like more. So, no, don’t just “lay there and fake it”. But instead work WITH your husband to try to figure out how to make it great. I mean that it is much easier to heal from abuse than it is promiscuity, because with abuse there may be guilt but there is the conscious knowledge that the guilt is not legitimate. With promiscuity, penance and contrition are required to alleviate the guilt. Man was made first, and woman was made for man. Women were designed specifically to be desired by men, and by that desiring to bring completion and projection. That completion shows in the physical world as sex, when the man’s desire for a woman brings forth ecstasy and life. It’s easy to see orgasm as completion, and procreation as projection of life, but there is also a projection of ecstasy that makes the difficult times more easy to bear. Sexual delight is a marvelous grace; a physical symptom of the blessing that love can bring to the lover and the beloved, the man and the woman. I know I’m not allowed to say anything here, but this paragraph is just so incredibly lovely, Cane. But why do so many women seem not to understand this? Maybe you will answer that question for me even without posting my comment. Not sure this approach will work as it tends to build up a lot of anger in the man, why? Because he’s still not getting any decent sex out of the relationship, but if he can contain the anger it may work. But as other people have pointed out this all boils down to a lack of respect on the wife’s part. She simply does not respect him and does not look up to him as the head of the household and does not believe that he’ll be going anywhere as he’s the nice beta Christian that’s now trapped in the marriage. However, I’m sure that her rebellion is not contained to just the marriage bed and have to believe that her attitude expresses itself in other aspects of the relationship. So I would advise that you start opening your eyes to that and see if you have been placed in a submissive role in the marriage rather than being the head. Do everything that you can to flip that back and put her in the submissive role and see how she reacts. Also in social situations does she put you down or criticize you in front of others or at the end of the day (AKA nagging)? There are all sorts of tells like this that can clue you in on where you sit in her eyes. Lastly, beware if she is making more money or has a higher prestige job than you as if that’s the case you’ll have an even harder time reclaiming your rightful position as head of the household. The messages that women get from both the world and the church just re-enforce the rebellious spirit in them and most will fight tooth and nail to not give up on the feminist attitudes and beliefs that they have so be prepared to have this all end in tears. Most women are not willing to change (and really most men aren’t either which is why it’s bad to go into a marriage thinking that they’ll change .. they won’t) and take on the submissive role in a relationship, especially if they’ve been on top throughout the courtship and marriage. So if you started out as the submissive one then trying to take the top role after the fact is going to be a battle that will probably destroy the marriage. That said, it’s a battle you have to fight so armor up and get ready for some pain. Thanks for reading and commenting. I believe I read your story before, over at Dalrock’s. His blog gets so many comments that I often can’t read them all, but I usually scan to find the personal stories. I was sad to read it both times. I verbalized why I was acting as I was, but it was more in the nature of a complaint than “If you loved me, you’d kiss me.” It’s important for men in Tacomaster’s situation to accept this. Women already caught up in disrespecting their husbands are almost always going to respond poorly to a complaint. They simply can’t be bothered to care about the complaints of a man they don’t respect–even if he’s done nothing to deserve such disrepute. It’s vicious, but true. If she chooses to submit to the husband he can get an accounting later, if he still cares. My opinion is that it’s a waste of time. All I want to hear is: “Please forgive me”, and, “How do you want me?” Every way, madame, but let’s start with the classics. @gunner451 “Not sure this approach will work…” Depends what you mean by “sure” and “work”. I’m truly confident that, based on what he’s said, if TM can master himself he can set a graceful path of return for her, but she must choose to accept his mercy. He can’t “work” her choice. And you bring up a good point: He’ll have to control his anger. (Eph. 4:26) That will be very difficult, but important. Anger is a powerful solvent of intentions. There are tons of movies about anger motivating people to carry out long-term revenge plots and such, but in real life–for most people–it burns them out and depresses them. They sink into bitterness and quit. Conflating promiscuity and abuse offers cover for wives that is not deserved. The two are nothing alike. Abuse creates shame born of a violation. Promiscuity produces shame (rightfully so) born of guilt. Bad move on Sheila’s part. I’ve read this several times before commenting because I wanted to fully absorb all of the angles. It’s a good post, Cane. Your practical advice on living day to day with the wife was spot on. And that’s not me offering my feminine blessing to your masculine counsel. My husband agreed with it. However, I’m sure that her rebellion is not contained to just the marriage bed and have to believe that her attitude expresses itself in other aspects of the relationship. So I would advise that you start opening your eyes to that and see if you have been placed in a submissive role in the marriage rather than being the head. Do everything that you can to flip that back and put her in the submissive role and see how she reacts. Also in social situations does she put you down or criticize you in front of others or at the end of the day (AKA nagging)? There are all sorts of tells like this that can clue you in on where you sit in her eyes. Lastly, beware if she is making more money or has a higher prestige job than you as if that’s the case you’ll have an even harder time reclaiming your rightful position as head of the household. It is a good point that the rebellion won’t be contained to just this one area. This is why attempts to dismiss this as “a problem with their sex life” misses the mark so widely. If she weren’t rebelling against him, she would as Cane so eloquently explains be craving to be desired. One thing I would say though is the difference between rebellion and submission can at times be fairly subtle. The kind of transformation which often needs to happen isn’t what I think most people (especially women) imagine. Shakespeare exaggerated it for dramatic effect in Taming of the Shrew, and even there Kate’s profound submission (declaring the sun is the moon, or whatever he decides it is) doesn’t leave her as the kind of “broken” woman I think most imagine when they think of submission. Women love Taming of the Shrew because deep down they want what Shakespeare is selling. The messages that women get from both the world and the church just re-enforce the rebellious spirit in them and most will fight tooth and nail to not give up on the feminist attitudes and beliefs that they have so be prepared to have this all end in tears. This is true, but there is a counterpart to it. Most women are exhausted at having succeeded in rebellion. This is something which would be difficult to overstate. Check out the end of my “untethered” post. I put links in there to two different women on answers who when I spoke to this it simply pierced them, and they were extremely grateful. See the comment left by one of Sheila’s readers, and note that even Sheila was pierced by reading it (at least for a moment). If even Sheila with her masters degree in Women’s Studies and her incredible rebellion against Scripture in this area is pierced by it, all women can be pierced by it. I’m not saying that you are wrong that it couldn’t well end in tears, because that is a real risk here no matter what Taco does. However, I think we always need to remember how much she desperately wants and needs to submit. She is miserable in her rebellion, and if we have empathy for her here we can better understand how to approach her. Cane’s advice incorporates this thinking of course. I would add that if Taco ends up in a place where they are talking about it and she sincerely seems to want to stop rebelling, knowing how to frame this to her will help a great deal: Let me give you what you are thirsting for! Let me take away that ache of not having a husband you can lean on when your emotions storm over you! God wants this for you. I want this for you, and deep down, I know you want it too. But I can’t give it to you if you keep rejecting it. I used thirst above, but another word would be exhaustion. These women feel like they haven’t slept in weeks. Rebellion feels just fine at first, but the longer they go the more excruciating it becomes. Communication for women is often more about feelings than logic, so being able to communicate directly with her feelings will be one tool to have handy. Also, there are ways to address the “whispers” more directly than I described above, and I think this is something Taco should be ready to do. Very often the woman’s psychology is “I can do better”, which initiates self torture via her own hypergamy. That hypergamous voice is designed not to be ignored, like the 24×7 crying of a baby. She has the moral obligation to fight this temptation, but it is worth noting that it is possible to (mostly) put this monster back in its cage. “I can do better” in many Christian women’s minds then leads to “God wants me to be happy”, so there are dual rationalizations which are intertwined. But there are ways to address these tangled threads at the same time. Someone mentioned sending a woman to my site and she saw the truth about EPL and Stella and reported being “deflated”. This is what a woman being choked by her own “I can do better/God wants me to be happy” rationalization needs. If she is a fan of either book/movie, showing her the daily mail or SFGate articles should be very effective. Another way to do this is to look at women you knew when they were married and are now divorced. When my wife talks with other women who are considering divorce, she always asks them to consider real life women they know who divorced and then asks them if those women ended up with a better husband. For reasons we understand in the manosphere, reality is the opposite of the fantasy. The wife ends up being pumped and dumped by men of similar value to her husband, or ends up digging so deep that she becomes the source of mocking gossip among her female friends. Everyone knows a story about a divorced aunt/sister/whatever who brings the loser who still lives with his mother to family functions, because going alone would be even more embarrassing. Find that story. The other side of that same story is how much better the ex husband typically makes out. Women loath the idea of divorcing and finding out their husband is dating women 10 years younger than her, while she is getting pumped and dumped or only being courted by losers. Help her see that staying married is her best chance at having the husband she wants (and studies prove this) will help her put her own rebellion down. Here is an example of how I framed this for a woman on answers the other day. She is very unlikely to select my answer because I have this tuned on the harsher side (she needs industrial strength), but I think this kind of framing is very effective: Have u ever told ur husband how stupid he sounds? I love it! It’s a fantastic piece of writing and great thoughts. I have a question/thought though and would love some input, because I am entering into this phase within my own marriage. The need for honesty, I believe, is critical, and I don’t want to be deceptive with my wife about what is going on. I’m not trying to trick or manipulate her. I am trying to put my home in order as God sees it. I imagine my conversation to include a statement about how the marriage without passionate, enjoyable, and exciting sex (for both of us – not just “duty sex” from her – I don’t even want that at all!) will never last. This is biblical. My needs aren’t being met in this area. So, ultimately, the marriage will fail if the matter is not addressed. If she asks something like, “You mean you’ll divorce me?” My answer will be “Perhaps, yes. Or you will divorce/leave me. There won’t be love between us anymore so the marriage won’t last. Period.” She can chew on that and then decide what, if any action, she will take. I refuse to subject my children to household and marriage portrayal that doesn’t include love and respect. I will NOT set them up with that idea of marriage – that was what my wife had growing up and that is why she thinks (somehow) that it is OK now. Each time I reread this post it sinks in deeper how perfect it is. I’ll pause after this to give others a chance to comment, but this is pure gold: In fact, it would be a good idea to invite her to go walking with you, but do not ask. Say: “I’m going walking. Come with me.” and then go. If you do this with cheer, with anticipation for the wonderful things you are about to experience, it will be very uncomfortable for her not to follow. Not following will give her a feeling of being left behind. Her leader just departed, and she failed to follow. Now she is alone, her man having left during a time she knows she is pushing him away*. Even if she doesn’t show this and doesn’t follow at first, it is very likely to win her over after a while. But as you say, do it for yourself, not for her. Come back invigorated and with a glowing smile. She won’t be able to help wondering what fun and fascinating things she missed out on. She can only find out by not letting her feminist rebellion cause her to be left behind next time. If she asks you about it, give her just enough to whet her appetite for more, and then become playfully mysterious. When you are doing this (playfully mysterious), your eyes should be smiling even if your face is mock serious. *You aren’t trying to give her the sense that you might be walking out on her, and if you are thinking this way it could make it worse. I’m just pointing out how her hamster in this case can for once work in your favor, when all you are doing is going out for a pleasant walk. I would agree with you except my situation was the good husband being abused by a bad wife. We did not find out until our 7th year of marriage that my wife had Borderline Personality Disorder with Bi-Polar (diagnosed by two different psychologists). What prompted us having her evaluated was a horrible breakdown with legal and family consequences that nobody should ever have to deal with. I met and married her during a long term phase where she was mostly normal and not subject to her underlying problems. I think her inability to bear children when we started trying in our second year of marriage, and the medical condition that we found caused her infertility (kidney disease), unleashed the borderline she had been controlling fairly well through the first several years of our relationship. Because we could not have out own children we were in the process of fostering children to adopt them when she had the breakdown…which caused her to be arrested and with an end result of the children being taken away. All hope for family was lost forever by her actions alone (yeah I’ve dealt with that loss twice). That was five years ago. I was destroyed and out of obligation loved her through that and helped her re-build, but I was not the man I used to be because of her actions and the profound loss she brought into our lives, but I still led her out of that darkness….and she repaid my kindness and leadership with sabotage. I could have love my sick wife until the end if the sex, submission and honor was there…but her sin and crazy had consumed her no matter what I did, game included. Her decision was to stay in the crazy, my decision was to divorce her and reject her hurting me. Game hastened that process. Now game is part of my rebuilding process…..and the search for what I want in relationship going forward. Once you have her following you out the door, be sure to keep that dynamic. The ideal for both of you is you showing her the way, laughing and pointing out fun and interesting things as you go. If she wants to hold your hand, your hand goes first (with the back of your hand pointing the direction you are walking or have her hold on to your bicep. Also walk on the side with the curb since this is where the threat of danger (traffic) is. If she starts to pull away just a little, loosen your grip enough that it is easy for her to break free, and keep moving in the direction you have chosen. This will give her the choice of following and continuing to hold hands, or being left behind. If she heads off in another direction, simply (and cheerfully) point out that she is going the wrong way and keep going. The right way is over here (and then keep going). If she gets out in front of you, do the same by first advising her of the “right way” and then make a turn. The point is, you are the one who knows the way, the one who knows where the wonders of the walk are. She either backtracks to rejoin your lead, or she goes off by herself, but she doesn’t lead you. As with the initial pull of you walking out the door, she may really resist/test this at first, but over time it will be very difficult for her not to. Once you have her following you out the door, be sure to keep that dynamic. The ideal for both of you is you showing her the way, laughing and pointing out fun and interesting things as you go. […] The point is, you are the one who knows the way, the one who knows where the wonders of the walk are. She either backtracks to rejoin your lead, or she goes off by herself, but she doesn’t lead you. As with the initial pull of you walking out the door, she may really resist/test this at first, but over time it will be very difficult for her not to. Exactly right. And, It’s good for both of you. It’s about accepting your God-given role as head of the wife and setting patterns for her to follow; patterns that will continue for the rest of your life. Keeping those habits of thought will have a ritualizing effect; a sort of catechism of headship. Total honesty is crucial. Does she want to end up like her parents, or is she willing to put in the effort to do better? Does she want your children to grow up as she did? These are questions she needs to answer for herself and for you. She’s probably convinced herself it’s OK or ‘not the end of the world’ or something like that, but deep down we all want an intimate bond with someone. This requires getting past one’s fear and just being – like I said earlier – naked with each other in every sense. The basic fear is that we won’t be accepted, so we hide ourselves. When we do that, we don’t give anyone the opportunity to love and accept us truly and we defraud ourselves of what we really want and need. Just don’t be the one to bring up the “d-word”. If that’s where her mind goes, that’s up to her. Fair warning without coming across as desperate is fair game I think. Is it true? Reading in the manosphere, a woman could get the idea that men care only for sex and for being respected and not so much for being loved. Always keep in mind that an awful lot of husbands find their way to the Manosphere because they’re not even getting that mere obligation (h/t: Dalrock) of at least begrudging respect and sex. “Love” is a big word in English. Men, I believe, are really more interested in having their love received. That’s how they most desire to experience it. “Respect” is one of the words closest to the spirit of “accepted love”. @ Sunshinemary: The lack of interest in meeting a husband’s needs and desire for sex is directly related to, or rather a symptom, of a lack of love and respect by the wife. At a minimum, if there’s a problem for the wife in doing that, either physically or mentally, then their action should be willingness to pursue either an alternative or a remedy to the problem. To blow off the husband’s need is just disrespectful, unloving and cruel. It would be like if a father stopped positive interactions with their kids (playing ball, school stuff, being involved, etc.), it’s not so much cruel that they are not doing those things, but it’s symptomatic of a man who doesn’t care about the well-being of his kids. Your comparison of being a good wife with being a good mother really struck a cord with me. I’ve been meditating on it. At first I didn’t “get” it when I related marital duties with motherly duties..such as pouring their cereal and changing diapers and all the boring/and or unfun tasks of motherhood… but then when I related it to the joys of motherhood, like the breastfeeding relationship, and the delight you feel when being needed and appreciated…I then saw the parallel. The Bible mentions breastfeeding many times.. a child at the breast is often an analogy for Israel. I can relate to the role of mother far more than I can relate to the role of the male lover in a marriage. Your suggestion has opened up a new dimension in my understanding. After I have let it simmer for a good while I will expand on your thoughts at my (old) blog. If she asks something like, “You mean you’ll divorce me?” My answer will be “Perhaps, yes. Or you will divorce/leave me. There won’t be love between us anymore so the marriage won’t last. Period.” She can chew on that and then decide what, if any action, she will take. I refuse to subject my children to household and marriage portrayal that doesn’t include love and respect. I will NOT set them up with that idea of marriage – that was what my wife had growing up and that is why she thinks (somehow) that it is OK now. That’s the wrong tack and frame of mind. The frame of mind is this is your life, and your marriage. When you’re ready to talk about divorce you’ll tell her. I would not even answer such questions; responding instead with a deadpan, or quizzical look. That’s the wrong tack and frame of mind. The frame of mind is this is your life, and your marriage. When you’re ready to talk about divorce you’ll tell her. I would not even answer such questions; responding instead with a deadpan, or quizzical look. Exactly. Also- verbosity in men is often an attraction killer. It is fine in writing, but when speaking there is something about a man rambling on and on that seems so effeminate. If you really have to express yourself with a lot of words then it is best to write a letter. Words are like cash..you flood the market with them and they lose their value. Keep your words meaningful by using them sparingly. Let your actions do most the talking. Perhaps I am an outlier, but I like words used well. Talk to me baby! If someone is interesting I like listening to them talk. I don’t think I could live with someone who was aloof all the time or never told me what was on his mind. Too much kvetching isn’t good, but everyone needs to unload from time to time. You women do know that men will go to prostitutes because they will listen to them, right? Same goes for mistresses, even if they are still having sex with their wives; it’s not all about the sex. That said, questions like “will you divorce me?” don’t really deserve a response, because those are simply trying to catch you out and make you the bad guy. Too much kvetching isn’t good, but everyone needs to unload from time to time. I don’t disagree with that. If the respect is already establish then a man doesn’t need to be as self-conscious about proving that he is The Man. If that foundation is shaky then a more conscious effort is probably required. It is kind of like if a woman is married to a man whose attraction for her is weak. Until that situation is resolved she might need to put extra effort into putting her prettiest face forward. I actually agree with both of you, CL and Gabby (*surprise surprise). My husband is not a big talker in general. He often likes to listen to me talk, but he measures his own words carefully. I find that alluring. Makes me hang on to his every word. He does have moments of verbosity, and I really appreciate those too. When he starts talking a lot he assumes, rightfully so, that what he has to say is interesting. Because he is not easily animated, my interested is piqued no matter how distracted or how far into my own head I may have been when he started. The difference is where the conversation comes from. There are people who prattle on from a place of insecurity, for the purpose of gauging relationship health or to extract a certain response. Women are most prone to this, but men can do it, too. I know this because I’ve heard my husband counsel a young husband to stop doing it. There are people who prattle on from a place of insecurity, for the purpose of gauging relationship health or to extract a certain response. That’s true. There are also people who don’t say much because there isn’t much going on in their heads. (Which is still better than those who talk in spite of having nothing going on in their heads). But yeah, this all assumes a reasonably harmonious relationship. There tends to be a lot of talking in absolutes as if “be aloof” applies all the time. Being ignored (by someone whose attention I care about) is not fun. I imagine that could be pretty effective depending on the circumstance. For the more stubborn woman, here is the recommended course of action: I agree that some people are quiet because they don’t think. And I also agree that those people are markedly wiser than those who prattle on even thought they haven’t thought deeply about anything. Who was it that said, “Better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and removal all doubt”, or something like that? The absolutes concerning aloofness? I agree with you on that as well. I would hate to be ignored by my husband, and thankfully that isn’t a problem I have. He isn’t a big talker, but neither am I ignored. Our personalities work well together after 2 decades and conversations are deep and meaningful even if they are not constant and ongoing. Personalities vary wildly, which is why I agree with you that presenting aloofness as the only acceptable frame for a man to take is not good. It might be intriguing at the beginning of a relationship, but long term, it can be problematic. But God puts it better. Actually, I’m surprised no-one has cited any of the verses in Proverbs which equate loquacity with folly. Reading through the article and its comments, Scriptures kept popping into my head — we really should use them… This isn’t just a Christian marriage issue. I’m a Hindu and I can tell you that in my culture sex, even between a married couple, is practically shamed. Both parties are made to feel guilty for wanting it and even more, its considered shameful for a wife to express direct desire for her husband. Traditionally we live in what we call the joint family household where brides go to live with the husbands parents. Marriage is seen as primarily a duty to family and society and if the young couple become too attached to one another it is perceived as a threat to the unity of the larger family. Sex is seen as the primary way in which a husband might bond more to his wife than to his parents. That could result in him actually moving out of his parents home to set up a smaller nuclear family with just his wife and kids. The above structure and its concomitant fears makes for a very frustrating sex life. @cane–I appreciated your insight and opinions above but I don’t agree with 100% of what you said in your post above. However, I was intrigued by your comment ” (Tacomaster’s wife)…is not interested in loving him, or being married to him. They don’t have a sex problem, they have a love problem”. I agree with that comment whole heartedly. She expresses love in other ways like actions and words, etc. It would be nice to have the sex I envisioned Christian marriage to have. It was interesting that your marriage comment because I have wondered if she got married to just get married; to just check off a box in her list of life goals. I wonder if I would be aware of my situation if I would have been a virgin coming into the marriage. I wrote out a very long reply (nearly as long as the post), but I will wait to post it. What I have to say right now, I don’t think you’ll want to hear, but it could be that I simply shouldn’t say them. In the meantime: I recommend you check out how the females responded to what I had to say, and I hope you found something useful, if not 100% of it. I hope it’s okay to post all this here, but I wanted to give an update on where I am at with my situation, as I’ve commented a few times and really really related to this original post. So tonight, this happened: I told my wife that I did not feel satisfied with our sex life. She responded with, “Well, what else is new!? I can never satisfy you!” I told her that was untrue, and that the first several years of our marriage, even after our first child, I was just fine and never complained. She said the fact that I bring this up makes her insecure and really not want to have sex with me because she’s worried I’ll be critiquing and scoring her, and that she’s been “trying” lately with sex but now feels defeated by her efforts. I explained that I’m not telling her if she’s “trying” or not (maybe she is on some level), only that I have unmet needs, and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to honestly express my needs. She questioned if I just wanted more sex and thought that once per week was just fine. I clarified that it’s really not about our quantity, but quality, and much of the time she’s not even comfortable during sex – I can tell. She agreed with my observation and said she just doesn’t feel the same about it anymore. I told her we should be challenging ourselves at this point (8 years of marriage) to keep passion and intimacy alive. She said she didn’t know what that looks like in my mind. I told her she does and I’ve already said it – that it’s like our first few years of marriage (nothing weird, just excitement, comfort, oral sex, pleasuring one another, etc.). She said she didn’t feel that way anymore and lots of women are like her, so she maybe she should just back to “faking.” In actuality, my sexual needs or desires have not changed one bit since we’ve been together for the last 10 years. Hers have. That doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to budge or compromise, but I also shouldn’t have to just go with her zero sex drive either. I told her to not bother “faking” interest in an intimate & sexually active relationship with me, and instead maybe it would be better to just not have sex for a while until such time (if ever) we can feel passionate together again. She also said she feels like I’m just looking for reasons to divorce. I didn’t respond to this. I’m typing a lot of stuff here, but truly I did not use a ton of words with her – I was careful not to do so. I also exhibited limited emotional reaction, even when she was breaking down in tears about how she is a failure in her job, vulnerable, etc. I showed absolutely no frustration or anger, that’s for sure. At most, I only gave confusing looks when she’d bring up divorce, not knowing what I wanted, that I just want sex 4 – 5 times per week, etc. By the way, as a Christian man I did a TON of reading, praying and thinking about how to approach this issue in our marriage. @David J. I’m sorry to hear about your divorce after all those years of marriage. If you don’t mind sharing, since you said we are in nearly identical circumstances, was your wife always like mine? Did it happen after children? What steps were taken to fix the situation, if at all any? As i mentioned, I spoke to a pastor at church who was pretty unhelpful. This whole situation has a been such an emotional drain on my life. I hate that I spend time and energy upset and stressed analyzing and dwelling on this. I worry that the stress will manifest itself into physical ailment eventually. @wheelmonkey I’m sorry to hear about your situation man. At a marriage conference, the wife of the team said “wives imagine if your husband didn’t talk to you for 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years. That’s how he feels when you don’t have sex with him for 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years”. I think wives sometimes just don’t “get it”. And with the lack of passion? Ya, thanks a lot. I’ll be praying for you. I’d skip the guilt trips and just tell her what you want. IE “When I get home I want you ____ and ____.” Or during the act maneuver her in the specific position that you are desiring. Asking her to perform like a circus seal is going to make her nerrrrrvvvoooouuuusss. I suggest you ignore Gabriella. Making fun of your wife isn’t very helpful. You know that ‘husband’ is also a verb, right? When a man owns a piece of land, he needs to work on it and uproot weeds and the trees pruned. He needs to till and fertilize his fields, keep the weeds out, guard it from trespassers and harvest the bounty. Especially for those Christians who want a submissive wife, this is necessary. There used to be societal support and sanction for this, but now we are essentially on our own and so it is going to require more attention when the outside world is trying to pull your garden apart all the time. It’s unfortunate that this is not taught or widely known anymore. Cattlemen learn about animal husbandry; married men should learn about wife husbandry. Oh, and I would never make fun of or ridicule my wife. She may feel that way at this point, like I’m critiquing her sexual performance in cruel ways, but I am not doing any such thing. Merely stating my need for a more intimate sexual relationship. She needs to deal now with how to move forward (or not). Wheeler is making the mistake of asking her to take the lead in their sex life. Maybe I am wrong but I think he may have misinterpreted Cane Caldo’s advice. I thought CC was telling you to ignore her if *she rejects your advances*…which means you still make advances. Wheeler- It sounds like you have decided to quit making advances until her enthusiasm improves. If I were in her position I would have performance anxiety. I think you might be making the mistake of turning the relationship dynamic around. I actually agree with CL here. Husbanding is a verb. You can’t expect her desire to increase if she is taking the lead in your marriage. The examples I used above were the kind of “advances” I am talking about. You want to show her that the dynamic in your relationship is that you take pleasure in her, you lead her and she follows. Which means you make an attempt to take pleasure in her and you only give her the cold soldier if she rejects that attempt. That is where I’m a bit stuck and feel like she needs to address some issues first, like putting our marriage at the forefront of her mind and seeking to figure out why she has no interest in me sexually. As a side note, I consider myself attractive (work out often), in better than average physical condition, dress well, and have very good personal hygiene. I’ve already been down the road of taking the lead in the bedroom, and she simply refuses things or become very awkward and uncomfortable. This is what I want her to address. The things we used to do, like oral sex, are suddenly gross & undesirable. For example, the last time we had sex she begrudgingly let me perform oral sex on her. When I/she finished (and I know she enjoyed it!), I came up to meet her for sex in the missionary position. She turned her head from the entire time and wouldn’t look at me. She has said before that she doesn’t want to “smell herself” on me afterward, but this is also a new thing. Honestly, I felt like I was raping her. It was awful!!! I agree that she probably does have performance anxiety now, but I don’t know how to address that given all the information I just cited. If she says she wants to work on sex, even with the performance anxiety, I would be supportive. I would never say, “Well, that really sucked. Thanks for nothing.” I would talk to her mostly in positives about what I do enjoy – that’s almost always what I do. I tell her what I like, and I even told her that last night when she wanted to know specifically what I was wanting. That’s when she rejected me and said didn’t think she could do that for me anymore. On another note, she has said to me that I should be grateful for whatever I am given in our sexually relationship and not complain because something is better than nothing. Fundamentally, I disagree with that on so many levels. We are in a marriage and should be able to speak openly, frankly and maturely about things, whether they be sex, parenting, faith or whatever. When we resign to not discussing things anymore out of fear of upsetting our partner, then we stop growing together and become stuck. Anyway, I truly would like some advice on though on proceeding at this point. The one thing I’m being very certain not to do is withdraw my kindness. I refuse to be angry or resentful, even though she is giving me the cold shoulder at the moment. I will continue to communicate in kind words and follow through on my duties as husband and father. If she wants to discuss it more, I will, but I don’t think I should keep pushing. She is an avoider though, so that may also turn into the end of our marriage… ??? In the meantime, TM, do not ask that woman for sex. Stop lying to her and yourself. Stop trying to do what she wants so that she wants to have sex with you. Tell her the truth for a change; that you want to bang her silly, and that she should let you know when she’s ready. Then, stop talking to her except as necessary. When you do, be as polite and formal as you can. Do not hold hands with her. Do not hug her, or kiss her. If she says she loves you, say, “If you loved me, you’d kiss me.”, and be sincere about it. If she comes in for a kiss, then make it a big one, and escalate from there, groping and fondling and all the things a man wants to do his woman until you’re having sex. If she recoils, do not react. Just go back to the routine, and don’t give in.” You let her make some IOI (indicator of interesting)..such as the “love you”, and responding well to a kiss. Then you escalate. At the point that she recoils you stop. If she doesn’t recoil you go on. You are basically rewarding her for good behavior. This is a crude example, so forgive me…but if you were trying to train a dog to come when you call you wouldn’t say “I’m going to stop calling til you learn how to come”. The dog is not going to decide you are Alpha without you displaying dominance. I love the idea of inviting her for a walk and leading the way. That is a good example of an exercise that establishes dominance. You can also do things like ask her to bring your a plate at dinner, or bring you a beer..etc. But no affection until she stops recoiling at your sexual advances. Avoidant personalities tend to take the path of least resistance. That is the good news. The bad news is that you aren’t going to be able to kill her with kindness. You are going to have to make her world much less comfortable for her. If dominance exercises don’t help you might need to separate for a little while so she has to feel uncomfortable by your absence. Was she on artificial hormonal contraception when you met? Did any of this coincide with her going on or off of it? What about pregnancy and childbirth – any changes noted in those cases during and after? Any other medications, like SSRIs? These things can have a significant impact on sex drive as well as attraction. Think about it, don’t necessarily answer it here (her medical history is none of our business), and do a bit of research if it is relevant. I do empathize, though…in case my tone doesn’t express that. It is frustrating to clean a spouses mess. It seems unfair because she caused this problem by not cultivating desire and she isn’t the one cleaning up the mess. Asking you to up the Alpha is making you do all the work. I have had similar problems in my marriage. I made the mistake of letting my anger over an issue ruin my attraction for my husband. My anger was justified in the beginning, but I nursed my grievances too much and for too long and eventually felt contemptuous. I had created all kinds of mental road blocks to intimacy and I simply couldn’t get over them without help. It was like I dug a hole for myself so deep I simply couldn’t get out of it without someone throwing me a rope. In the beginning some of the things my husband did resulted in me digging my hole deeper (guilt trips, telling me he wasn’t inlove with me, threatening divorce, etc)… but eventually he started doing stuff that made my respect for him grow. Of course, this was only because I was willing to have my mind transformed. If I obstinately refused to see him in a positive light then nothing he could have done would have changed my desire for him. Eventually, when you are out of the hole, you won’t have to try so hard. What she needs to show is a real willingness to increase her desire…even if she hasn’t figured out how, if she at least wants it then that means she is open to transformation. That sounds equally awful, Gabriella. I’m sorry for your experience, though it seems you came through it and that gives me hope & makes me happy (happy as I can be right now). I’m 100% in and she knows that. We are 1/2 through the day after our “talk,” and it’s COLD in here! She’s barely talking to me. I am continuing to speak with her, continue my duties and be kind toward her. I am committed to being someone that she sees in a positive and attractive light, even though I know she doesn’t at this moment. I don’t know if she wants the desire back or believes it’s even possible. We are in a weird situation too though, because truly I know of nothing I’ve done to decrease her desire. She just cites that it “happens in all marriages.” I totally disagreed with her on that, and even for those that see things fizzle after a while, they work and challenge themselves to reignite the spark. She wants us to stay close, in love, be friends and all that, but not grow sexually. She thinks that will continue to die as we get older and I really don’t know how to convince her otherwise. It wouldn’t be hard for her to seek counsel, read a book/article or whatever, but she’s not doing that (yet). @CL: She’s pretty averse to seeking medical assistance, so there is little point in me suggesting that. She said last night that they “can’t do anything.” She’s been a couple times before, and was even given a recommendation to a cream to use but she didn’t use it. It remained unopened in our bathroom for over a month then disappeared. I never confronted her or said anything about it. She thinks I’m obnoxious enough as it is. She also doesn’t believe, I don’t think, that we are ONE. That her body is mine, and mine is hers. That we should be able to openly communicate and talk about concerns and stuff. She is, obviously, very defensive. @Gabriella: I missed your previous post that mentions it might not be possible for me to kill her with kindness and that a separation may need to take place. I don’t know yet about that. I’m not going to bend over backwards the kindness or anything as I don’t want her to think I regret or apologize for the discussion I began. I’m just not going to be cruel. Instead I’ll be pleasant, continue with my work as a father and treat her with respect. If she can’t get over this, then I’m not sure what will be next. I’m prepared to move on if need be though – I’m just not excited about it . Her reaction in the weeks to come will be quite telling about where her heart is in all of this. When I advised Tacomaster to check out how the females responded: I meant to note the positive response. I did NOT mean to take their advice. They’re not totally wrong, but I suspect neither TM nor yourself are able to understand what they’re saying. We are 1/2 through the day after our “talk,” and it’s COLD in here! There is a reason I did not prescribe having a “talk”. At this point, “talks” can almost only be fights. Unless your goal is to fight: stop. Some of the folks over at TalkAboutMarriage are under the impression that what I have recommended is retaliation, or punishment, or withdrawal. That’s because they’re infected with ideas about power struggle. This is about desire. My advice are not arm-twisting techniques, but about being who God has called you to be, and having the type of marriage that glorifies God and each other. 1. You can be honest in silence. 2. Watch what women do, not what they say. There are multiple instances of women in scripture straight-up lying to God. God overlooks it each time I can recall. (probably a post there) 3. DON’T COMPLAIN TO HER. It does no good for several reasons. Complain to her in this context is pathetic. Complain to God in prayer–wholeheartedly. This is one of the biggest reasons not to “talk”. Speaking is complicated. You haven’t established your own frame yet, so there is nothing for her to respect, even if she were so inclined. In your state, and your under-developed frame of mind, if you start to “talk”, the complaints are going to bubble out of your sad little face–that’s how she’ll see it, anyway. Said another way: When you are fasting, anoint your head and wash your face, but be sad with your Father in secret, who will reward you. Complaining is the emotional equivalent of a dirty, grubby little face and tousled hair. Show that to God, who loves you. You’ve also expressed the mindset that it’s her turn to get with the program. I don’t disagree, but these things cannot be considered in the absence of what we know to be true about the female nature: they are followers and responders. ” St. Paul is not obliging TM’s wife to have sex with him; he is removing the false narrative that good Christians don’t have great sex.” “I disagree with the bolded part, or at least how I’m reading it, because I very much do read the verse as obliging each spouse in this way. ” Women can oblige easier than men by virtue of our anatomy. It’s painful when we are not sufficiently lubricated but the mechanics of it can still take place. Not so with men. What to do when the husband’s manly part just won’t rise to the occasion? I like what Cane Caldo said about your frame being underdeveloped. That expressed better what I mean when I say that your tone seems to be that of someone who is switching the dynamic…its like you are expecting her to Man Up! That probably isn’t going to happen, and if it did it wouldn’t increase her desire for *you*. She could learn how to masturbate on you..which is what I think most contemporary sex advice towards women is aimed at. I’m almost positive that most the sex-advice I read is trying to tell women how to self-pleasure on their husband, so he is fooled into thinking she actually likes him. That isn’t really what you want, though at the moment it might seem better than nothing…. Increasing her sex-drive without changing her desire for you is going to make her more liable to cheat. It is one thing to be unattracted to your spouse, it is another to unattracted to your spouse and horny. That is why I think it is important not to make the Bad Guy her sex drive. First of all- she may seriously believe it is something she can’t fix. Secondly- a high sex-drive wouldn’t necessarily fix your relationship dynamic. You can have a low libido but still enjoy your husbands enjoyment of you. The main problem is she has allowed the seeds of contempt to grow, and the seeds of love to die. If that had not happened then even a low libido wouldn’t ruin the relationship. So, we didn’t really talk, which is why I put it “talk” in quotations. I simply told her that I was dissatisfied with our sex life, then let her go from there. I really don’t think I came across as a complainer or whiny or anything like that. I think I posted earlier that I’ve done the “action” thing when in bed. Meaning, I’ve tried to suggest things, move her into positions, romance her those ways. That is part of the problem. She recoils from such efforts and will say, “This is weird…I don’t want to do that,” and things like that. Plainly put, she won’t follow my lead. I didn’t attack her sex drive. She brought that up, not me. This less than 24 hours, but I don’t expect her to initiate any sort of physical contact in the near future. As it is right now she’s not even speaking to me unless she absolutely has to. So, we didn’t really talk, which is why I put it “talk” in quotations. I simply told her that I was dissatisfied with our sex life, then let her go from there. I really don’t think I came across as a complainer or whiny or anything like that. “You’re doing it wrong.” is a complaint. So is, “You did this wrong.” “Let’s do this.” is leading, as is, “I’m not doing that anymore.” Does that make sense? I think I posted earlier that I’ve done the “action” thing when in bed. Meaning, I’ve tried to suggest things, move her into positions, romance her those ways. That is part of the problem. She recoils from such efforts and will say, “This is weird…I don’t want to do that,” and things like that. Plainly put, she won’t follow my lead. You’re trying to ride a horse that won’t accept the saddle. Something has gone terribly wrong, and your wife shouldn’t be bucking the saddle…but she is. My suggestion is too start much smaller–like going on walks. Accept your position as the leader who anticipates the needs of those in his charge. Needs, not desires. Needs includes fulfilling wants, but it’s not all of it. Spend time thinking about this. Spend more time thinking about what God wants of you. This will help cast the right frame of mind. I think some women just are not psychologically equipped to deal with a lot of stress outside the home. Is her income necessary? Anyway she can quit and find another job? Or be a SAHM? Don’t have to answer here, just some things to think about. So, now I’m feeling nervous, hesitant and a little freaked out that things are going to continue on downward spiral because I tried to bring forth a problem in our marriage that I am having and it was met with extreme defensiveness and anger. In fact, that is more troubling now to me than the actual problem itself; that I can’t bring up a problem to my wife without her becoming angry, defensive and throwing out the “D” word to me. This is not the sign of a healthy marriage, is it? I’m not trying to make her or her sex drive the “bad guy,” but mostly I want her to acknowledge that we have a problem to work on. She won’t do that. I believe she continues to see this as my problem because I don’t accept her as is, when it’s actually not that I don’t accept her, but I don’t accept that our sex life is dead. Ironically, the fact that I love her as much as I do is why I’m pursuing this issue and want to work with her on it. I just can’t be the only one doing the work. Does that make sense??? Maybe, as some have indicated, I could have done this better (just by leading more and talking less) or that I have now given her “performance anxiety,” and not only will the sex stop but it may never begin again because I have created even more of a self-conscious mindset in my wife. Unfortunately, me leading in the past has not worked out for me, and me saying nothing does nothing to address my needs but actually sends the message that everything is fine when it is not. I’m fine not having sex for a while at this point because I don’t want it anyway if it’s not intimate, passionate and engaging. I’m probably more nervous at this point about where all this is leading in terms of other problems for us, and the fact that my wife is barely speaking to me 2 days later. Your mindset is all wrong. Damning is an action taken by someone with the authority to condemn. She does not have that authority. The husband has authority over the wife. In the Kingdom of God this servant has authority over that servant, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! She can kick and bite and refuse and scream divorce as much as she wants, and yet she is a helpmeet under authority as we all are servants under authority. The Master will return, and there will be a reckoning. Be of good cheer! When Jesus is on the cross, He does not take issue with the crowd (society), the Romans who are crucifying him (the courts), or even the Jews who lied and betrayed him (the wife who played harlot because the Messiah wasn’t “man enough” for them. He cries to God: “Why have you forsaken me?” He does for many reasons (not the least of which is to fulfill prophecy) but because He knows all things are in God’s hands, and the Father wants us to come to Him…just as you want your wife to come to you. Are you doing this? You have the luxury of not being nailed to a physical cross, yet there is little in your replies of your conversations with God about this. No, He is not going to reply audibly any more than He did to His own Son on the cross. You are not to “try to have sex with your wife”. You are to desire to reflect and manifest the love of Christ for the world (though the world knew Him not) that God has consecrated solely for husbands and wives no less than He has consecrated priests and prophets to their callings. In this, you and your wife are not so dissimilar. You want her to fulfill you first, just as she wants you to fulfill her first. With that in mind: If you bid her to come to bed with you, and her response is pitiful at first: do not be surprised because she is reflecting your own sin; your pitiful attempts to fulfill the merely physical and ignoring the glory of the spiritual. “Do not muzzle the ox while he is treading out the grain”. This command appears three times in scripture, and it’s about not stopping the laborer from enjoying the fruits of his labor. Let the animal enjoy itself as it WALKS over the harvest to produce SEED. You are to be about doing the work. Furthermore: You have not done any of the things I recommended–which I did in the spirit of a man walking in understanding with his wife (1 Peter 3), and with the intent of washing your wife with the Word (Ephesians 5)–but you have done what I said NOT to do. Now you are feeling hopeless, having done nothing with what was given to you in love. Here, you are the bad servant. Do not speak of divorce. Do not speak of her wrongs because she is trapped in sin, but forebear them. Do not speak unless you have something to offer her. Do walk. Do bid her walk with you. There are recurring themes within scripture; particularly as regards relationships: bread, wine, blood, trees, sheep, harvesting, threshing floors, seed and not the least among them is WALKING. In a situation I was in, there was sexual abuse predating the marriage by many years, which led to the “get it over with” and “immediate trip to the bathroom to wash up” attitude. I wonder if some questioning would lead to something similar for Tacomaster. I’ve reread this post three times since SSM linked to it the other day. Thank you for all the time and energy you spent writing it. You really have a lot of wisdom man. I have so much to digest and have really been spending time in prayer and in the Word seeking to discover what God wants my next step to be. This is much better than “just get it” and “just figure it out for yourself”. It acknowledges that most men simply cannot do that, or have forgotten how to do that; and have to spend some time unlearning the unproductive practices learned over time. I am just coming to this blog. This post was linked to a comment by J in a post on to “To love, honor, etc.” I have not read widely in this blog yet, but my impression is that you, Cane, are trying to work out an understanding of “game” that is not really the Game that the secular bloggers are working from. Have you developed this in a systematic format? If so, where could I access it? It would seem that this post (and the thread) are pretty central to your project. It seems you have a fair number of differences with “Dalrock,” (I have read a little bit over there). I have also gone over to Zippy Catholic, whose views have a lot in common with my own, since I am Catholic. Still, I am supposing that both of you are trying to describe something Manosphere-ish, even if you have grave misgivings about the scientism/materialism of that approach. (I cannot even begin to unravel the mysteries of the Manosphere. There is so much of it. And all blogs have a “preaching to the choir” kind of character. Manosphere, especially. A lot of cheering and very little cross-examination for the purposes of securing the truth.) I apologize for my sort of analytical bent here–it is an occupational disease from my working life. My real interests are far more personal than analytic, but I am more than wary of bad advice, bad worldviews, and the internet in general. By and large, I like your theology–probably a great deal more than Dalrock’s. You have a sense of natural law and the proper use of language that is very important. In any case, I would like to start a conversation with you about your perspective. I should say that I like this post, though I don’t guess anyone could really be happy about the advice, which reflects a very bad situation for Tacomaster. Still, from what I have read in the thread, the way ahead for him has to be of a radical character. Well , enough for now. I hope you have occasion to respond. It is Good Friday as I write this. A blessed Holy week to you. Should I dare tread the dangerous ground that would be deigning speak for Cane? Yea, why not. He’ll fix it if its wrong. rbthomas, I am pretty sure Cane is not trying to work towards an understanding of Game in the sense that you seem to be asking when you inquire about a systematic format. If I want to be simplistic I’d wager he would refer you to 66 books in particular if you were seeking a systematic dissertation on anything, game included. Cane doesn’t want to develop yet another iteration of game…..gosh I hope not anyway. That’s part of the core problem with game, it is an incentive to wade in with esoteric nonsense that sets the writer permanently above the reader in that the writer gets it, the reader can never get it. It may mean one need ask Cane for clarification from time to time, but certainly he is not needlessly cryptic like game definers are with their “you don’t get it because you don’t get it” mantra. I allow that it may be just a corruption of the word game that prevents a true Christian rework, but nevertheless, I do not believe it is reworkable as such. Christian game and secular game share one thing. They are both game. Innate is some necessary “gilded cage” allowance. That makes it never a good thing regardless how many ways the various tools are heralded as efficacious. Empath is largely correct in his description of my view, but I will try to tack some ideas that may illuminate my position. I have not read widely in this blog yet, but my impression is that you, Cane, are trying to work out an understanding of “game” that is not really the Game that the secular bloggers are working from. Have you developed this in a systematic format? Game as it is written about, is mostly nothing. What is not nothing, is aimed at pulling psychological tricks on yourself to get women to follow your unchaste lead, i.e. to be slutty with you. If you can sort out that chain of thought and it’s implications, then you have sorted out Game. The desire to find a systematic approach to human relations is the primary malfunction of those who look to Game. Humans are predictable, and their behavioral problems are endemic. We also know that they are in some way systemic because they are related to the Fall. If you can figure out what all changed with the Fall (physically, spiritually, emotionally, environmentally, etc.) then you might be able to begin to approach a system of behavior. Obviously, we can’t do that. Ironically, our fallen natures preclude it. However, we can certainly learn an individuals behavior enough to interact with them in a meaningful and profitable way. Most men that come looking for the kind of help they think they need to be “better” with women are simply nerds, and they simple need to stop being nerds. Being a nerd is nothing more than not doing the things the masses think are cool, and doing the things that the masses think are not cool. The nerd can stop being a nerd anytime he like; even though there is no pattern to what is and is not cool (which frustrates the natural nerd), but he still knows what cool is. It’s the thing everyone else is doing that makes no sense. If he wants to be cool–and therefore have some Game–then he needs to do those things that make no sense but yet everyone is doing anyway, and he needs to stop doing those things that only the uncool kids are doing. Mind you: I’m not suggesting anyone do anything. I’m just laying out that the basic problem of those who want to get “better” with women is to an introspective and nerdy arrogance. Why is fantasy football cool and DnD uncool? Because it is. There’s nothing to cool but popularity. Empath noted that if there were a system to life it would be the Bible (66 books), and he’s on the right track. Except let’s note that the Bible is not an instruction manual, though it has a lot of them. It’s not just a history book, even though it’s full of history. It’s not just a theology book, even though it is obviously theological in nature. It’s not just… There’s a lesson there, and it’s that humans don’t need a system to understand the things that are really important. And if you give them a system, they’ll use it to destroy themselves and others. Yes, that seems true. The scenario seems to be that *after* TM gets his wife away from rebellion, she needs to increase her desire. (She is “open,” luckily). So, how? I guess I am just interested in the sources a woman would access to make that happen for herself. You’ve got a bunch of stuff here, so I’m just going to reply in order. What do you think about today’s modality of marriage counseling? Well, the loud counselors–the ones we hear–are not only loud, but usually lousy. There really is a massive bias out there that girls are nigh angelic, and boys are near beasts. This presents a two-fold problem: 1) Who is going to blame the angel when beasts are so nearby? 2) How do you correct an angel? It’s easy with beasts; “Bad dog!” and a whipping do the trick. The angels must be gently lead to their own angelic conclusions with soothing tones and encouragements. If they don’t reach them, that must be because God has something really special in-store for this angel! That is what I’ve seen, read, and heard. Oh, J is the woman who writes the blog, “Hot, Holy, and Humorous.” […] I think J and Sheila Gregoire are friends. I have to say I am a bit surprised; if pleasantly. “What she needs to show is a real willingness to increase her desire…even if she hasn’t figured out how, if she at least wants it then that means she is open to transformation.” How is this done, exactly. I would be interested in how she did it. (If she is still around to ask.) Gabby has retired from this field, but each individual can only change their own mind. A husband (in the case under discussion) can help by giving opportunity. This is extraordinarily hard on a man’s ego. Someone in the position of being sexually denied is going to be compelled to despair and bitterness; not only because he’s just a mortal, but because he’s being wronged! As far as how she does that–how she finds the desire to simply desire sex–that’s just a decision. There’s no system to it, and she won’t actually find “this one weird trick” that will make her want to be turned on for her husband. If she makes the decision, pretty much any advice can help after that; like a placebo. It’s more about her letting go of whatever she is holding against her husband and herself. Generally though: Blood-flow is always good, therefore some exercise is good. It’s also a chance to talk and touch. People around these parts hate to hear that old chestnut that “women are like slow-cookers”, but it touches on a truth. It would be more accurate to say wives are like a husband’s pot roast. Women, in general, are not necessarily slow to heat up, but wives who have gone cold, thick, and tough aren’t going to get cooked fast. I have a huge problem. I am not attracted to my husband at all. I married him because he was really nice and funny. The problem is that he’s unmanly. Example: me: “I feel so much safer when you’re here at night. Little sounds don’t bother me.” Him: “Well, I could use myself as a human shield”. He is also afraid to climb a ladder and paint our high entry way. I’m afraid too, but I’m able to push through and do it. I’m confident in my ability to successfully not fall. It frustrates and repulsed me that I’m braver than him. I have no hope for my marriage. I need a man, but he is barely one. How do people treat their spouses with selfless love and respect reguardless of their lack accompanying emotions? I am loyal, and want to be the best wife possible. I have tried everything, and it is acceptance time. Are there groups for spouses commuted to honoring their vows no matter what? Should I save up money and see a Christian therapist (I have a hard time believing they wouldn’t suggest divorce). If I read lots of stories about men who have affairs and squander money I feel better about him. I just have to make sure I’m constantly comparing him to the lowest denominator men. It is exhausting. There has to be a better way. The bottom line: Women have always had the ability to outmaneuver men. If you follow these directions, you’ll be manipulating your husband into becoming a better man — you’ll be using your feminine wiles for a good purpose, in other words. Try it out! You should also ask an old married lady about this, if you have such a source (your grandmother, perhaps?) Old folks who have a track record of good relationships often dispense wise advice. It’s a safe bet that such a woman knows how to get her husband to do something, without nagging or fighting, in a way that makes her husband feel more manly, and increases her attraction to him at the same time. Don’t forget that you’re actually very lucky to have a husband. That in itself suggests you’re smarter than most of the local chicks I see, who seem totally clueless, and are in and out of countless, repetitive, four-month “relationships” with the “love of [her] life” — only to find, time and time again, that their “perfect man” was an asshole… over, and over, and over, hehe. He’s not Brad Pitt or George Clooney, but it sounds like he is also not a drunken crackhead with a violent streak. Start working on him, and you’ll both end up in a great place. This is my first posting on a blog. I can’t resist the temptation to chat with you. To me it sounds like you are talking yourself into either cheating on your husband or leaving him or both. You need to grow up and live your live in a meaningful manner by not screwing over your family. Your vomiting your feelings on the blogs is more than disrespectful; it is appalling. Migratedinsanity: This is a Christian blog. It seems pretty catholic, at that. This is the last blog that would condone cheating or divorce. I meant what I said. And if your reference to “blogs” implies that I’ve commented elsewhere you are mistaken. Also, what else do you suggest I do? Condfide in a friend? The pastor? It’s not exactly something you can tell anyone you know. Maybe guys shouldn’t mention their wives have gained weight either. Such is life. I actually have commented on a couple of other marriage blogs. I had forgotten. There is no information on this subject anywhere. At least not on how to be a good wife in spite of te feelings. If you do an Internet search of “I’m not attracted to my husband” you find tons of threads of women who feel this way. They say things like “His touch makes my skin crawl”. Everyone becomes angry that the poster feels like that or other women agree and say they have the same issue. There are no constructive solutions offered. Just because a problem makes people feel uncomfortable doesnt mean it should be ignored. My name is migratedsanity; not migratedinsanity. Perhaps as I continue to have further communication with my exwife I will devolve my name to migratedinsanity. The experiences of life are directly linked to this migratory llama. (a little lingual diversity for the folks) I believe this is a Catholic blog as well; but it is a Christian Catholic blog. I can explain that if there are any takers. I did not deduce that you blogged elsewhere. I said this is MY first blog entry. You and I are separate, distinctive beings. I am glad to hear that you do not plan to totally hurt your husband, family and self by leaving your reservation. I’m quite reserved myself in some ways. No, don’t confide in a pastor. You are wise to know that. I suggest that you confide in your husband. The outcome might be surprisingly fruitful, after a bit of difficulty; but then again it might be fruitless. I never mentioned to anybody when my wife of the time was gaining body fat. It was readily apparent. Nice to meet you and chat with you. I’ve got plenty of time to chat further if the blog owner is willing to accommodate. I have a slew of posts on my blog about how to be a good wife in spite of feelings. Since you chose this bog particularly because it’s a Christian blog, I assume you are Christian so my posts could help you. If you are not committed to living Christian truth despite how you feel, my blog isn’t for you. But it is full of practical advice for loving your husband well, which more often than not has absolutely NOTHING to do with how we feel. I won’t put them all here as links because the blog owner seems pretty busy at present and who knows when I’ll gt fished out of moderation. But you can start here: Those might be helpful to you, as I have found that rehearsing your own fabulousness while juxtaposing it against what you perceive as your husband’s faults are not the path toward a more fulfilling marriage. My credentials are very few. Just a Christian wife and mother of 20 years who probably doesn’t know half as much as I think I know, but I have learned a little along the way. “To me it sounds like you are talking yourself into either cheating on your husband or leaving him or both. You need to grow up and live your live in a meaningful manner by not screwing over your family. Your vomiting your feelings on the blogs is more than disrespectful; it is appalling.” At least Becca realizes what she’s doing and seems to want help. Some of us would be glad if our wives would make that much of an effort. You won’t go wrong by following the advice from Boxer and Elspeth. In my opinion, if you weren’t attracted to your husband you probably won’t ever be. That said, now that you’re married there’s not much that can be done about your lack of attraction. The most that can be done at this point is your obedience to your vows. If I may ask: Why did you marry your husband if he was “nice” and “funny”? Did you believe that this was sufficient for a marriage? If so, what led you to believe that? You say your husband is “unmanly” and you list a couple of examples like remarks to you about “human shields” and he’s not brave enough to get on a ladder. Did you know of his “unmanliness” before you married? If so, why did you marry him? If not, why did you not discover it? I have always chosen weak men. I have a hypothesis as to why. My dad beat the crap out of my mother and me when I was a small child. Even after he was court ordered not to contact us, we feared for our lives. To top it off, my mother frequently bad mouthed men and read me news reports about rape, exc. my grandfather and step dad were fantastic, but I thought they were the exception. I once had a boyfriend throw me in front of an actor at a haunted house and run! I dated him for a year after that. Nice and safe were my top priorities in choosing a mate. I was ignorant. I just didn’t realize that most men aren’t that bad and how much I would one day desperately need a man. And no, I’m not trying to justify cheating or divorce. Who comes to a catholic forum for support for that? You’re carefree in your commentary here, but you don’t mention where you’ve talked with your husband about your concerns. You’re a wife, so you’re commanded to be submissive and that should come through even when you are bringing his challenges up for discussion. Being submissive is not about being passive, or ignoring him, but about placing yourself under him. For an example: You shouldn’t have painted the entry way. Let that spot go unpainted until he can’t stand it. The trick for you as a woman in that situation is that it’s going to bug the crap out of you to let that entry way go unpainted. What you have to do is tell that part of yourself to shut up. He doesn’t have a problem of treating you like a doormat by not painting the ceiling. He has a problem with fear, or possibly money for safety equipment. Either way, he’s not up to a task a man ought to be able to manage one way or another. Your job as a wife is to recognize that, build him up, tamp down your inner criticism, and let him handle it. He has to confront his fears, and that’s a bigger problem than the color of your ceiling. You painting it shows that your priorities are out of whack. Happens to all of us. What you can say is something like, “What is your plan for the ceiling? We’ve talked about it, and I thought you had decided on doing X. Is there anything you need me to do to make that happen?” You’re bringing the problem to his attention–taking the burden off your shoulders–yet allowing him to be the man in the situation. Men struggle with passivity and indecision, but women struggle with control. They feel like if they don’t take control then no one will. The paradox for a wife is that the more control she gives her husband, the more she gains. Not the control he takes, but that she gives willingly and freely. A husband who is confident his wife will stand behind him is more likely to go forth in confidence, and therefore you will go forth in his confidence. This runs counter to our feelings, but not only does the Bible teach us this: Experience also bears it out. If I read lots of stories about men who have affairs and squander money I feel better about him. I just have to make sure I’m constantly comparing him to the lowest denominator men. It is exhausting. There has to be a better way. There is, and it’s to focus on what he’s good at; which you mention he is a good father (which I assume includes provider. If you can paint your ceilings you’re in your own house and he can’t be doing that bad.) and a pleasant fellow in general; funny, and kind. Your confession that the way you deal with your frustration with his short-comings says more about you than him. You have at least of a bit of a drama queen in you; as a lot of women do. Gossip, heartache, and tragedy are things you find not only appealing, but you find solace in them. This is very common with women as you were made to be more emotionally exuberant creatures…but you’re fallen like the rest of us and in a lot of women that comes out as a search for misery in others. Feeding that misery pet is doing you no good, and only makes it hungrier. As you’re discovering, it doesn’t actually satisfy you, and in fact the negative feelings you have towards your husband do not abate, but are getting stronger. That’s you. When you seek out misery you’re bringing that misery into yourself, into your marriage, and directing it towards your husband. It doesn’t matter that you’re looking at a cheater, and then saying “At least my husband isn’t a cheater.” It’s feeding the sin nature in you, and that will only destroy your confidence in your husband, your marriage, and ultimately your faith in God. Be happy both that (in the big manifest ways; no adultery, etc.) you are honoring your vows and that your husband is honoring his vows. It’s not pride to reflect that you are blessed and that you have been used by God to bless your husband. You two have more blessings to give each other if you just remain strong, and keep your eyes on the prize. Taking all of this together, the picture I’ve tried to paint is one where you are both struggling to shed yourselves of your weaknesses; side-by-side. He with fear, and you with control. (Take some reassurance that most marriages are like this from time-to-time; sometimes for years, and even if the parties do not say so.) Forgive him his fear and rein in your desire to take over. Encourage him that whatever he decides to do about such small things as paint, or imaginary break-ins will be ok with you because you love him, and above all because you have faith that God knows what He is doing with the two of you. Gossip, heartache, and tragedy are things you find not only appealing, but you find solace in them. Is that a reference to the fact that I discussed this on the web? I need anonymity. I can’t just go around bad mouthing my husband to anyone who knows who he is. Yes, I’ve told him these things. He doesn’t take them seriously. He thinks it’s all me. I just don’t have time to be the wife and the husband. He doesn’t see that. He thinks that its perfectly acceptable to have things around the house broken for years, or a tree growing 2″away from our fireplace vent (1full year). I can fake respect. Faking admiration is harder. Faking sexual attraction is almost impossible. It’s so hard. I know he can tell. Honestly, a list of things to do in bed to hide lack of attraction would be nice. Not on here, but maybe someone can create a list of tips somewhere. There seems to be a need for it. We have been together for 12 years. He does several things a week that repel me. He allows the children to hit him and yell at him. They’d never hit me, and when they hit him I eventually discipline them. As they get older and further trained this behavior stops. He says that it isn’t age appropriate to correct a toddler who hits and yells at a parent. We had this conversation yesterday (again). I really think its coping time. Men used to not expect porn star sex from their wives. That’s where I’m struggling. Not only do I have to do it, I have to act like I love it. Gossip, heartache, and tragedy are things you find not only appealing, but you find solace in them. Is that a reference to the fact that I discussed this on the web? I need anonymity. I can’t just go around bad mouthing my husband to anyone who knows who he is. No, it’s a reference to this statement: If I read lots of stories about men who have affairs and squander money I feel better about him. I just have to make sure I’m constantly comparing him to the lowest denominator men. It is exhausting. There has to be a better way. Yes, I’ve told him these things. He doesn’t take them seriously. He thinks it’s all me. Try telling him in the way I said above. If you experience feelings of foolishness, that’s your pride talking to you. It’s not foolish. I just don’t have time to be the wife and the husband. He doesn’t see that. He thinks that its perfectly acceptable to have things around the house broken for years, or a tree growing 2″away from our fireplace vent (1full year). This is your sin nature talking, and it’s a lie concealed as the truth. There is no expectation that you be the husband except that you have taken it onto yourself. Therefore cut it out; for both your sakes! If you really believe the ceiling, tree, and broken things around the house are his business, then leave them to him. How serious are these problems? Are they serious enough where you actually got down on your knees and begged him to take care of them? Leaving those things to him drives you crazy, right? And you don’t feel like you should have to “humiliate” yourself by begging, right? That’s because the problem you have is that you are arrogant and a control freak. Try not to get angry, and listen to what I’m saying: The effect of sin on women to turn them into arrogant control freaks is absolutely normal. That’s where Satan attacks women most frequently so that he can sow discord into marriage; into what God has joined together. The one real physical symbol of submission is the one most put aside. What you need to be working on is praying for God to humble you; understanding why you’re prideful; and how to be forgiving of a fellow Christian’s weaknesses as you would any other. I can fake respect. Faking admiration is harder. Faking sexual attraction is almost impossible. It’s so hard. I know he can tell. Honestly, a list of things to do in bed to hide lack of attraction would be nice. Not on here, but maybe someone can create a list of tips somewhere. There seems to be a need for it. […] We have been together for 12 years. He does several things a week that repel me. […] I really think its coping time. Men used to not expect porn star sex from their wives. That’s where I’m struggling. Not only do I have to do it, I have to act like I love it. Here I have more straight-up sympathy for you. Bottom-line: if you make yourself available to have sex when he wants to have sex, then I think you’re doing well; all thing’s considered. Keep it up! (rimshot!) Be honest about it: Make sex about his pleasure if he is the initiator and you’re not feeling into it. Sex is like church: You don’t always feel like going there, but it’s good for you no matter what, and anyways it’s not just about you. If he complains that you’re not “into it” enough, then tell him, “I’m here for you. Have your way with me.”, and if he still says that you’re not enthusiastic enough, then LATER (not during sex!) you can have a discussion about what would turn you on…like doing those manly things. Do NOT say, “I have a hard time being attracted to you because you fear painting the ceiling and you won’t trim the branches near the fireplace.” DO say, “You know what? It’s hot when I see you up there all taking care of our business.” If you are so bold (which would be awesome): Just be sure that your mouth is writing checks that your butt is able to cash; as my dad says. @Minimus How does one encourage the submissiveness and helpmeet character of a wife? Read the original post above to Tacomaster. There’s another one on here called “Welcome Aboard John”, and one called “Do Not Monkey Around with Despair”. I think those all touch on this. The “stories” I read about tragedy are on the peaceful wife blog and the respect date blog. I subscribe to several blogs being a good Christian wife. I don’t read them for the “gossip”, I read them for the advice. One of the side effects is I feel more appreciative of my husband after reading about some of the other husbands women have to deal with. I do have sex with him whenever he wants. He is most demanding of multiple orgasms on my part which is the hardest thing he could possibly ask of me. We have had years of this struggle. He actually loves it when I do the work myself. It’s funny, we have a 7-year-old son treats me the way is like my husband to treat me. Carries in groceries, held me back from the street once when he thought I was going to be hit by a car. I’ve been pretty good about my end of the marriage for a couple of years now. The problem is, I know he wants real respect, admiration, and attraction and I’m at a loss. People aren’t stupid. They can tell when you’re going through the motions. He can tell I’m not legitimately interested and excited about the accomplishments he is proud of. He mentions it sometimes. But I smile really big, use an excited voice, sometimes I ask questions. I don’t know. What I’ve gathered from this thread is to just keep doing what I’m doing. Forever. Whether it blesses me or not. That was my plan, but I was hoping there was something else. I have read Fascinating Womanhood, Created To Be his Helpmeet, The Surrendered Wife, For Women Only, the part for wives in Love and Respect. I’ve really pulled out all the stops. I’ll check out the blogs linked above. Exactly. You’ve had a breakthrough. However I truly believe that it will bless you at some point. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:9 One of the things you absolutely must do is cultivate a deeper spiritual life. I can’t say that I’ve ever experienced exactly what you are describing, but I do know what it is to feel despondent about a particular area of your marriage. There is no substitute for drawing near to God. The light of Christ in you can shine so brightly that your husband can be affected by it. I know this is true. In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. 1 Peter 3: 1-2 I am currently reading Celebration of Discipline. It is a good resource for getting on the path to growing spiritually when you’re kind of weary and don’t know where to begin. Take all of the practical advice Cane is offering you here. It’s good advice, and his admonishments (though harsh) are usually quite insightful. But to really be able to get where you need to go and be the wife you need to be from here, it’s gonna take a heck of a lot more than willpower and good intentions. Your will ain’t that strong. Yes! The will power is where I fail. If youve never read “The Peaceful Wife” blog I think you would love it. He has a list of things husbands find disrespectful that is very helpful. I have been so blessed by her ministry. I’m really excited about looking into your ministry. You sound fantastic! :) That is excellent, and it is what I gathered from your previous comments. I meant to encourage you to persevere! He is most demanding of multiple orgasms on my part which is the hardest thing he could possibly ask of me. This is not so excellent, and is a result of the pornification of our culture. I’m not talking about the biological workings, but the way our desires get twisted by our knowledge of other people’s business. Talk to an older woman that you respect because she lives out the Biblical ideals. The problem is, I know he wants real respect, admiration, and attraction and I’m at a loss. People aren’t stupid. They can tell when you’re going through the motions. He can tell I’m not legitimately interested and excited about the accomplishments he is proud of. He mentions it sometimes. These things happen; even in the Caldo household. It seems like the solution is to fix what is wrong. In this case for you to find a way to be excited, etc. But I think your side of the solution is actually to forgive him for his unnecessary demands, and to seek his forgiveness for not being as excited as you want to be. To some people, this sounds very prudish, and super-phony spiritual, but I find it freeing and very real and physical. Sometimes when Mrs. Caldo and I fight (she’s an instigator, and I’m belligerent) that’s literally where the argument ends up. I’ll say something like: Well, we’re in a real pickle here. You’re a shrew and I’m a jerk. Her: Pfft! Whatever. Me: There’s not a lot of hope for change in our situation, you know… Her: Disdained silence. Me: In the meantime, since we’re stuck with each other…wanna shag?” Her: You’re unbelievable. Me: Why are you still dressed? I don’t see why you can’t reverse that. Intimacy and sex isn’t just about orgasms (as you know), but about enjoying each other. If you are having difficulty enjoying the purely physical aspect of sex, then make it enjoyable and fun in other ways; good humor goes a long way towards showing the other that we enjoy and appreciate them. What I would caution you against is focusing on Emotional Content over enjoyment. Many of the female marriage and sex blogs I’ve read put way too much emphasis on how to make yourself “feel closeness”; or the opposite: How to make yourself perform even without “feeling close”. I eschew that. Sexual pleasure is about en-joy-ment. You bring the joy into the act. This is confusing because we think sex itself should be the source of joy, but it’s really our spirits. Many of the female marriage and sex blogs I’ve read put way too much emphasis on how to make yourself “feel closeness”; or the opposite: How to make yourself perform even without “feeling close”. I eschew that. Sexual pleasure is about en-joy-ment. You bring the joy into the act. This is confusing because we think sex itself should be the source of joy, but it’s really our spirits. I don’t disagree with this, Mr. Caldo. My question to you is this: How does one bring joy to the act when they are not joyful about engaging the act in the first place? Where does this joy come from? I’m well on the record with my disdain for trying to gin up feelings to make one *able* to do what she needs to do in marriage. But I also think that the joy you refer to needs to be cultivated. it doesn’t appear out of thin air, particularly when a woman lacks any admiration, respect, and sexual desire for her husband at all. Great point. I’ve tried to focus on what a great provider and loving dad he is. It’s not really hot, but it helps. Fantasizing about other people works, but it is a sin! It’s so tempting when he wants multiples. It works fast, but then, of course, I feel guilty. God is good, and I feel ashamed to willingly sin (except with traffic laws). This post is truly outstanding. Thank you. I’ve put into practice about half of it in my failing marriage, and will work on the other portions starting tomorrow. It’s not that I didn’t know what to do, but you laid it out clearly. I want to honor Christ and serve him in my marriage. Thanks so much – Prov Erbs Cane, I am very interested in your take on my situation. Please email me when you are free. I can give you access to my blog, I’ve taken it offline, if you are interested. For the last 24 hours I’ve been doing exactly what you’ve told TM to do: not ask for sex, not be angry, just act like a roommate, etc. She hasn’t been frigid, but more neutral. I’m over 40 but I feel like such a kid when reading your blog and Dalrock’s. I have so much to learn. Thanks, I look forward to your thoughts via email. – Prov Ive been praying for her and not asking for sex. Today I grabbed her ass and she said stop touching my butt! I smirked and left. Now she hasnt done anything to touch me or move towards me. If I dont touch her itll go a long time without her touching me though now she lets me touch her non sexually while she stays like a statue. Better than before but not like we used to be. Im sleeping in my own bed shes in the guest room her choice. Do I stop touching her until she touched me? She knows I want her sexually but shes treating it like a weapon. Any next steps for me? The fact that it is better than before is good, but these are new days. It is never going to be like it used to be. You’re going to have to go through an escalation process to get to a new and better relationship, and you’re going to need wisdom, confidence, perseverance, forgiveness, peace and joy to do it. Today I grabbed her ass and she said stop touching my butt! I smirked and left. Perfect! Keep it up. Let’s use this as an example of applying wisdom, confidence, perseverance, forgiveness, peace, and joy. Confidence: You’re married. Take courage in that. You have the right to touch her body. Her body is your body. Your body is her body. You’re not doing anything wrong. At this point, you’re not even expecting anything of her, really. You are one flesh with her, and you are not hurting her. Her pride may be hurt, but that is sin nature; which is a cancer. It’s not actually her. Perseverance: Recognize that while it is true you are married, some part of her (your body) is disordered, and when you try to move your “arm” (her) one way, it spasms another. It has to be retrained. You’re going to have to keep up the regime even when your feelings are hurt; just as it hurts to do physical therapy, or strength improvement training. Keep your eye on the prize, and don’t pay too undue attention to your “muscles” (her) telling you to stop, or complaints against serving her healthy food. Forgiveness: She really is disordered. Her protests against wholesome acts (such as “Stop touching my butt!”) should not be internalized by you. There are only two choices when she does something which she should not do: You can either forgive her, or you can keep a record of her wrongs. The former allows you to do what is right and continue in your training. The latter will give you a detailed spreadsheet that will form into bitterness and despair. You’ll need to forgive to escalate into (as I suggest in the post above) I kept Wisdom, peace, and joy for last because they must pervade throughout all these. Is it her pride that is hurt, or are you actually harming her in some way? Is is your pride that is hurt? Is it time to escalate? Are you really serving her healthy food? Are you secretly keeping a record of despair; even from yourself? What other things can you do together (such as take walks, which could become a time to hold hands)? What is the joyful response to her complaints? Praying specifically for her and her needs will help you sort this out, as will reading the Bible. (“You shall love your neighbor as yourself”, and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”). Related: Be sure that nothing you are doing is counter-productive to your goals. Don’t, for example, go out of the country for six weeks. (That struck me as really foolish. It would have been better to be fired.) Don’t move out. Don’t live separately. Don’t leave the master bedroom. Don’t take up with other women; whether real or virtual (not that you have). Don’t respond to her foolishness with bitterness. None of those things would excuse her rejection of you, but they are still counter-productive. The most difficult has been forgiveness. I realize now that I want to keep no record of wrongs but my own sins get in the way. I’ve also put my own ambitions on top of my family. Although I’ve used it as justification to provide for my family since I work hard and make a good income to provide for my family, I’ve made that my idol. My self esteem was so low b/c my focus was on sex, that I put all this time into work b/c I was respected there both by men and other women. My frame as off and as you say I’ve done many many foolish things including 6 weeks away from home for a promotion. We don’t talk much, but we’re going to church as a family and she agreed to go to mid week family worship and I’ve been going to a mens prayer breakfast weekly in addition to Sunday worship. I’ve had too many idols, including my desire for sex, for too long. It’s sobering to think that most likely things will never go back to how they were before, but I have a new opportunity now. Thank you Cane. I never thought a blog online with a stranger or strangers would encourage me to make such a deep change. I felt hurt like you said so I wasn’t escalating properly, but rather doing it out of keeping a record of wrongs and letting the bitterness fill my heart. Also, I put what should have been energy into my calling as a father and husband into my work. The fact that I felt like I was a success at work vs. at home with my wife, that drove me further into work. Although we are in a new state across the country, I have been offered a pretty significant promotion. I turned it down but they told me to think about it for a 6 months since the project won’t start for a few years. Although it’s a dream position of sorts, it would require us going back to the area where she went crazy with the CrossFit gyms. She’s working out now, but asking me permission if she can go and thanking me if I let her go a few nights a week. I’m 99.9% sure I will say no (again) to the promotion. I don’t mind downgrading our lifestyle, just I have to reorder my priorities. Will be back again to reread all this, I’ve gone through your entire blog once and will slowly go through each article again. I hope one day the Lord will give me the strength to guide others as you have guided me. All my leadership and success at work seem pretty worthless now, I’d trade all of it to work at Costco or somewhere else if I could have avoided the last year of my life. Thank you. PE Some more practical advice needed. I notice that if I touch her first she reacts or just lets me. But if I dont touch her, she wont touch me at all wont even mention sex. I feel like she doesnt ever want me to bring up sex. Yesterday was the 3rd day in a row I slapped her ass. She got pretty mad and said dont do that. Today I decided not to say anything or touch her, just do stuff I needed to do around the house. She said nothing and didnt even look at me. Should I continue just ignoring her amd not touching her? Or try to escalate more daily even if she gets angry? It seems I could make a case for both based on your advice to Tacomaster. Thank you! Whenever I walk by my wife, or she walks by me, I put my hands on her in some way; a light swat on the butt; slide my hand across the small of her back; a kiss on the cheek; run my fingers through her long hair; put a hand on her hip as I reach around her for a glass while she’s doing dishes…just making contact. Perseverance, peace, joy. It is not her behavior that earns or dissuades this, but because it is my right as her husband and I want to. I’m a man, I’m affectionate, and I can. Her attitude does not get to determine what I want, and I like to put my hands on my wife. Wisdom, courage. If she gets mad don’t respond with anger, or by saying “I’m sorry, but…” Be clear. “You are my wife and I am your husband. I like to touch you and I am supposed to touch you.” Forgiveness, peace. You don’t need more practical advice. You need to apply what I said above to your own situation: Wisdom, confidence, perseverance, forgiveness, joy, and peace. When you don’t know what to do or how to respond, then ask yourself how those would apply to the current dilemma. The practical advice I gave is only to demonstrate those traits; which is what is really important. Thoroughly depressing. (its a figurative term, I’m not literally depressed by it). The drama unfolds in countless homes across America, more, countless Christian homes across the so called Bible belt of America. Be it denial of sex, denial of respect, control and manipulation, lies and obfuscation, full on jettisoning of husbands tacitly endorsed by nearly all who are aware, so forth, and legions of folks with advice. Advice ranges from the simplistic “if you love something let it go” cliche, to game preceded by some descriptor….married…..dread….whatever, to what is described here, persevere, and virtuous long suffering which is indeed a call to Biblical obedience. In one way or another, ranging from the good way to the barely making it good way, it seems the majority of men are at least not throwing in the towel. Men cast about for anything. Counselors tell them to supplicate more, or learn how to communicate like a woman better, or, you gotta learn-her-heart, whatever that even means because that’s like telling someone to watch a casino card game and “learn” the hand that wins the pot, then you will win every pot thereafter with that knowledge. Nope. Changes every time like a random number generator. That’s not complaint, its a statement of a fact ,the statement of which is sometimes characterized as a complaint. “Its hot outside” could be an observation, or it could be railing against God’s goodness that he sends sunshine. Usually its the former. What are you blathering Empath? The utter dearth of reinforcement of relational biblical dynamics among the peers of the other party. THIS would more accurately by called a complaint. Man’s creation and purpose. Is it expressly that he be caught in an endless struggle with a spouse, or is that (that struggle) just an aspect of his weeds in the garden, his cross to bear, or is the question misguided…bearing in mind is a rhetorical or theoretical question. Does the answer even matter? In the purist sense, no, it does not. But, its a little stretch but not too much in my opinion to say then that someone somehow denied food ought not say so, ought not say anything because scripture says so. Note: This is not a comparison of food and sex. Its not limited to sex, its about the entire morass that is American Christian marriage. Is there an injustice? May we advocate on behalf of others who suffer it? Or, because we are men and to do that would be akin to complaining because we have some skin in the game, can we not thus advocate.

Blink 182 have announced a deluxe edition of their latest album ‘California’, featuring new track ‘Parking Lot’. Check it out below. Due for release on 19 May, the new version of their acclaimed 2016 album ‘California‘ will come with 11 new tracks along with an acoustic version of the single ‘Bored To Death’, as well as the original album. “We just felt like making more music so we jumped back in the studio,” said drummer Travis Barker. “It started out as three or four songs but we ended up with 12 that we were all excited about.” The first of the new songs to be unveiled is ‘Parking Lot’ – an old-school Blink blast of pogo-friendly pop punk in which they nostalgically look back on time spent hanging out, ‘listening to The Smiths and The Violent Femmes’. https://play.spotify.com/track/503xVIOMfUp542pdZgHACb The album was their first recorded with Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba in place of former singer and guitarist Tom DeLonge – who recently spoke out about the potential of re-joining the band. “It’s not like I (permanently) walked away,” he said. “They have someone doing my job for me [new guitarist Matt Skiba]. It’s just that I’m so busy. If I wanted to, I could be back (in the band) in a period of days.” Meanwhile, Blink 182’s upcoming UK tour dates are below – with support from Frank Turner and the Front Bottoms. Tickets are on sale here. Monday 3 July CARDIFF Motorpoint Arena Tuesday 4 July NOTTINGHAM Motorpoint Arena Wednesday 5 July LEEDS First Direct Arena Friday 7 July BIRMINGHAM Barclaycard Arena Sunday 9 July NEWCASTLE Metro Radio Arena Tuesday 11 July GLASGOW The SSE Hydro Wednesday 12 July ABERDEEN GE Oil & Gas Arena Friday 14 July MANCHESTER Arena Saturday 15 July LIVERPOOL Echo Arena Monday 17 July BOURNEMOUTH Int Center Wednesday 19 July LONDON The O2 Thursday 20 July LONDON The O2 Advertisement

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[Alcohol dependence syndrome and BDIM (before-discharge intervention method)--Report 3. The patients' self-reports about BDIM]. The purpose of this study is to identify how the effects of BDIM are evaluated by patients who were practiced BDIM. 153 patients were treated by the structured BDIM (Before-Discharge Intervention Method) program. Among them, 82 patients (53.6%) have attended self-help group meetings or maintained the therapeutic relationship (as outpatients or inpatients) in the 4 months' study period. To identify the maintenance of the effects of BDIM, we made our questionaire that consist of the patients' choice of answer and the patients' self-reporting. 76 of 82 patients answered our questionaire. After 76 patients discharged from hospital, 4 1/3 years have passed on the average. Their positive answers are as follows. (1) I became aware that my drinking had bad effect on my beloved family. (2) I became aware that my family have kept compassion, expectation and appreciation for me. Their message treated me and strengthened my self-esteem. In addition, I accepted the reality of my drinking problems. (3) I recognized all my family members want my abstinence and functional communication. (4) I was extremely impressed by my family members' tears. Their tears made me decide strong abstinence. (5) I was empowered by my family members. Through BDIM, I felt a sense of security, self-esteem and freedom. (6) I thought that BDIM was a good treatment program. And I thought that the application of letters is useful to recover the patients from alcohol dependence syndrome. Their negative answers are as follows. (1) I thought it was impossible for me to be abstinent. (2) I couldn't keep the motivation of abstinence. (3) I thought BDIM was a negative treatment method. Some findings of this study are as follows: First, the letters which was handed from family members to the patient were read again and again, also preserved with much care. Therefore we get know that BDIM is useful for the patient to get and remember some good memories of the family members for a long time. Second, BDIM is helpful for the patients to become aware of their own drinking problems and realize the necessity of recovery.

Sunderland want to make a double Irish swoop to try and save themselves from relegation, by signing Norwich City's Robbie Brady and taking James McCarthy on loan from Everton. While Norwich are willing to sell Brady to whoever meets their £12m (€13.75m) valuation, Goodison Park sources say manager Ronald Koeman is now much more reluctant to let McCarthy go. The 26-year-old midfielder's future has been in doubt since the start of the season, with Irish manager Martin O'Neill saying in October he has to "fight like mad" for his first-team place, amid a public dispute with Koeman. It had been anticipated that McCarthy would move on this January, especially with Everton's £22m (€25m) signing of Morgan Schneiderlin from Manchester United, but it is understood the club now want to keep him. With Idrissa Gueye at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, and Tom Cleverley having gone on loan to Watford, the Dutch coach requires back-up in midfield and sees McCarthy as a more mobile option than 35-year-old Gareth Barry. On the other side, Celtic are so far one of the few clubs to express serious interest in the Glasgow-born midfielder beyond Sunderland, but they would not be able to come close to matching his wages. Sunderland are just the latest club to express interest in Brady, along with Burnley, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Aston Villa. Norwich manager Alex Neil made clear on Friday that he would be willing to sanction a sale so long as the club's valuation is met, meaning Brady could have his pick. David Moyes is understood to be keen to take Brady on, and feels he could be the difference-maker in Sunderland's battle for survival, but the fact they are still so far off safety makes the move that bit more unattractive. Brady must pick his club carefully, as there is a danger he could find himself in the same situation he was with Norwich City last summer, having just joined them in the Premier League only to then get relegated. Burnley, Palace and West Ham are in superior positions, and there is also more tentative interest from champions Leicester City, who monitored Brady in the summer. Aston Villa are with Norwich in the Championship, but the fact manager Steve Bruce has worked with Brady at Hull City could yet prove persuasive, not to mention the fact that the Birmingham club are willing to heavily invest to re-establish themselves as a Premier League club as quickly as possible. Sunday Indo Sport

Q: count number of (pid) variables in an array? I'm trying to count the number of ruby scripts I am running in a batch script. I can get the script to list the numbers, but how do I count them. Ideally, I would receive an alert when the number of PIDs has decreased. Thank you! @Echo off & SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion set "RUBY=" for /f "tokens=2" %%A in ('tasklist ^| findstr /i "ruby.exe" 2^>NUL') do @Set "PID=!PID!,%%A" if defined PID Echo cmd.exe has PID(s) %PID:~1% echo ${#PID[@]} pause A: If you just want to know how many instances of a program is running then use the count functionality of the FIND command. FOR /F "delims=" %%G IN ('tasklist ^|find /I /C "ruby.exe"') do set count=%%G

Perhaps the only thing that changes more rapidly than technology in today's amped-up digital environment is the terminology used to describe that technology and its impact on consumers--and marketers. One recent example is the advent of the term "omnichannel" marketing, which many struggle to differentiate from another relatively recent term--"multichannel" marketing. Still, those who are most enmeshed in the field say there is a key distinction between the two, and it's one that will have an impact on marketers as they continue to seek ways of having a meaningful impact on the consumers they hope to engage. And, importantly, it's less about technology than it may seem. Adconion Media Group Acquires Joost Assets Adconion Media Group acquired assets from privately privately-held online video service Joost. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In June, Joost announced a change in its business strategy to focus on providing white-label video platforms, and Adconion plans to pursue this strategy. The addition of Joost assets will boost the video library at Adconion, which, prior to the deal, sold 80 million video streams per day to targeted audiences across 2,000 global websites.

Q: Difference in adding of elements to linked list This is how i add elements to the head of a linked list //typedef void* VoidPtr //typedef node* NodePtr struct Node { NodePtr next VoidPtr data }; void LinkedList::Addelement(VoidPtr horoscope) { if(head == NULL) { head = new Node; head->data = horoscope; head->next = NULL; } NodePtr temp = new Node; temp -> data = horoscope; temp -> next = head; head = temp; } This is how i add elements to the tail of a linked list void LinkedList::addelementfromback(VoidPtr horoscope) { NodePtr temp=head; if(head == NULL) { head = new Node; head->data = horoscope; head->next = NULL; } while( temp->next != NULL) { temp=temp->next } NodePtr element=New Node; element->data=horoscope; element->next=NULL; temp->next=element; } i dont understand why we use temp=element for adding to the head of a linked list but for adding to the tail of a linked list we use temp->next=element. I dont understand why we cant use while temp=next for adding element to tail of linked list A: In your Addelement method, you need an else clause because if the list is empty (head == NULL), you only need to point the head to the new node. Nothing else, there are no other nodes in the list. Also, rather than using a void pointer, consider using templates. Templates are great for data structures and algorithms where the data type changes, not the structure or algorithm, such as stacks and linked lists. I suggest you consider separating the node pointers from the data item as two separate structures. This will help you use common code between single linked lists and doubly linked lists. Also a great help when you don't want to use templates. struct Node_Link { Node_Link * next; }; struct Node_Integer : public Node_Link { int data; }; struct Node_Double : public Node_Link { double data; }; struct Node_String : public Node_Link { std::string data; };

Amherst West Cemetery Amherst West Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Triangle Street in Amherst, Massachusetts. The cemetery was first laid out in 1730, when the voters of Hadley elected to establish a new burying ground in its eastern precinct. When the area was separated as Amherst in 1786, the property was taken over by the newly established town. In addition to being the burial site of many of Amherst's early settlers, it is also the burial site of members of the Dickinson family, most notably the poet Emily Dickinson. Their family plot is set off from the rest of the cemetery by a wrought iron fence. The oldest portion of the cemetery is in the southwest, where there are hundreds of older slate gravemarkers. The oldest marked site is dated 1737, although there may well be earlier unmarked burials. Over two dozen carvers have been identified as creators of the colonial-era markers. Markers placed during the Victorian era were made predominantly of limestone and brownstone, which gradually gave way to granite, especially for marking the sites of well-to-do families. A portion in the southeast of the cemetery contains mainly African American burials, with much simpler burial stones and markings than elsewhere in the cemetery. When first laid out, the cemetery was about , and was laid out very simply. As it grew during the 19th century, lanes were laid out and the property was fenced off. The present figure-eight pattern of lanes was adopted in 1854. The first main gate, the Gaylord Gates on Pleasant Street, was built in 1907, but was replaced in 1954 with the construction of the Burnham Gates on Triangle Street. The older gate is made of simple granite piers, and is normally chained. The Burnham Gates are made of ashlar stone piers, topped with molded cornices and pyramidal capstones. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampshire County, Massachusetts References Category:Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Category:Cemeteries in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Category:National Register of Historic Places in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Category:Amherst, Massachusetts

Enquiry (film) Enquiry is a 1990 Indian Malayalam film, directed by U. V. Ravindranath, starring Innocent and Ashokan in the lead roles. Songs are written by Gireesh Puthenchery and Poovachal Khader, and scored by Rajamani. this is the debut movie of Lyricist Gireesh Puthenchery Cast Innocent Ashokan Captain Raju Abhilasha Mala Aravindan Mamukkoya Sreenath Valsala Menon Jayalalitha References External links Category:1990 films Category:Indian films Category:1990s Malayalam-language films

What's Your Adventure? Directions Pier 43 ½, Fisherman’s Wharf Pier 43 ½ is located at the intersections of Taylor Street and Embarcadero in the heart of historic Fisherman’s Wharf, right behind the famous Fisherman’s Wharf Crab Wheel and next to such well-known restaurants as Alioto’s, the Franciscan, and Boudin. Weather Forecast Pier 43 ½ is the departure point for all of Red and White Fleet’s® public cruises, including the Golden GateBay Cruise®, Bridge 2 Bridge Cruise®, California Sunset Cruise® and also the California Twilight Cruise®. Seasonal tours, such as the Fourth of July Fireworks Cruise and Fleet Week Airshow Cruises depart from Pier 43 ½ as well. BY CAR The Red and White Fleet® is located on Pier 43½ on the intersection of Taylor Street and Embarcadero in the heart of Historic Fisherman’s Wharf. For driving directions, we recommend that you use Google Maps. Traffic in San Francisco can be stop and go, particularly during rush hour, baseball games, and the busy summer months. So please be sure to allow for extra time to make it to Fisherman’s Wharf, as we are unable to hold our cruise departures. PARKING VALIDATION Red and White Fleet® can offer one hour of parking validation for cars entering the Triangle Parking lot (located across the street from Pier 43 1/2 cornered by Jefferson, Taylor Street and Little Embarcadero). Validation can be offered to cars that enter the lot between 10am and before the final public cruise of the day departs. Sorry, we can’t validate if you entered the lot before 10am. No parking validation offered during Fleet Week weekend and July 4th due to traffic and street closures along Fisherman’s Wharf. To receive your parking validation, you will need to have your parking ticket stamped by our ticketing team prior to boarding our cruise vessel. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION The Bay & Taylor Street Cable Car Terminus is located within 4 blocks of Pier 43½ and the MUNI F-Line streetcar is only one block away. For specific route information, please contact the San Francisco Municipal Railway. For all transit questions, including traffic information, public transportation schedules, directions, and routes, call the Bay Area Travel Guide at 511 or visit www.511.org. Take BART to the Embarcadero Station. Go upstairs and cross the street to the Ferry Building. In front of the Ferry Building, take the MUNI F Line Street Car to Fisherman’s Wharf Pier 43 ½.This stop is right by the famous Fisherman’s Wharf Crab Wheel sign, and only one block from Pier 43 ½. Pier 43 ½ Fisherman’s Wharf is easily accessible from all points in San Francisco via public transportation. The closest MUNI stop to Pier 43 ½ is serviced by the historic F-Line street cars. This stop is right by the famous Fisherman’s Wharf Crab Wheel sign, and only one block from Pier 43 ½. Alternatively, the Bay & Taylor Street Cable Car Terminus is located within four blocks of Pier 43 ½. This is a great route for those staying at Union Square and wanting to visit Fisherman’s Wharf. Passengers destined for San Francisco connect to a Thruway Motorcoach at Emeryville. Amtrak Thruway service connects all trains to various stops in San Francisco. Amtrak Thruway Service stops at Pier 39, for those bound for Fisherman’s Wharf and the Pier 39 area. Red and White Fleet’s® Pier 43 ½ is located 5 walking minutes west of Pier 39.”

Quantum-optical coherence tomography with collinear entangled photons. Quantum-optical coherence tomography (QOCT) combines the principles of classical OCT with the correlation properties of entangled photon pairs [Phys. Rev. A 65, 053817 (2002)]. The standard QOCT configuration is based on the Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer, which uses entangled photons propagating in separate interferometer arms. This noncollinear configuration imposes practical limitations, e.g., misalignment due to drift and low signal-to-noise. Here, we introduce and implement QOCT based on collinear entangled photons. It makes use of a two-photon Michelson interferometer and offers several advantages, such as simplicity, robustness, and adaptability.

Recommendations concerning the costing and management for patients requiring domiciliary ventilation. Reinstallation back in their own homes of severely disabled people who are ventilator dependent is increasingly becoming a viable trend. Such a development calls for detailed and imaginative planning and negotiations with several agencies. More than a decade of experience in Southport has highlighted the need for early and comprehensive negotiations to ensure that these profoundly disabled people are not denied a quality of life to which they are entitled and which advances in technology has made possible.

Umsetzung der europäischen Sicherheitsstrategie im Kontext der ESVP (Aussprache) Der Präsident Als nächster Punkt folgt der Bericht von Karl von Wogau im Namen des Ausschusses für auswärtige Angelegenheiten zur Umsetzung der europäischen Sicherheitsstrategie im Kontext der ESVP. Karl von Wogau Berichterstatter. - Herr Präsident, verehrte Kollegen! Herr Präsident, zunächst möchte ich Sie darauf aufmerksam machen, dass mir der Kollege Dimitrakopoulos seine zwei Minuten Redezeit überlassen hat, sodass ich in der glücklichen Lage bin, über sieben Minuten Redezeit zu verfügen. Wir sprechen über die Sicherheitsstrategie der Europäischen Union, die am 12. September 2003 von den Staats- und Regierungschefs auf Vorschlag des hohen Beauftragten Solana beschlossen wurde. Die Grundzüge dieser Sicherheitsstrategie sind nach wie vor aktuell, aber wir müssen auch feststellen, dass sich die geopolitische Lage in dieser Zeit verändert hat, dass hier andere Schwerpunkte zu setzen sind, und deswegen fordern wir in diesem Bericht, dass der Rat dem Europäischen Parlament einmal in jeder Wahlperiode einen Bericht über die Sicherheitsstrategie der Europäischen Union vorlegt, der dann in den nationalen Parlamenten und im Europäischen Parlament diskutiert werden kann. So ist es auch in den Vereinigten Staaten. Auch dort findet in jeder Legislaturperiode einmal eine derartige zentrale Berichterstattung statt, und deswegen könnte eine derartige Einrichtung bei uns auch dazu beitragen, dass der transatlantische Dialog in diesen Fragen intensiviert wird. Wir setzen ja in der Strategie in Bezug auf die europäische Sicherheit andere Akzente, als die Vereinigten Staaten das derzeit tun. Wir setzen auf eine multipolare Weltordnung. Solana nennt das effektiven Multilateralismus. Wir setzen nicht auf Koalitionen von Willigen, sondern wir setzen auf die Charta der Vereinten Nationen und auf die internationalen Organisationen. Wenn wir mit dieser Strategie Erfolg haben wollen, müssen wir uns auch darüber im Klaren sein, dass es uns nur gelingen wird, wenn es uns auch gelingt, die Effizienz der internationalen Organisationen zu verbessern. Der Bericht enthält des Weiteren einen Vorschlag für eine neue Definition des nächsten Zieles, das wir anstreben sollen, und zwar die Sicherheits- und Verteidigungsunion. Die Sicherheits- und Verteidigungsunion, das ist auch etwas, was die Bürger der Europäischen Union wollen, denn 70 % der Bürger der Europäischen Union wollen nach Meinungsumfragen, dass die Europäische Union Zuständigkeiten für die Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik und für ihre Sicherheit erhält. Das erwarten die Bürger von der Europäischen Union. Was aber ist eine Sicherheits- und Verteidigungsunion? Dazu gehören einige Elemente wie beispielsweise der Europäische Außenminister, so wie er in dem Verfassungsentwurf vorgeschlagen ist. Wir schlagen zusätzlich einen stellvertretenden Außenminister vor, der auch für Fragen der Verteidigung zuständig sein soll. Warum? Ich bin - derzeit noch - Vorsitzender des Unterausschusses des Europäischen Parlaments für Sicherheit und Verteidigung. Aber mir fehlt ein Ansprechpartner auf der Seite der Exekutive. Das kommt auch darin zum Ausdruck, dass hier auf der Ratsbank niemand Platz genommen hat. Wir brauchen bei der Exekutive einen Ansprechpartner in diesen Fragen, die sich entwickeln. Deswegen unsere Forderung nach einem stellvertretenden Außenminister. Dazu gehört auch - das steht nicht in diesem Bericht, aber ich weiß, dass Elmar Brok darauf achtet - ein gemeinsamer diplomatischer Dienst und eine gegenseitige Beistandsverpflichtung, wie sie in dem Verfassungsentwurf vorgeschlagen ist, wie sie aber auch bereits in dem Brüsseler Vertrag enthalten ist - der Grundlage der Westeuropäischen Union. Mein persönlicher Vorschlag wäre, dass wir dieses Projekt einer Sicherheits- und Verteidigungsunion in den Mittelpunkt stellen sollten, wenn wir versuchen werden, den Verfassungsprozess wieder anzustoßen. Ich bin davon überzeugt, dass es leichter ist, die Menschen davon zu überzeugen, dass sie eine gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik wollen, als ihnen noch einmal zu erklären, was eine Verfassung ist. In der Vergangenheit waren wir immer dann erfolgreich, wenn wir zuerst gesagt haben, was wir tun wollen, und dann daraus abgeleitet haben, welche Institutionen und welche institutionellen Änderungen notwendig sind. Darum glaube ich, dass es sinnvoll wäre, dieses Projekt in den Mittelpunkt des Verfassungsprozesses zu stellen. Wir haben heute Truppen unter dem Kommando der Europäischen Union. Sie stehen in Bosnien-Herzegowina und im Kongo. Ab Anfang des Jahres 2007 werden wir in jedem Halbjahr zwei Gefechtsverbände zur Verfügung haben, auf Englisch haben sie den schönen Namen battle groups, das sind diese Gefechtsverbände, die kurzfristig zur Verfügung stehen sollen. Hier gibt es eine besondere Verantwortung der Europäischen Union und des Europäischen Parlaments, nämlich für die Soldaten, die wir dorthin schicken - in den Kongo, nach Bosnien-Herzegowina und an andere Orte -, damit sie nicht unnötigen Risiken ausgesetzt werden. Unnötige Risiken entstehen für Soldaten immer dann, wenn die Ausrüstung oder die Führungsstruktur nicht adäquat ist. Deswegen machen wir in dieser Beziehung in diesem Bericht Vorschläge zur Beseitigung der Defizite, die wir in Bezug auf Aufklärung haben - wie ich sie gerade wieder im Kongo feststellen konnte. In Bezug auf Telekommunikation und in Bezug auf Land- und Seetransporte hat die Europäische Union immer noch wesentliche Defizite. Vor allem brauchen wir aber eine wirksame demokratische Kontrolle. Zur demokratischen Kontrolle gehört aber Information und Konsultation. Hieran fehlt es oft noch. Wir werden nicht ausreichend informiert über das, was auf Ratsseite geplant wird. In der Interinstitutionellen Vereinbarung steht, dass wir konsultiert werden sollen und das findet nur außerordentlich zögerlich statt. Fragen der Sicherheit, Fragen von Krieg und Frieden sind Fragen, die man nicht den Generälen überlassen darf. Man darf sie aber auch nicht der Exekutive allein überlassen, sondern hier brauchen wir die demokratische Kontrolle durch Parlamente, die vom Volk gewählt sind, also die nationalen Parlamente und das Europäische Parlament. Margot Wallström Vizepräsidentin der Kommission. (EN) Die Kommission begrüßt diesen umfassenden Bericht, in dem hervorgehoben wird, welche Bedeutung das Europäische Parlament der Europäischen Sicherheitsstrategie sowie generell dem Bereich der Sicherheit beimisst. Wie Sie wissen, hat die Kommission in diesem Bereich nicht die Federführung inne, wir leisten allerdings einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Sicherheit in Krisenfällen. Ich stimme mit dem Berichterstatter überein, dass wir angesichts der heutigen Sicherheitslage ein umfassendes Sicherheitskonzept benötigen und dass der äußeren wie auch der inneren Sicherheit auf angemessene Weise Rechnung getragen werden muss. Wir müssen uns aller verfügbaren zivilen wie militärischen Instrumente der Mitgliedstaaten oder der Union bedienen, um unsere Zielsetzungen im Sicherheitssektor verwirklichen zu können. Und, wie aus der Kommissionsmitteilung vom vergangenen Juni mit dem Titel "Europa in der Welt" hervorgeht, müssen wir mit Hilfe eines pragmatischen und kooperativen Ansatzes für mehr Kohärenz, Effizienz und Sichtbarkeit sorgen. Ich möchte Ihnen versichern, dass die Kommission auch weiterhin mit dem Rat unter voller Achtung unserer jeweiligen institutionellen Zuständigkeiten zusammenarbeiten wird. Die jüngsten Bemühungen der Mitgliedstaaten, der Kommission und des Sekretariats des Rates, innerhalb der EU eng bei der Verwirklichung der Zielsetzungen der Europäischen Sicherheitsstrategie zusammenzuarbeiten, stimmen mich optimistisch. Ich möchte einige Beispiele nennen: die Entwicklung der Konzepte für die Reform des Sicherheitssektors, Entwaffnung, Demobilisierung und Wiedereingliederung sowie konkrete Maßnahmen in Afghanistan und in der Demokratischen Republik Kongo; die Mission zur Unterstützung des Grenzschutzes in Rafah und in der Republik Moldau und die geplante Kosovo-Mission. Die mit der Finanziellen Vorausschau 2007-2013 eingeführten neuen Instrumente werden zu einer besseren Koordinierung beitragen. Insbesondere das Stabilitätsinstrument mit seiner kurz- und langfristigen Ausrichtung wird uns dabei helfen, flexibel auf neue Aufgaben zu reagieren, und gleichzeitig Ihren Forderungen nach einer besseren parlamentarischen Überwachung im Sicherheitssektor entgegenkommen. Die Kommission hat sich für die Entwicklung politischer Strategien eingesetzt, um den wichtigsten Sicherheitsgefahren entgegenzuwirken und einen effektiven Multilateralismus voranzubringen. Neben anderen Bereichen hat sich die Kommission bei ihrer Arbeit auf die Nachbarschaftspolitik, die Wirksamkeit der Entwicklungs-, der humanitären Hilfe und des Katastrophenschutzes konzentriert. Wir haben aus unseren bisherigen Erfahrungen gelernt und werden in Kürze Vorschläge für eine gestärkte ENP vorlegen. Zudem werden im Bericht die verschiedenen Initiativen der Kommission bei der Reaktion auf Katastrophen und Krisen, u. a. auf gesundheitliche Krisensituationen, angesprochen. Im Bericht werden die Bemühungen der Kommission um die Schaffung eines europäischen Marktes für Verteidigungsgüter sowie insbesondere die geplanten Initiativen zur Rüstungsbeschaffung und zur innergemeinschaftlichen Versendung begrüßt. Wir sind dem Parlament für seine anhaltende Unterstützung in diesem sensiblen Bereich ausgesprochen dankbar. Wenn wir hier Fortschritte machen, wird dies zu einer Steigerung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der europäischen Industrie und zur Entwicklung der militärischen und zivilen Fähigkeiten im Rahmen der politischen Strategien der Gemeinschaft beitragen. Unser besonderer Dank gilt dem Parlament für seine Unterstützung bei der Sicherheitsforschung und Raumfahrtpolitik, zwei Bereichen, die bereits spezifische thematische Schwerpunkte im Siebten Rahmenprogramm bilden. Wir stimmen voll darin überein, dass Forschung ein wichtiger Faktor für die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit ist. In diesen Sektoren arbeitet die Kommission eng mit der Europäischen Verteidigungsagentur zusammen, um sicherzustellen, dass sich die Maßnahmen zum Kapazitätsaufbau und zur Stärkung der industriellen Basis in Europa ergänzen und Synergien aufweisen. Gemeinsam übernehmen die Kommission und die Europäische Verteidigungsagentur eine Schlüsselrolle, wenn es darum geht, von einem nationalen zu einem europäischen Ansatz überzugehen und eine Annäherung zwischen der Sicherheits- und der Verteidigungsindustrie zu ermöglichen. Wir werden uns dabei innerhalb der Grenzen des geltenden institutionellen Rahmens und der eindeutigen politischen Standpunkte zur zivilen und militärischen Forschung bewegen und dem zivilen Charakter des Europäischen Programms für Sicherheitsforschung umfassend Rechnung tragen. Abschließend möchte ich hervorheben, dass die Berichte des Parlaments wie auch die Zusammenkünfte des Ausschusses für auswärtige Angelegenheiten mit den entsprechenden Ausschüssen der nationalen Parlamente und die öffentlichen Anhörungen ausgesprochen willkommen sind. Bei unseren Bemühungen, die Strategien an sich verändernde Gegebenheiten anzupassen, können regelmäßige Bestandsaufnahmen hilfreich sein. Die Kommission trägt zu diesen Debatten gerne mit ausführlichen Informationen über ihre Aktivitäten im Rahmen der unionsweiten Anstrengungen bei. Elmar Brok im Namen der PPE-DE-Fraktion. - Herr Präsident, Frau Vizepräsidentin! Ich möchte mich bei Ihnen, Frau Vizepräsidentin, bedanken, dass Sie hier sind und damit dokumentieren, dass aus der Sicht der Kommission die Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik eine wichtige Frage ist. Die Abwesenheit des Rates in dieser Frage zeigt - wenn ich es positiv auslege -, dass die finnische Ratspräsidentschaft mit der Aufhebung der Säulenstruktur, auf dem Wege ist zu akzeptieren, dass auch die Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik in den Gemeinschaftsbereich übereignet worden ist. Wenn ich diese positive Auslegung nicht hätte, wäre ich jetzt sehr ärgerlich, dass sie nicht da ist. Diese Außen-, Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik wird zunehmend von großer Bedeutung, und ich möchte Karl von Wogau für diesen Bericht danken und auch für die Arbeit, die aus dem Unterausschuss Sicherheit und Verteidigung kommt und die aufzeigt, dass wir hier aufgrund der Entwicklung ein wirklich entscheidendes Feld vor uns haben. Wenn ich sehe, wie sehr uns die Energiesicherheit zu schaffen macht, wenn ich die Situation im Zusammenhang mit Iran betrachte, die Veränderungen, die nach den amerikanischen Wahlen in der Irak- und Afghanistan-Politik auf uns zukommen mögen, die Diskussion, die wir heute Nachmittag über Gaza geführt haben, wenn ich sehe, was in Darfur und in anderen Regionen los ist, wo die einen sich die Rohstoffe kaufen und die anderen für die Menschenrechte eintreten und dann große Gipfel in Peking und Schanghai abhalten, dann ist leicht zu erkennen, dass diese Frage von zunehmender Bedeutung für das Überleben Europas wird. Aus diesem Grunde müssen die notwendigen Anstrengungen erfolgen. Nur auf dem Weg, dass wir Europäer auch in unseren militärischen Fähigkeiten glaubwürdiger sind, können wir im Rahmen des transatlantischen Bündnisses durchsetzen, dass man eben nicht nur auf Militär setzt, sondern den Dreiklang Prävention - wobei dieser Vorrang zukommt -, ziviles Krisenmanagement und militärische Fähigkeiten anstrebt. Das können wir nur durch unsere starke Position innerhalb des so genannten Westens durchsetzen. Aus diesem Grunde müssen wir auch dafür Sorge tragen, dass die Verbindung zur NATO entsprechend verstärkt wird. Ich würde mich freuen, wenn es nicht diese vielen Einzelaktivitäten mit den nationalen Hauptquartieren gäbe, sondern wenn man sich politisch einigen würde, dass diese Aktionen mehr unter "Berlin-plus" laufen, weil dies mehr Gemeinsamkeit bedeutet, aber gleichzeitig auch mehr Gemeinsamkeit und Kooperation mit der NATO. Helmut Kuhne im Namen der PSE-Fraktion. - Herr Präsident! Lassen Sie mich ganz kurz aus unserer sozialdemokratischen Sicht auf das Ergebnis des Ausschusses eingehen. Für uns sind drei Punkte wichtig. Erstens: Stärkung der diplomatischen und zivilen Elemente der Sicherheitsstrategie. Zweitens: Vermeidung von Fallstricken im Sinne einer möglichen Militärdoktrin ohne Grundlage. Es gibt keine Begrifflichkeiten wie präemptiv oder Ähnliches im Text. Drittens: klare Trennung von Instrumenten und institutionellen Erfordernissen. Dies sind aus unserer Sicht wichtige Fortschritte. Diese Punkte konnten in guter Zusammenarbeit mit dem Berichterstatter vorangebracht werden. Dafür bedanke ich mich auch. Es bleiben aber aus sozialdemokratischer Sicht noch ein paar kontroverse Punkte übrig. Wir sehen die Gefahr, dass mit dem Herannahen der Weihnachtszeit die Beschaffungswunschlisten immer länger werden. Wir sollten uns auf die beschlossenen Prioritäten konzentrieren: Lufttransport, Aufklärung und Kommunikation. Wir brauchen eigentlich keine Wünsche wie Amphibienfahrzeuge, eine Mittelmeerflotte und Flugzeugträger. Das schwächt die Verfolgung der Prioritäten, die im Sinne der Strategie wirklich wichtig sind. Man muss sich auch fragen, ob die letztgenannten Beispiele nicht in einen ganz anderen Kontext gehören als die Sicherheitsstrategie. Auf der anderen Seite - obwohl wir die meisten Änderungsanträge unterstützen werden, die die diplomatischen, zivilen und abrüstungspolitischen Teile des Textes weiter präzisieren - glauben wir nicht, dass Krisenprävention unter allen denkbaren Umständen ausschließlich nicht-militärische Instrumente benutzen muss. Die Realität, die wir vor uns haben - und der Berichterstatter hat das erwähnt -, ist ja bereits heute anders. Wir haben Soldaten nach Mazedonien geschickt, um zu verhindern, dass dort ein Bürgerkrieg ausbricht, wie er in anderen Staaten Ex-Jugoslawiens ausgebrochen ist. Wir haben nicht nur zivile Instrumente, sondern auch ein Militärkontingent in den Kongo geschickt, um sicherzustellen, dass dort die Wahlen friedlich ablaufen können. Ich bin zuversichtlich, dass dieses Truppenkontingent Ende des Monats auch wieder zurückkommen kann. Zum Schluss möchte ich auf den Punkt noch einmal eingehen, den der Berichterstatter ganz am Anfang erwähnt und richtigerweise in den Vordergrund gestellt hat, nämlich die Notwendigkeit einer regelmäßigen Evaluation der Bedrohungsanalyse und der ergriffenen Maßnahmen im Rahmen der Sicherheitsstrategie. Der nächste Schritt nach der Verabschiedung des Berichts sollte sein, dass wir uns darüber unterhalten, in welcher Weise wir seitens des Parlaments diesen Prozess organisieren. Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck Herr Präsident! Eingangs möchte ich Herrn von Wogau herzlich zu seinem hervorragenden Bericht gratulieren, der einen genauen und umfassenden Überblick über die gegenwärtige Grundstimmung im Ausschuss für auswärtige Angelegenheiten und im Unterausschuss Sicherheit und Verteidigung gibt. Zudem möchte ich ihm für seine Bemühungen danken, eine möglichst weit reichende Einigung mit den anderen politischen Fraktionen zu erzielen. Dies heißt natürlich, dass meine Fraktion diesem Bericht zustimmen wird, doch möchte ich zwei konkrete Punkte hervorheben. Erstens müssen wir sowohl auf nationaler wie auf Unionsebene eine wirksame parlamentarische Kontrolle sicherstellen. Wie bereits gesagt wurde, ist die EU gegenwärtig in eine wachsende Zahl militärischer und ziviler Operationen in vielen Teilen der Welt eingebunden. Ich halte es für unumgänglich, das Parlament regelmäßig auf den neuesten Stand zu bringen, zu informieren und zu konsultieren, sobald eine neue Operation in Betracht gezogen wird. Bisher ist es bei keiner dieser Operationen zu Schwierigkeiten gekommen, doch ist keinesfalls auszuschließen, dass es eines Tages zu einem größeren Vorfall kommen wird, und dann wird die parlamentarische Überwachung sicher von vielen Seiten gefordert. Zweitens bedarf es einer weitaus eindeutigeren Festlegung der jeweiligen Rollen und Zuständigkeiten der Kommission, des Hohen Vertreters, des Rates und der Mitgliedstaaten. Es wird viel zu häufig von Fall zu Fall entschieden, wer für welche Kosten aufkommt, sodass es schwierig ist, den Überblick zu wahren. Dies trägt zu Überschneidungen, zu Unwirtschaftlichkeit und, was besonders schlimm ist, zu einem Wettbewerb beispielsweise zwischen den Sondergesandten des Rates und den Kommissionsdelegationen bei. Sowohl der Rat als auch die Kommission werden dies natürlich von sich weisen, doch einige von uns wissen es besser, auch wenn ein solcher Wettbewerb glücklicherweise nicht die Regel darstellt. Was wir schließlich vor allem benötigen, ist der politische Wille auf Seiten der Regierungen der Mitgliedstaaten, und das ist leider eine völlig andere Geschichte. Angelika Beer im Namen der Verts/ALE-Fraktion. - Herr Präsident, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Es gehört zu den guten Gepflogenheiten dieses Hauses, zu Anfang dem Berichterstatter herzlich zu gratulieren. Ich will das gerne tun, bin aber zutiefst betrübt darüber, dass es das erste Mal in zweieinhalb Jahren ist, dass ich meiner Fraktion eine Zustimmung nicht empfehlen kann, es sei denn, wesentliche unserer Änderungsanträge werden angenommen. Ich will das begründen, erstens inhaltlich und zweitens formal. Grundsätzlich: Der Bericht liest sich - ein Kollege hat darauf hingewiesen - in weiten Teilen wie eine Einkaufsliste für die Rüstungsindustrie. Das ist jedoch unter dem Titel "Europäische Sicherheitsstrategie und ESVP" nicht haltbar, denn dies sind weit komplexere Konzepte. Insofern ist der Bericht kein comprehensive concept, sondern eher das Gegenteil davon. Ich nehme an, der Berichterstatter hat deswegen aus seiner eigenen Fraktion 45 Änderungsanträge bekommen, was eine beträchtliche Zahl ist. Im Detail: Der Bericht versucht, die vertraglich festgelegten Grenzen zwischen äußerer und innerer Sicherheit zu verwischen. Europol fällt unter ESVP. Die ESVP soll zur Terrorismusbekämpfung, zum Schutz der Infrastruktur, zum Schutz der Energieversorgung sowie zum Schutz der Außengrenzen eingesetzt werden. Die Vermischung polizeilicher, militärischer und justizieller Aufgaben ist ein eklatanter Verstoß gegen geltende Verträge. Darüber hinaus entstehen dadurch zusätzliche sicherheitspolitische Probleme; es ist genau der Ansatz von Bush, von Cheney und dem gerade zurückgetretenen Rumsfeld. Homeland security als Kopie der amerikanischen Sicherheitspolitik hat bereits versagt, wir brauchen das nicht zu kopieren. Zweitens: Der Bericht tut so, als gäbe es den zivilen Arm der Europäischen Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik überhaupt nicht. Dabei ist die große Mehrzahl der 17 ESVP-Missionen ziviler Natur. Auch die zivile Konfliktprävention kommt zu kurz, gerade sie wäre aber jetzt wichtig. Drittens: Anstatt ins Detail über den Verteidigungsmarkt zu gehen, wäre es an der Zeit, Klartext im Rahmen der europäischen Sicherheit zu sprechen, Klartext im Hinblick auf die konventionelle und auf die nukleare Abrüstung. Dieser Bereich taucht in dem Bericht nicht auf. Als Viertes möchte ich auf die Frage der zu kaufenden Militärgüter hinweisen. Flugzeugträger, Satellitenkommunikation, das alles wird gefordert mit der Begründung: Wir entwickeln uns zu einer Verteidigungsunion. Wo lässt sich denn hier bitte eine reale Einschätzung dessen erkennen, was wir jetzt tun müssen? Wir müssen eine Harmonisierung anstreben, wir müssen die Nationalstaaten zwingen, im allgemeinen Interesse Strategien, Strukturen und Ausstattung zu harmonisieren. Aber eine Verteidigungsunion, das steht doch irgendwo in den Sternen. Bisher waren die Grünen immer Fundamentalisten, aber dass Sie das jetzt sind, ist schon sehr verwunderlich. Ich denke, dass die Beschlüsse von Köln, Helsinki und Feira auf den Kopf gestellt werden. Als Lehrerin würde ich Ihnen sagen: Thema verfehlt: 6. Es ist - es tut mir Leid, das sagen zu müssen - ein Versuch der Remilitarisierung der europäischen Außenpolitik. Wir hatten im Ausschuss einen Konsens ausgehandelt, der durch den Berichterstatter selbst in letzter Minute wieder gebrochen wurde. Das ist ein unfaires Vorgehen, das wir nicht akzeptieren können. Tobias Pflüger im Namen der GUE/NGL-Fraktion. - Herr Präsident! Die Grünen scheinen zu lernen. Der Vorsitzende des Unterausschusses Sicherheit und Verteidigung hat einen Bericht zur EU-Militärpolitik vorgelegt. Der Bericht ist inzwischen in sozialdemokratische Watte gepackt. Die ursprünglich klare Sprache wurde entschärft. Die Formulierung, dass die EU unter bestimmten Bedingungen für ein Präventivkriegskonzept offen sein soll, die im Entwurf noch vorhanden war, ist offensichtlich nicht mehr vermittelbar gewesen. Das war wohl zu viel Klartext. Im Bericht finden sich die üblichen politischen Fehler einer militarisierten EU-Außenpolitik. Die Gefahrenanalyse der ESS, die im Bericht übernommen wird, nennt als die größten Bedrohungen, denen die Europäische Union und ihre Bürger gegenüberstehen, den internationalen Terrorismus, die Verbreitung von Massenvernichtungswaffen, regionale Konflikte, Scheitern von Staaten und organisierte Kriminalität. Was ist mit Armut, Hunger und sozialer Ungleichheit? Im Bericht wird einer militärischen Grenzüberwachung - gegen wen eigentlich? - ebenso wie einem militärisch abgesicherten Ressourcenzugang das Wort geredet. Die EU will eine strategische Partnerschaft mit der NATO aufbauen. Im Bericht wird die "zunehmende Fähigkeit der NATO, eine Rolle in Einsätzen außerhalb ihres Bündnisgebietes zu übernehmen", begrüßt. Dies in einem Bericht des Europäischen Parlaments! Es wurde eine erhebliche Stärkung der Einsatzkapazitäten Europas einschließlich des Luft- und Seetransports gefordert, und die zivil-militärische Vermischung wird noch weiter vorangetrieben. Der Bericht ist ein Forderungskatalog für noch mehr Militarisierung der Europäischen Union. So wird mehr Geld für Kriseneinsätze gefordert, und diese sollen aus dem Gemeinschaftshaltshalt finanziert werden, also neue Finanzierungen. Nach den Tricksereien mit ATHENA wird nun vorgeschlagen, einen virtuellen Militärhaushalt einzuführen. Wir wissen alle, dass der Vertrag von Nizza richtigerweise einen eigenständigen EU-Militärhaushalt verbietet. Deshalb wird der tote EU-Verfassungsvertrag wieder bemüht; es heißt: "unterstreicht die Bedeutung des Vertrages über eine Verfassung für Europa, der wesentliche Fortschritte zu einer Union für Sicherheit und Verteidigung erbringen soll". Genau deshalb sind wir auch gegen diesen EU-Verfassungsvertrag. Was hier gefordert wird, ist eine EU-Militärunion. Die Punkte 51 und 52 des Berichts lesen sich wie ein Wunschkatalog derjenigen, die aus der EU genau diese Militärunion machen wollen: neue Waffen, mehr Geld dafür, dass die EU auch weltweit als Global player militärisch agieren kann. Das ist der falsche Weg! Die EU ist derzeit an mindestens elf Militär- und Polizeieinsätzen weltweit beteiligt. Weitere sind geplant. Nun steht Afghanistan auf dem Programm. In Afghanistan werden durch NATO-Truppen immer mehr Zivilisten getötet. Die EU will wohl möglichst schnell mit in dieses Schlamassel. Das Gebot der Stunde ist der Abzug der Truppen, zum Beispiel aus Afghanistan. Wir brauchen keine weitere Aufrüstung der Europäischen Union. Wir brauchen eine zivile Europäische Union. Abrüstung ist das Gebot der Stunde! Gerard Batten im Namen der IND/DEM-Fraktion. - (EN) Herr Präsident! Anfang der 50er-Jahre schlug Jean Monnet eine Europäische Verteidigungsgemeinschaft mit einer europäischen Armee vor, der ein europäischer Verteidigungsminister vorstehen und die über einen gemeinsamen Haushalt und ein gemeinsames Beschaffungswesen verfügen sollte. Dieses Projekt wurde dankenswerterweise von den Franzosen abgelehnt, nachdem sich Präsident de Gaulle dagegen ausgesprochen hatte. Jean Monnet und seine Gefolgsleute zeigten sich unbeirrt und verfolgten nunmehr die Idee einer politischen Union, die sich auf die Wirtschaft und nicht auf die Verteidigung und das Militär stützt. Mehr als 50 Jahre später hat die Europäische Union ihre politische Agenda nahezu verwirklicht: Sie hat ihren eigenen Präsidenten, ihr eigenes Kabinett in Form der Kommission, ihr eigenes Parlament, eine einheitliche Währung, Flagge, Hymne und einen eigenen Gerichtshof, um nur einige ihrer Merkmale zu nennen. Wenn sie jedoch ein wirklicher Staat sein soll, dann benötigt sie auch eigene Streitkräfte, und darum geht es in diesem Bericht. Im Bericht werden eine gemeinsame Rüstungs- und Beschaffungspolitik, eine integrierte Befehlsstruktur sowie Kontroll- und Kommunikationssysteme gefordert. Wie sonst könnte man die Integration der nationalen europäischen Streitkräfte besser gewährleisten, als vom ersten Tag an ihre vollständige gegenseitige Abhängigkeit vorzusehen, um sie an eigenständigen Operationen zu hindern. Diese bittere militaristische Pille wird jedoch durch den Hinweis auf humanitäre Einsätze und das Krisenmanagement versüßt. Aber welche Bezeichnung man auch wählen mag, es handelt sich um eine Armee, und wenn Krieg die Fortsetzung der Politik mit anderen Mitteln bedeutet, dann benötigt die Europäische Union eine Armee, um ihre außenpolitischen Zielsetzungen zu verfolgen. Es überrascht mich nicht, dass Herr von Wogau die politische Integration mit diesen Mitteln verfolgt. Er ist ein überzeugter Anhänger der politischen Integration und macht daraus auch keinen Hehl. Deshalb respektiere ich ihn. Ich finde es allerdings empörend, dass der britische Premierminister, der Lügner Tony Blair, und seine abgewirtschaftete und korrupte Labour-Regierung heimlich den Prozess der Integration der britischen Streitkräfte in die geplante europäische Armee unterstützen, während sie gleichzeitig vorgeben, nationale britische Interessen zu verteidigen. Der Präsident Glücklicherweise sind Sie zu alt für eine Einberufung, Herr Batten, Sie werden also nicht mehr davon betroffen sein. (Die Sitzung wird um 19.20 Uhr unterbrochen und um 21.00 Uhr wieder aufgenommen.)

Greatest Hits, Reissues And Compilations; In a Wide Holiday Groove, From Sinatra to a Remixed 'Messiah' By JON PARELES Published: November 26, 2004 PAVEMENT: ''CROOKED RAIN CROOKED RAIN'' -- (Matador). Current indie-rock owes a lot to Pavement, a band from Stockton, Calif., whose songs sound perpetually unfinished. Stephen Malkmus's vocals are bleary, tempos fluctuate, instrumental lines dangle like loose threads. Yet the songs on ''Crooked Rain Crooked Rain,'' originally released in 1994, are just right, pondering music and celebrity, friendship and sex, hipness and heart. Its ramshackle structures are fully thought out, spiking melodic California rock with punk's messiness. ''Crooked Rain Crooked Rain'' was acutely self-conscious, looking over its shoulder at a more polished album by a far more popular California band, the Eagles' ''Hotel California,'' but it also sounds unguarded in all its mixed emotions. The reissue is a double album that adds B-sides from singles, stray album tracks and a second CD of unreleased material that's surprisingly strong: rough demo versions and stray songs from 1993 and a live 1994 BBC performance that proclaimed, ''Gettin' cooler but I'm out of of the loop.'' JON PARELES

Because of the increasing number of malicious worms hidden inside electronic mail (email) attachments, computer networks typically operate in a restricted mode. For example, a gateway server within a computer network may control access to the computer network from a public network or other private networks. The gateway server may be used to block emails that include attachments with particular file types. The emails that are blocked generally include those types of attachments that are identified as potentially transporting and hiding malicious code (Mal-Ware) or internet based worms or viruses. For example, a computer network may operate to automatically block all emails that include .exe, .scr. .pif, zip files, or other executable attachments and files. The blocking of the emails prevents the malicious files from being executed or opened, which in turn prevents the activation of the worm or virus. In the restricted mode, the gateway server may operate to block, or quarantine, emails with such types of attachments when entering or leaving the computer network. In some cases, neither the email nor the attachment is ever received by the desired recipient. In other cases, the gateway server may strip the email of the attachment before sending the email to the desired recipient. While some of the attachments may contain viruses, others may contain legitimate business-related software or data. Thus, conventional modes of restricting email attachments simply by stripping all files of a certain type, may impede the communication of genuine business or other legitimate email. For these and other reasons, a need exists for the present invention.

[Rheumatoid purpura and Berger's disease in the same patient. 2 cases]. The two patients reported experienced initially typical Henoch Schönlein purpura, and Berger disease some years later. Same cases are described in the literature pleading for the relationship between the two entities; Berger disease may be considered as a symptomatic form of anaphylactoïd purpura.

THE PROPHET'S MANNER OF PERFORMING PRAYERS (MAY PEACE AND BLESSINGS OF ALLAH BE UPON HIM) All praise be to Allah alone, and His peace and blessings be upon His messenger and bondman our Prophet Muhammad, his family and his companions. The objective of this concise pamphlet is to explain how Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah upon Him) used to perform his prayers). I would like to present this explanation to every male and female Muslim so that they may strive to take up the Prophet's manner in performing their prayers as a model for them. It was narrated by Al Bukhari that Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be ob him) had said: (( صلوا كما رأيتموني أصلي))."Perform your prayers in the same manner you had seen me doing." Therefore, here id the explanation for the Prophet's manner of prayer: 1. To perform completely the ablution adopting the method commanded by Allah in the Quran: { يأيها الذين امنوا إذا قمتم إلى الصلاة فاغسلوا وجوهكم و أيديكم إلى المرافق وامسحوا برؤوسكم و أرجلكم إلى الكعبين } ."O ye who believe, when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces and your hands (and arms) to the elbows, rub your heads (with water) and (wash) your feet to the ankles."(5:6) The Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be on him) said: (لا تقبل صلاة بغير طهور ) ."Prayer without ablution is invalid." 2. To turn one's face and whole body towards the Ka'aba, The Holy House at Makkah, intending by heart to perform the prayer which he wants to fulfill, whether it is an obligatory prayer pr a supererogatory prayer, the worshipper in all cases, should not pronounce his intention openly, because neither the Prophet nor his companions used to utter the intention for prayer, Thus , pronouncing the intention for prayer in audible voice is a heresy and an illicit action, Whether the individual be an Imam or performs his prayer curtain for his prayer. Directing the face towards the Qibla (the Ka'aba at Makkah) is an imperative condition for every prayer. However, there are few exceptions for this rule explained in authoritative books for whom wish to refer.3. To pronounce " Takbirat Al Ihram" that is to say الله أكبر "Allahu Akbar " celebrating by that the greatness of Allah and looking meanwhile, downwards to the place where he will prostrate, 4. To raise one's hands up to the level of the shoulders or near to the lobes of his ears, while pronouncing "Takbirat Al-Ihram". 5. To put one's tight hand over his left hand and left wrist, and put them both over his chest, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to do.6. It is advisable that the worshipper recite this opening supplication saying: "اللهم باعد بيني و بين خطاياي كما باعدت بين المشرق و المغرب اللهم نقني من خطاياي كما ينقى الثوب الأبيض من الدنس اللهم اغسلني من خطاياي بالماء و الثلج و البرد " "Allaumma baid bayni wa bayna khatayaya kama baadta bayena al-mashriki walmaghribi, Allahumma naqqiniy min khatayaya kama yonaqa al thawbo alabydo min aldans,…..Allahumma igysilniy min khatayaya bilmai wathalgi walbarad." This supplication means: " Praise and glory be to Allah. Blessed be Your Name, exalted be Your Majesty and Glory. There is no god but You." Or he may say any other supplications which the Prophet, (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) used to say in his prayers. It is better to recite these supplications alternately, the first one in the morning prayer "Fajr ", the second in the noon prayer "Zuhr", each one by turn, in conformity with what the Prophet used to do. After reciting the opening supplication, the worshipper says: (( أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم )) ((Aouzo billahi min al-shatani-r-ragim.)) Which means : "I seek protection of Allah against the accursed Satan." Then he says: ((بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم)) "Bism illahi-Rahmani Raheem" Which means: "In the name of Allah, the All Merciful, the All Compassionate." And recites the Fatiha (The opening Sura of the glorious Quran.) Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings be upon him, said: (( لا صلاة لمن لم يقرأ بفاتحة الكتاب)) "Prayer without reciting the fatiha is invalid." The worshipper should say "A'meen" after reciting the Fatiha loudly if the prayer is said loudly and whisper it in inaudible prayers. To be in conformity with the traditions of the Prophet, the worshipper is advised to recite verses from medium size Suras of the Quran in the Zuhr (noon), Asr (late afternoon), and Isha (night ) prayers. As for the Fajr (morning ) prayer, the worshipper is advised to recite a passage from the long Suras of the Quran. He has the choice in Maghrib prayer ( Evening prayer ) either to recite passages from the long Suras or from the short Suras of the Quran. 7. Then, the worshipper bows in "Ruku" raising his hands up to the level of his shoulders or ears while saying " Allahu Akbar" " Allah is Great" then bends down, making his head and back on one level and putting his hands with the fingers spread on his knees. The worshipper should feel serenity and tranquility while bowing, he should say thrice at least: (( سبحان ربي العظيم )) ""Subhana Rabbiayl A'zim" which means: "Glory be to my Lord, the Almighty." It is advisable to say while bowing in addition to that: (( سبحانك اللهم ربنا و بحمدك ربنا اغفر لي )) "Subhanak-Allahumma Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahumma Ighfir liy" But if the worshipper is a follower, and led in his prayer by the Imam he should say when rising up "Rabbana wa laka alhamd……etc. (( ربنا و لك الحمد ...........الخ ما تقدم )) It is advisable for the Imam, the follower, or who prays alone to add also: (( أهل الثناء و المجد أحق ما قال العبد و كلنا لك عبد, اللهم لا مانع لما أعطيت و لا معطي لما منعت و لا ينفع ذا الجد منك الجد )) (( You Allah who deserve all praises and all glory, your praising is the best and most true of whatever Your servant can say, we all are Your servants, Our Lord, no one can ever deprive aught of what You have bestowed and no one can ever give aught of what You have deprived." The worshipper is advised to put his hands on his chest, as he had done before he bowed. Both Wa'il Ibn Haggar and Sahli Ibn Sai'yd reported that this was the manner of the Prophet when he used to raise his head up after bowing. 9. To prostrate saying الله أكبر "Allahu Akbar" "Allah is Great ". He should touch the ground with his knees before touching it, if that is possible to him, If not, he is permitted to touch the ground by his hand before his knees. His fingers and toes should be directed towards the Qibla Makkah, and his hands should be stretched, and the fingers close together and not separated, In prostration, the worshipper should use these seven organs: The forehead, the nose, both hands, both knees and the internal parts of the toes. These seven organs should touch the ground. Then the worshipper should say thrice or more: ((سبحان ربي الأعلى )) "Subana Rabbiyal A'ala" Which means: "Glorified is my Lord, the Exalted." It is advisable to say: "Subhanaka Allahuma Rabbana wa bi hamdika, Allahuma Ighfir-liy." " سبحانك اللهم ربنا ,و بحمدك- اللهم اغفر لي " This means: " Glory be to Thee, Our Lord, and I praise Thee. Our Lord, forgive me my sins," It is recommendable for the worshipper to exceed more and more in supplications and ask for more from his Lord, because the Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said:

As a prior art relating to the present invention, for example, in German (DE) Patent No. 11 62 359, Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Eng.), 2688 (1963), Chim. Ind. (Milan), 46, 875 (1964), German (DE) Patent No. 12 05 089, Bulletin de la Societe Chimique de France (Bull. Soc. Chim. Fr.), 10, 2833 (1965), Italian (IT) Patent No. 720514, Journal für Practische Chemie (J. Pract. Chem.), 33, 282 (1966), Japanese Patent Publications No. Sho. 43-16124 and Sho. 44-3815, there are description about hydrogen reduction of 2-halogenocycloalkenone oxime compounds including 2-chlorocyclododecadienone oxime using a palladium catalyst. However, main products in these reactions are cycloalkanone oxime in which not only carbon-carbon double bond(s) but also a chloro group are also reduced. Also, in Bull. Soc. Chim. Fr., 10, 2833 (1965), an example of obtaining 2-chlorocyclododecanone oxime from 2-chlorocyclododecadienone oxime using platinum oxide has been described but the yield is extremely low as 10%, so that it is not satisfied. Also, since a platinum oxide catalyst is dissolved during the reaction, so that there is a problem that it's recovery and reuse are not so easy. Thus, the halogen group of the 2-halogenocycloalkenone oxime compound is extremely easily reduced, so that it has not been known a method of selectively reducing carbon-carbon double bond(s) of the 2-halogenocycloalkenone oxime compound in good yield. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a process for preparing a 2-halogenocycloalkanone oxime in high yield by selectively reducing carbon-carbon double bond(s) of a 2-halogenocycloalkenone oxime compound with good efficiency.

– Jeg skulle heller spilt ball, men jeg begynner jo å bli gammel, humrer den tidligere Premier League-proffen Frank Strandli. Etter 36 mål på 90 kamper for Start fra 1989 til 1993, ble Frank Strandli solgt til den daværende Premier Leauge-klubben Leeds United i 1993. Han scoret i debuten mot Middlesbrough, men etter varierende innsats vendte han tilbake til norsk fotball året etter. Den tidligere angriperen opplevde stor suksess i Brann og Lillestrøm, før han igjen prøvde lykken i utlandet – denne gang hos greske Panathinaikos. Strandli spilte to sesonger i den greske toppdivisjonen og scoret totalt 18 mål. I 1999 skrev han under for danske Aalborg. Der ble det 24 mål på 53 kamper før en skade førte til at han måtte legge opp i 2001. Pizza og import av islandske varer Strandli fikk med seg 24 A-landslagskamper for Norge, og han scoret tre mål. Han spilte også 26 U21-landslagskamper og scoret 12 mål. De siste årene har 46-åringen først og fremst drevet med pizzabaking. – Jeg jobber og driver en franchise av pizzbakeren til daglig i Kristiansand. I tillegg driver jeg litt med eiendom og import av islandske varer og produkter. Jeg skulle heller spilt ball, men nå begynner jeg jo å bli en gammel mann, sier Frank Strandli til TV 2 Sporten. TIDLIGERE LANDSLAGSSTJERNE: Frank Strandli. Foto: Richardsen, Tor Strandli innrømmer at årene etter idrettskarrieren var over ikke var noe hyggelig. Det tok sin tid før den tidligere spisskjempen fant ut hva han ville gjøre etter karrieren på fotballbanen. – Jeg havnet i et vakuum Strandli sier at han havnet i et slags vakuum. – Utfordringen når du avslutter karrieren er egentlig at du går inn i et vakuum. Det gjorde i hvert fall jeg i noen år før jeg skjønte at jeg måtte gjøre noe annet. Som idrettsutøver er du vant til å være i rampelyset og få alt ordnet i kulissene. For meg var det derfor en merkelig følelse å legge opp, og som jeg sier, det ble rett og slett et vakuum. Jeg tok valget om å holde meg borte fra fotballen noen år etter jeg la opp, og til slutt fant ut at måtte gjøre noe annet, sier Strandli. – Hva trivdes du best med – livet som idrettsutøver eller det du gjør nå? – Helt klart livet som idrettsutøver. Det var fantastisk å bare stå opp og trene to timer, spille kamper og oppleve adrenalinet som fulgte med det å spille kamper og slåss om poeng. Dessuten var livet i garderoben noe helt eget og noe jeg savner. Som idrettsutøver er man utrolig privilegert, men livet som idrettsutøver er som kjent kort, poengterer han. Sluttet i 2. klasse på videregående skole – Hvilke råd har du til idrettsutøvere som driver i toppen nå for livet etter karrieren? – Jeg gamblet og hoppet av skolen i 2. klasse på videregående skole. Jeg var skolelei og satset alt på å bli fotballproff. Men hvor mange lykkes med det? Egentlig veldig få. Så det å få en utdannelse ved siden av idrettskarrieren er noe alle bør prøve å få til. Det er fullt mulig å drive toppidrett og samtidig ta en utdannelse. Det er noe jeg angrer på idag, at jeg ikke tok skole. Når man er 18 år så føler man seg vel udødelig og tenker ikke på fremtiden, men mitt tips til unge idrettsutøvere er å få seg en utdannelse, slår han fast.

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package expression import ( "fmt" "strings" "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/service/dynamodb" "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/service/dynamodb/dynamodbattribute" ) // ValueBuilder represents an item attribute value operand and implements the // OperandBuilder interface. Methods and functions in the package take // ValueBuilder as an argument and establishes relationships between operands. // ValueBuilder should only be initialized using the function Value(). // // Example: // // // Create a ValueBuilder representing the string "aValue" // valueBuilder := expression.Value("aValue") type ValueBuilder struct { value interface{} } // NameBuilder represents a name of a top level item attribute or a nested // attribute. Since NameBuilder represents a DynamoDB Operand, it implements the // OperandBuilder interface. Methods and functions in the package take // NameBuilder as an argument and establishes relationships between operands. // NameBuilder should only be initialized using the function Name(). // // Example: // // // Create a NameBuilder representing the item attribute "aName" // nameBuilder := expression.Name("aName") type NameBuilder struct { name string } // SizeBuilder represents the output of the function size ("someName"), which // evaluates to the size of the item attribute defined by "someName". Since // SizeBuilder represents an operand, SizeBuilder implements the OperandBuilder // interface. Methods and functions in the package take SizeBuilder as an // argument and establishes relationships between operands. SizeBuilder should // only be initialized using the function Size(). // // Example: // // // Create a SizeBuilder representing the size of the item attribute // // "aName" // sizeBuilder := expression.Name("aName").Size() type SizeBuilder struct { nameBuilder NameBuilder } // KeyBuilder represents either the partition key or the sort key, both of which // are top level attributes to some item in DynamoDB. Since KeyBuilder // represents an operand, KeyBuilder implements the OperandBuilder interface. // Methods and functions in the package take KeyBuilder as an argument and // establishes relationships between operands. However, KeyBuilder should only // be used to describe Key Condition Expressions. KeyBuilder should only be // initialized using the function Key(). // // Example: // // // Create a KeyBuilder representing the item key "aKey" // keyBuilder := expression.Key("aKey") type KeyBuilder struct { key string } // setValueMode specifies the type of SetValueBuilder. The default value is // unsetValue so that an UnsetParameterError when BuildOperand() is called on an // empty SetValueBuilder. type setValueMode int const ( unsetValue setValueMode = iota plusValueMode minusValueMode listAppendValueMode ifNotExistsValueMode ) // SetValueBuilder represents the outcome of operator functions supported by the // DynamoDB Set operation. The operator functions are the following: // Plus() // Represents the "+" operator // Minus() // Represents the "-" operator // ListAppend() // IfNotExists() // For documentation on the above functions, // see: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET // Since SetValueBuilder represents an operand, it implements the OperandBuilder // interface. SetValueBuilder structs are used as arguments to the Set() // function. SetValueBuilders should only initialize a SetValueBuilder using the // functions listed above. type SetValueBuilder struct { leftOperand OperandBuilder rightOperand OperandBuilder mode setValueMode } // Operand represents an item attribute name or value in DynamoDB. The // relationship between Operands specified by various builders such as // ConditionBuilders and UpdateBuilders for example is processed internally to // write Condition Expressions and Update Expressions respectively. type Operand struct { exprNode exprNode } // OperandBuilder represents the idea of Operand which are building blocks to // DynamoDB Expressions. Package methods and functions can establish // relationships between operands, representing DynamoDB Expressions. The method // BuildOperand() is called recursively when the Build() method on the type // Builder is called. BuildOperand() should never be called externally. // OperandBuilder and BuildOperand() are exported to allow package functions to // take an interface as an argument. type OperandBuilder interface { BuildOperand() (Operand, error) } // Name creates a NameBuilder. The argument should represent the desired item // attribute. It is possible to reference nested item attributes by using // square brackets for lists and dots for maps. For documentation on specifying // item attributes, // see: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.Attributes.html // // Example: // // // Specify a top-level attribute // name := expression.Name("TopLevel") // // Specify a nested attribute // nested := expression.Name("Record[6].SongList") // // Use Name() to create a condition expression // condition := expression.Name("foo").Equal(expression.Name("bar")) func Name(name string) NameBuilder { return NameBuilder{ name: name, } } // Value creates a ValueBuilder. The argument should represent the desired item // attribute. The value is marshalled using the dynamodbattribute package by the // Build() method for type Builder. // // Example: // // // Use Value() to create a condition expression // condition := expression.Name("foo").Equal(expression.Value(10)) func Value(value interface{}) ValueBuilder { return ValueBuilder{ value: value, } } // Size creates a SizeBuilder representing the size of the item attribute // specified by the argument NameBuilder. Size() is only valid for certain types // of item attributes. For documentation, // see: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.OperatorsAndFunctions.html // SizeBuilder is only a valid operand in Condition Expressions and Filter // Expressions. // // Example: // // // Use Size() to create a condition expression // condition := expression.Name("foo").Size().Equal(expression.Value(10)) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.Name("aName").Size() // "size (aName)" func (nb NameBuilder) Size() SizeBuilder { return SizeBuilder{ nameBuilder: nb, } } // Size creates a SizeBuilder representing the size of the item attribute // specified by the argument NameBuilder. Size() is only valid for certain types // of item attributes. For documentation, // see: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.OperatorsAndFunctions.html // SizeBuilder is only a valid operand in Condition Expressions and Filter // Expressions. // // Example: // // // Use Size() to create a condition expression // condition := expression.Size(expression.Name("foo")).Equal(expression.Value(10)) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.Size(expression.Name("aName")) // "size (aName)" func Size(nameBuilder NameBuilder) SizeBuilder { return nameBuilder.Size() } // Key creates a KeyBuilder. The argument should represent the desired partition // key or sort key value. KeyBuilders should only be used to specify // relationships for Key Condition Expressions. When referring to the partition // key or sort key in any other Expression, use Name(). // // Example: // // // Use Key() to create a key condition expression // keyCondition := expression.Key("foo").Equal(expression.Value("bar")) func Key(key string) KeyBuilder { return KeyBuilder{ key: key, } } // Plus creates a SetValueBuilder to be used in as an argument to Set(). The // arguments can either be NameBuilders or ValueBuilders. Plus() only supports // DynamoDB Number types, so the ValueBuilder must be a Number and the // NameBuilder must specify an item attribute of type Number. // More information: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET.IncrementAndDecrement // // Example: // // // Use Plus() to set the value of the item attribute "someName" to 5 + 10 // update, err := expression.Set(expression.Name("someName"), expression.Plus(expression.Value(5), expression.Value(10))) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.Plus(expression.Value(5), expression.Value(10)) // // let :five and :ten be ExpressionAttributeValues for the values 5 and // // 10 respectively. // ":five + :ten" func Plus(leftOperand, rightOperand OperandBuilder) SetValueBuilder { return SetValueBuilder{ leftOperand: leftOperand, rightOperand: rightOperand, mode: plusValueMode, } } // Plus creates a SetValueBuilder to be used in as an argument to Set(). The // arguments can either be NameBuilders or ValueBuilders. Plus() only supports // DynamoDB Number types, so the ValueBuilder must be a Number and the // NameBuilder must specify an item attribute of type Number. // More information: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET.IncrementAndDecrement // // Example: // // // Use Plus() to set the value of the item attribute "someName" to the // // numeric value of item attribute "aName" incremented by 10 // update, err := expression.Set(expression.Name("someName"), expression.Name("aName").Plus(expression.Value(10))) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.Name("aName").Plus(expression.Value(10)) // // let :ten be ExpressionAttributeValues representing the value 10 // "aName + :ten" func (nb NameBuilder) Plus(rightOperand OperandBuilder) SetValueBuilder { return Plus(nb, rightOperand) } // Plus creates a SetValueBuilder to be used in as an argument to Set(). The // arguments can either be NameBuilders or ValueBuilders. Plus() only supports // DynamoDB Number types, so the ValueBuilder must be a Number and the // NameBuilder must specify an item attribute of type Number. // More information: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET.IncrementAndDecrement // // Example: // // // Use Plus() to set the value of the item attribute "someName" to 5 + 10 // update, err := expression.Set(expression.Name("someName"), expression.Value(5).Plus(expression.Value(10))) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.Value(5).Plus(expression.Value(10)) // // let :five and :ten be ExpressionAttributeValues representing the value // // 5 and 10 respectively // ":five + :ten" func (vb ValueBuilder) Plus(rightOperand OperandBuilder) SetValueBuilder { return Plus(vb, rightOperand) } // Minus creates a SetValueBuilder to be used in as an argument to Set(). The // arguments can either be NameBuilders or ValueBuilders. Minus() only supports // DynamoDB Number types, so the ValueBuilder must be a Number and the // NameBuilder must specify an item attribute of type Number. // More information: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET.IncrementAndDecrement // // Example: // // // Use Minus() to set the value of item attribute "someName" to 5 - 10 // update, err := expression.Set(expression.Name("someName"), expression.Minus(expression.Value(5), expression.Value(10))) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.Minus(expression.Value(5), expression.Value(10)) // // let :five and :ten be ExpressionAttributeValues for the values 5 and // // 10 respectively. // ":five - :ten" func Minus(leftOperand, rightOperand OperandBuilder) SetValueBuilder { return SetValueBuilder{ leftOperand: leftOperand, rightOperand: rightOperand, mode: minusValueMode, } } // Minus creates a SetValueBuilder to be used in as an argument to Set(). The // arguments can either be NameBuilders or ValueBuilders. Minus() only supports // DynamoDB Number types, so the ValueBuilder must be a Number and the // NameBuilder must specify an item attribute of type Number. // More information: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET.IncrementAndDecrement // // Example: // // // Use Minus() to set the value of item attribute "someName" to the // // numeric value of "aName" decremented by 10 // update, err := expression.Set(expression.Name("someName"), expression.Name("aName").Minus(expression.Value(10))) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.Name("aName").Minus(expression.Value(10))) // // let :ten be ExpressionAttributeValues represent the value 10 // "aName - :ten" func (nb NameBuilder) Minus(rightOperand OperandBuilder) SetValueBuilder { return Minus(nb, rightOperand) } // Minus creates a SetValueBuilder to be used in as an argument to Set(). The // arguments can either be NameBuilders or ValueBuilders. Minus() only supports // DynamoDB Number types, so the ValueBuilder must be a Number and the // NameBuilder must specify an item attribute of type Number. // More information: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET.IncrementAndDecrement // // Example: // // // Use Minus() to set the value of item attribute "someName" to 5 - 10 // update, err := expression.Set(expression.Name("someName"), expression.Value(5).Minus(expression.Value(10))) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.Value(5).Minus(expression.Value(10)) // // let :five and :ten be ExpressionAttributeValues for the values 5 and // // 10 respectively. // ":five - :ten" func (vb ValueBuilder) Minus(rightOperand OperandBuilder) SetValueBuilder { return Minus(vb, rightOperand) } // ListAppend creates a SetValueBuilder to be used in as an argument to Set(). // The arguments can either be NameBuilders or ValueBuilders. ListAppend() only // supports DynamoDB List types, so the ValueBuilder must be a List and the // NameBuilder must specify an item attribute of type List. // More information: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET.UpdatingListElements // // Example: // // // Use ListAppend() to set item attribute "someName" to the item // // attribute "nameOfList" with "some" and "list" appended to it // update, err := expression.Set(expression.Name("someName"), expression.ListAppend(expression.Name("nameOfList"), expression.Value([]string{"some", "list"}))) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.ListAppend(expression.Name("nameOfList"), expression.Value([]string{"some", "list"}) // // let :list be a ExpressionAttributeValue representing the list // // containing "some" and "list". // "list_append (nameOfList, :list)" func ListAppend(leftOperand, rightOperand OperandBuilder) SetValueBuilder { return SetValueBuilder{ leftOperand: leftOperand, rightOperand: rightOperand, mode: listAppendValueMode, } } // ListAppend creates a SetValueBuilder to be used in as an argument to Set(). // The arguments can either be NameBuilders or ValueBuilders. ListAppend() only // supports DynamoDB List types, so the ValueBuilder must be a List and the // NameBuilder must specify an item attribute of type List. // More information: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET.UpdatingListElements // // Example: // // // Use ListAppend() to set item attribute "someName" to the item // // attribute "nameOfList" with "some" and "list" appended to it // update, err := expression.Set(expression.Name("someName"), expression.Name("nameOfList").ListAppend(expression.Value([]string{"some", "list"}))) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.Name("nameOfList").ListAppend(expression.Value([]string{"some", "list"}) // // let :list be a ExpressionAttributeValue representing the list // // containing "some" and "list". // "list_append (nameOfList, :list)" func (nb NameBuilder) ListAppend(rightOperand OperandBuilder) SetValueBuilder { return ListAppend(nb, rightOperand) } // ListAppend creates a SetValueBuilder to be used in as an argument to Set(). // The arguments can either be NameBuilders or ValueBuilders. ListAppend() only // supports DynamoDB List types, so the ValueBuilder must be a List and the // NameBuilder must specify an item attribute of type List. // More information: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET.UpdatingListElements // // Example: // // // Use ListAppend() to set item attribute "someName" to a string list // // equal to {"a", "list", "some", "list"} // update, err := expression.Set(expression.Name("someName"), expression.Value([]string{"a", "list"}).ListAppend(expression.Value([]string{"some", "list"}))) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.Name([]string{"a", "list"}).ListAppend(expression.Value([]string{"some", "list"}) // // let :list1 and :list2 be a ExpressionAttributeValue representing the // // list {"a", "list"} and {"some", "list"} respectively // "list_append (:list1, :list2)" func (vb ValueBuilder) ListAppend(rightOperand OperandBuilder) SetValueBuilder { return ListAppend(vb, rightOperand) } // IfNotExists creates a SetValueBuilder to be used in as an argument to Set(). // The first argument must be a NameBuilder representing the name where the new // item attribute is created. The second argument can either be a NameBuilder or // a ValueBuilder. In the case that it is a NameBuilder, the value of the item // attribute at the name specified becomes the value of the new item attribute. // More information: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET.PreventingAttributeOverwrites // // Example: // // // Use IfNotExists() to set item attribute "someName" to value 5 if // // "someName" does not exist yet. (Prevents overwrite) // update, err := expression.Set(expression.Name("someName"), expression.IfNotExists(expression.Name("someName"), expression.Value(5))) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.IfNotExists(expression.Name("someName"), expression.Value(5)) // // let :five be a ExpressionAttributeValue representing the value 5 // "if_not_exists (someName, :five)" func IfNotExists(name NameBuilder, setValue OperandBuilder) SetValueBuilder { return SetValueBuilder{ leftOperand: name, rightOperand: setValue, mode: ifNotExistsValueMode, } } // IfNotExists creates a SetValueBuilder to be used in as an argument to Set(). // The first argument must be a NameBuilder representing the name where the new // item attribute is created. The second argument can either be a NameBuilder or // a ValueBuilder. In the case that it is a NameBuilder, the value of the item // attribute at the name specified becomes the value of the new item attribute. // More information: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Expressions.UpdateExpressions.html#Expressions.UpdateExpressions.SET.PreventingAttributeOverwrites // // Example: // // // Use IfNotExists() to set item attribute "someName" to value 5 if // // "someName" does not exist yet. (Prevents overwrite) // update, err := expression.Set(expression.Name("someName"), expression.Name("someName").IfNotExists(expression.Value(5))) // // Expression Equivalent: // // expression.Name("someName").IfNotExists(expression.Value(5)) // // let :five be a ExpressionAttributeValue representing the value 5 // "if_not_exists (someName, :five)" func (nb NameBuilder) IfNotExists(rightOperand OperandBuilder) SetValueBuilder { return IfNotExists(nb, rightOperand) } // BuildOperand creates an Operand struct which are building blocks to DynamoDB // Expressions. Package methods and functions can establish relationships // between operands, representing DynamoDB Expressions. The method // BuildOperand() is called recursively when the Build() method on the type // Builder is called. BuildOperand() should never be called externally. // BuildOperand() aliases all strings to avoid stepping over DynamoDB's reserved // words. // More information on reserved words at http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/ReservedWords.html func (nb NameBuilder) BuildOperand() (Operand, error) { if nb.name == "" { return Operand{}, newUnsetParameterError("BuildOperand", "NameBuilder") } node := exprNode{ names: []string{}, } nameSplit := strings.Split(nb.name, ".") fmtNames := make([]string, 0, len(nameSplit)) for _, word := range nameSplit { var substr string if word == "" { return Operand{}, newInvalidParameterError("BuildOperand", "NameBuilder") } if word[len(word)-1] == ']' { for j, char := range word { if char == '[' { substr = word[j:] word = word[:j] break } } } if word == "" { return Operand{}, newInvalidParameterError("BuildOperand", "NameBuilder") } // Create a string with special characters that can be substituted later: $p node.names = append(node.names, word) fmtNames = append(fmtNames, "$n"+substr) } node.fmtExpr = strings.Join(fmtNames, ".") return Operand{ exprNode: node, }, nil } // BuildOperand creates an Operand struct which are building blocks to DynamoDB // Expressions. Package methods and functions can establish relationships // between operands, representing DynamoDB Expressions. The method // BuildOperand() is called recursively when the Build() method on the type // Builder is called. BuildOperand() should never be called externally. // BuildOperand() aliases all strings to avoid stepping over DynamoDB's reserved // words. // More information on reserved words at http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/ReservedWords.html func (vb ValueBuilder) BuildOperand() (Operand, error) { expr, err := dynamodbattribute.Marshal(vb.value) if err != nil { return Operand{}, newInvalidParameterError("BuildOperand", "ValueBuilder") } // Create a string with special characters that can be substituted later: $v operand := Operand{ exprNode: exprNode{ values: []dynamodb.AttributeValue{*expr}, fmtExpr: "$v", }, } return operand, nil } // BuildOperand creates an Operand struct which are building blocks to DynamoDB // Expressions. Package methods and functions can establish relationships // between operands, representing DynamoDB Expressions. The method // BuildOperand() is called recursively when the Build() method on the type // Builder is called. BuildOperand() should never be called externally. // BuildOperand() aliases all strings to avoid stepping over DynamoDB's reserved // words. // More information on reserved words at http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/ReservedWords.html func (sb SizeBuilder) BuildOperand() (Operand, error) { operand, err := sb.nameBuilder.BuildOperand() operand.exprNode.fmtExpr = "size (" + operand.exprNode.fmtExpr + ")" return operand, err } // BuildOperand creates an Operand struct which are building blocks to DynamoDB // Expressions. Package methods and functions can establish relationships // between operands, representing DynamoDB Expressions. The method // BuildOperand() is called recursively when the Build() method on the type // Builder is called. BuildOperand() should never be called externally. // BuildOperand() aliases all strings to avoid stepping over DynamoDB's reserved // words. // More information on reserved words at http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/ReservedWords.html func (kb KeyBuilder) BuildOperand() (Operand, error) { if kb.key == "" { return Operand{}, newUnsetParameterError("BuildOperand", "KeyBuilder") } ret := Operand{ exprNode: exprNode{ names: []string{kb.key}, fmtExpr: "$n", }, } return ret, nil } // BuildOperand creates an Operand struct which are building blocks to DynamoDB // Expressions. Package methods and functions can establish relationships // between operands, representing DynamoDB Expressions. The method // BuildOperand() is called recursively when the Build() method on the type // Builder is called. BuildOperand() should never be called externally. // BuildOperand() aliases all strings to avoid stepping over DynamoDB's reserved // words. // More information on reserved words at http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/ReservedWords.html func (svb SetValueBuilder) BuildOperand() (Operand, error) { if svb.mode == unsetValue { return Operand{}, newUnsetParameterError("BuildOperand", "SetValueBuilder") } left, err := svb.leftOperand.BuildOperand() if err != nil { return Operand{}, err } leftNode := left.exprNode right, err := svb.rightOperand.BuildOperand() if err != nil { return Operand{}, err } rightNode := right.exprNode node := exprNode{ children: []exprNode{leftNode, rightNode}, } switch svb.mode { case plusValueMode: node.fmtExpr = "$c + $c" case minusValueMode: node.fmtExpr = "$c - $c" case listAppendValueMode: node.fmtExpr = "list_append($c, $c)" case ifNotExistsValueMode: node.fmtExpr = "if_not_exists($c, $c)" default: return Operand{}, fmt.Errorf("build operand error: unsupported mode: %v", svb.mode) } return Operand{ exprNode: node, }, nil }

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field) This invention relates to apparatuses for ultrasonic imaging of angioplasty or atherectomy catheters; and methods for their use. 2. Background Art Standard percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, atherectomy, dilatation, and stenting techniques of the peripheral vascular system have traditionally required the use of iodinated contrast media and radiographic guidance for the proper positioning of the dilatation balloon across an arterial stenosis. There is a known incidence of allergy to iodinated contrast dye as well as unpredictable reactions to contrast dye, including various degrees of anaphylaxis and renal failure. The ionizing radiation utilized during the procedure is also a hazard to the patient and the medical staff. Ultrasonographic imaging, on the other hand, presents no known irradiation hazard and requires no use of radiopaque contrast medium, yet provides excellent visualization of the arterial lumen and walls. The correct placement of the angioplasty balloon during an angioplasty or atherectomy procedure is not only facilitated by the use of radiographic contrast medium to determine the location of the arterial stenosis, but also by radiographic markers, usually small bands of radiopaque material (metal), which mark the proximal and distal limits of the balloon. The present invention allows for the correct placement of an angioplasty balloon catheter across an arterial stenosis utilizing ultrasonographic imaging alone, for example, B-mode imaging, thereby obviating contrast reactions and ionizing radiation exposure. The concept of marking catheters with metallic elements is not new. Devices such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,252, to Martin, entitled X-Ray Scaling Catheter, utilize metallic foil rings embedded in the walls of an angiography catheter at a set distance apart in order to calculate distances within the heart and correct for errors due to x-ray magnification. These markers are radiopaque and designed for use with radiographically guided cardiac angiography procedures. The concept of acoustically modifying catheters for enhanced visualization with ultrasound imaging is not per se novel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,124, to Guess, et al., entitled Reflection Enhancement of a Biopsy Needle, disclose a diffraction grating comprising parallel grooves etched into the tip of a biopsy needle for enhancing the reflection coefficient when used in conjunction with pulse-echo ultrasound imaging. Similarly, Elkins in U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,259 entitled Echogenically Enhanced Surgical Instrument and Method for Production Thereof discloses an acoustically enhanced surgical needle having a roughened surface with pits and erosions of the order of 50 microns in depth. The resultant roughness increases the density of reflected ultrasound beams to the piezoelectric sensor, resulting in enhanced echogenicity of the treated portion of the needle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,006, to Trimmer, et al., entitled Passive Ultrasound Needle Probe Locator, teaches a sonically conductive needle which conveys ultrasonic energy to an external transducer. Divisional U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,637,401 and 4,674,336, to Johnston, entitled Volumetric Flow Rate Determination in Conduits Not Directly Accessible, both teach ultrasonic energy reflection in combination with a Doppler circuit for measuring blood velocity. U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,061, to Fry, entitled Needle with Ultrasonically Reflective Displacement Scale, teaches a body puncturing device comprising a plurality of cavities or grooves for trapping gas, thereby improving acoustic reflection. U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,595, to Breyer, et al., entitled Ultrasonically Marked Cardiac Catheters, discloses a plurality of piezoelectric transducers embedded in a catheter to establish catheter location. U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,240, to Samson, et al., entitled Catheter Having Encapsulated Tip Marker, discloses a catheter comprising a broad metallic band at one end thereof for fluoroscopic use. U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,294, to Vilkomersas, entitled Ultrasound Tissue Probe Localization System, teaches an ultrasound imaging system comprising at least three transducers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,637, to Mueller, Jr., entitled Flexible Metal Radiopaque Indicator and Plugs for Catheters, discloses a radiopaque coiled metal spring which provides a catheter plug and indicator. U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,762, to Spears, entitled Method of Treatment of Atherosclerosis and a Balloon Catheter for Same, discloses a light-emitting balloon catheter for treatment of atheromatous plaque. The current invention utilizes the placement of a fine wire monolayer, for example, 5 mm long, proximal and distal, at the limits, or within the angioplasty balloon itself, in order to be detected acoustically by ultrasonographic imaging. The proper detection of the proximal and distal limits of the angioplasty balloon by ultrasonographic imaging results in the ability to correctly position the balloon across an arterial stenosis without the use of radiographic contrast medium or ionizing radiation. Hence, angioplasty can be accomplished by non-radiographic ultrasonic guidance obviating the risks inherent to the traditional use of contrast agents and ionizing radiation.

Q: edittext crashing application i have 1 edittext with number input only.the problem is,suppose user types 1234 no in it and afterwrds if he wants to change it and for that when he wil press del key tat time wen he cmes at 2 and press one more time del key,application crashes.and i tried handling if edittext text length 0 case also but stil not wrkng here is my code input.addTextChangedListener(new TextWatcher() { public void onTextChanged(CharSequence s, int start, int before, int count) { final String in= input.getText().toString();//input is edittext final int j=in.length(); Cursor ansof1=(Cursor) mSpinner.getSelectedItem();//1st spinner tks 1 value String temp=ansof1.getString(1); Cursor ansof2=(Cursor)mSpinner2.getSelectedItem();//for 2 spinner String temp2=ansof2.getString(1); Cursor cn = myDbHelper.selectcur(temp); double ans1=cn.getDouble(3); Cursor cm=myDbHelper.selectcur(temp2); double ans2=cm.getDouble(3); no = Integer.parseInt(in); final double finalans=((ans1/ans2)*no); NumberFormat formatter = new DecimalFormat("##,##,###"); if(temp.equalsIgnoreCase(temp2)) { //dlgAlert.setMessage("OOpss..!! Both Currencies Are Same...!!"); text1.setText(no+" "+temp+" "+"="+" "+no+" "+temp2); //dlgAlert.create().show(); } else text1.setText(no+" "+temp+" "+"="+" "+formatter.format(finalans)+" "+temp2); } @Override public void afterTextChanged(Editable arg0) { // TODO Auto-generated method stub } @Override public void beforeTextChanged(CharSequence s, int start, int count, int after) { // TODO Auto-generated method stub } }); A: It's because you try to convert empty string to number. So check for length of string like this, input.addTextChangedListener(new TextWatcher() { public void onTextChanged(CharSequence s, int start, int before, int count) { if(s.length()==0) { return; } else { // your code here } }

***Cite this article as:*** Hosseini SS, Taheri K, Hosseini SM, Gholami M, Kouhsari E, Edalati E, Madani R, Mohammadzadeh R, Zahedi Bialvaei A, Sholeh M, Golchin Far F. Extraction and purification of the H9N2 virus nucleoprotein: A simple and practical method. *Med J Islam Repub Iran*. 2018 (21 Dec);32:128. https://doi.org/10.14196/mjiri.32.128 ↑ What is "already known" in this topic: {#box1} ======================================== The nucleoprotein H9N2 influenza virus functions as a significant adaptor molecule between the virus and host cell processes. The purified nucleoprotein is used to detect new virus species caused by interbreeding and their resultant disease and to provide a vaccine for avian influenza for prevention and control programs of influenza in the industry. → What this article adds: {#box2} ========================= The aim of this study was to purify virus NP in order to further project with a simple, low-cost, fast and practical method. In the current study, firstly the H9N2 virus identified and the locations of the viral proteins were determined. Subsequently the nucleoprotein was purified with adequate and accurate information about the viral proteins. Introduction {#s1} ============ Avian Influenza is a highly contagious disease that causes symptoms in respiratory, digestive and nervous systems in a wide range of birds and can be transmitted to mammals, including humans ([@R1]). Dramatic changes reassortment between human and avian viruses are due to annual epidemics and pandemics ([@R2]). To date, the most appropriate method for fighting avian influenza is control and eradication. An effective human influenza vaccine development is a critical component to control and prevent an influenza pandemic ([@R3]). Influenza virus is an enveloped, single-stranded negative-sense RNA segmented virus ([@R3]). Based on the two proteins on the surface of the virus; hemagglutinin (H), and neuraminidase (N), influenza A viruses are divided into 15H and 9N subtypes ([@R4]). The proteins play key roles in infecting a host cell. In addition, inside the envelope are segmented single-stranded RNA and nucleoprotein (NP) ([@R5]). Avian influenza (AI) H9N2 subtype is generally reported as the primary isolate from turkey flocks in Wisconsin in America in 1966, then the virus has been reported and circulated among various countries ([@R6]). Although H9N2 is a low-pathogenic virus, the disease has been observed in all types of poultry in the field ([@R7]). Because of the wide range of the virus and the great losses it caused, initially a local vaccination program was implemented, but mass vaccination was quickly authorized ([@R8]). The virus has spread to other avian species such as chickens (breeders, broilers, and layers) and ostriches ([@R8]), it has been panzootic in Eurasia and is now the most dominant subtype of influenza virus in poultry industry ([@R9]). The viruses were classified as low pathogenic on the basis of experimental inoculation of chickens by different routes, but under field conditions, they have proved to cause a severe respiratory syndrome in birds, with heavy reductions in egg production and high mortality ([@R5], [@R7]). The H9N2 outbreak has been reported in the world from 1944 to 1996 in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Subsequently, in 1997, severe H9N2 cases were reported in many Asian countries ([@R10]). All viruses with negative-sense RNA genomes encode an ssRNA binding nucleoprotein (NP) ([@R11]). The NP is one of the key determinants of species specificity, RNA encapsulation, transcription, replication, and packaging ([@R11]). The NPs have interaction with different molecules such as; PB1, PB2, M1, Importin α, F-actin, CRM1/exportin-1 and BAT~1~/UAP~56~ ([@R11]). The NP Functions as a key adaptor molecule between the virus and host cell processes ([@R9], [@R12]). The purified nucleoprotein is used to detect new virus species caused by interbreeding and their resultant disease and to provide a vaccine for avian influenza for prevention and control programs of influenza in the industry ([@R13]). The aim of this study was to purify virus NP in order to further project with a simple, low-cost, fast and practical method. Methods {#s2} ======= Viral propagation {#s2-0-1} ----------------- In this experimental study, viral propagation was performed by the method described ([@R14]). Briefly, the isolates of avian influenza A/Chicken/Iran/259/2014/H9N2 were propagated in specific-pathogen-free chicken embryonated eggs by allantoically inoculating 10^3^ to 10^5^ egg-infective doses (EID~50~) for 9 to 11 days. Eggs were incubated at 37°C with relative humidity of 55% and were candled daily for 7 days to embryo viability. Allantoic fluid from embryos that died after 24 h was collected aseptically and tested for hemagglutinating virus by the hemagglutination (HA) test. If no deaths occurred in the eggs after 6 days, all of the eggs were opened aseptically. The allantoic fluids were pooled and inoculated into 5 more embryonated eggs. If no deaths occurred after 7 days in the eggs of the second passage, all the eggs were opened, and the allantoic fluid of each egg was tested for hemagglutinating activity. If deaths occurred in the eggs and the material had a positive HA test, samples were considered positive, and this result was confirmed with the hemagglutinating inhibition (HI) test. Allantoic fluids from embryos showing early mortality after inoculation were tested for bacterial contamination according to routine procedures, and subsequently the infected fluids which contained between 32×10^5^ EID 50 of virus per ml were harvested and pooled. Reference stocks were lyophilized and working stocks were stored in ampoules at -20°C ([@R15]). However, HA and HI tests were performed by standard methods ([@R15]). Extraction and Purification of nucleoprotein {#s2-0-2} -------------------------------------------- The mixture was incubated for 1 hour at 4°C and clarified by centrifugation at a speed of 3500 rpm and 4°C for 15 minutes. The supernatant was collected, and PEG 5% (w/v) was added to it. Then, clarified by centrifugation at a speed of 9000 rpm and 4°C for 60 minutes, precipitate in TNB buffer was created as a homogenous suspension. Finally, a homogenous suspension was prepared for dialysis to remove PEG from the suspension. The HA test was performed on the sample after dialysis. Then, the dialyzed fluid was ultra-centrifuged at a speed of 20000 rpm and 4°C for 2 h. The resulting precipitate was converted into homogeneous suspension in 100 ml of TNE buffer. The HA test was also carried out at this stage. The purification of virus was performed by sucrose density-gradient centrifugation method ([@R16]). Finally, the resulting virus samples were lyophilized. Protein Assay {#s2-0-3} ------------- For this purpose, Bradford method was performed to determine the protein concentration of the sample according to the previously described method with some modifications ([@R17]). In this method, duplicate volumes of bovine serum albumin (BSA) (10-100 mg/ml) was used to prepare the calibration graph. The basic Laemmli SDS-PAGE procedure was used to separate the protein of interest ([@R18]). Afterward, one of the gels was stained with Coomassie blue G-250 (Merck, Germany) and the other gel with silver nitrate. Also, native and functional biological molecules were purified by preparative electrophoresis (model 491 Prep Cell, Bio-Rad, CA), using reduced and non-reduced methods ([@R19]). Finally, to determine protein fractions the optical density was read at 280 nm using a spectrophotometer. The reduced 12% SDS-PAGE was used to analyze the integrity of the purified influenza virus proteins and the detection of fractions containing nucleoprotein. In brief, 200 μl of each protein fraction \[with a high absorption\] was mixed with 30 μl of 2-mercaptoethanol and incubated for 4 h at 37 °C. The protein fractions \[with high absorption\] were dissolved in non-reducing SDS-PAGE loading buffer (without 2-mercaptoethanol) and stained with silver nitrate ([@R20]). The protein concentration was assessed with the Bradford method. Finally, in order to confirm H9N2 presence, the purified sample was loaded and resolved by SDS-PAGE and proteins were transported to polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes. Membrane blocking was done using 5% bovine serum albumin (BSA), overnight. Primary specific antibody versus H9N2 was used at a 1:1000 dilution, and secondary antibody was used at a 1:10000 dilution (HRP-conjugated). Immunoreactive bands visualized with chemiluminescence HRP substrate (Abcam). Results {#s3} ======= Protein assay before SDS-PAGE {#s3-0-1} ----------------------------- A protein assay was performed for influenza virus, and at this stage, BSA was used as a standard in volumes of 100, 300, 500 and 1000 mg/ml, and the results indicated that the volume of the viral solution was appropriate. According to [Table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}, the highest and lowest amounts of protein were the sample F act 3 and the sample F act 5 with 387.07 mg/ml and 212.5 mg/ml, respectively. ###### Results of Protein assay ------------- ---------- --------------- Sample name OD 595nm Protein mg/ml St 100 0.08 100 St 300 0.31 300 St 500 0.53 500 St 1000 0.97 1000 F act 1 0.22 212.9 F act 2 0.32 309.67 F act 3 0.40 387.07 F act 4 0.27 261.29 F act 5 0.17 212.5 ------------- ---------- --------------- SDS-PAGE after protein assay {#s3-0-2} ---------------------------- Gels were prepared with concentrations of 2.5, 5 and 10 μg of each sample. According to our results ([Fig. 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}), the molecular weight of the nucleoprotein was estimated between 45 and 66.2 kDa. {#F1} Preparative electrophoresis results {#s3-0-3} ----------------------------------- The absorption of the fractions was obtained from the purified nucleoprotein at 280 nm (UV). [Graphs 1](#F5){ref-type="fig"} and [2](#F6){ref-type="fig"} were plotted from the 121 fractions of the reduced and, 123 fractions of the non-reduced methods. Our results showed that 26 fractions from the reduced and 42 fractions from the non-reduced methods had a positive absorption, and these fractions contained viral NP. {#F5} {#F6} SDS-PAGE and Western blotting after protein purification {#s3-0-4} -------------------------------------------------------- SDS-PAGE was performed for the presence of NP after purification with preparative electrophoresis method ([Figs. 2](#F2){ref-type="fig"} and [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). According to the molecular weight of NP, fractions 2 and 3 (reduced purification) contained viral NP, but in fractions with non-reduced purification, no band was detected, and no viral protein was isolated. The NP band (H9N2) was verified again by immunoblotting assay ([Fig. 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). {#F2} {#F3} {#F4} Discussion {#s4} ========== The purpose of this work was to prepare and purify the influenza virus nucleoprotein in a simple, low-cost, applied and rapid method. In the current study, firstly the H9N2 virus identified and the locations of the viral proteins were determined. Subsequently the nucleoprotein was purified with adequate and accurate information about the viral proteins. The use of a live virus for propagation is necessary, but epidemiological hygiene needs to be considered, and this issue is more important in influenza viruses due to their genetic rearrangement and transmission potential to humans. However, the advantages of using the inactive virus are due to the lack of infectious potential and long-term maintenance and the absence of contamination with other microorganisms. The virus from dialysis was lyophilized to facilitate further protein purifications. By SDS-PAGE analyses, the virus protein bands were examined, and it was determined that a nucleoprotein with a molecular weight \~ 54 kDa is clearly identifiable \[between bands of 45 to 65 kDa of ladder\], and two bands (top and down), which are related to the HA protein, can be identified and separated. However, to ensure that the NP protein can be observed in low amounts of protein and the diluted sample, gels are stained with silver nitrate, which is about 10 to 100 times more accurate than the Coomassie blue. For purity and the presence of the desired protein, we examined the molecular weight and position of the nucleoprotein in terms of movement and detachment in the polyacrylamide gel; samples were run on a preparative electrophoresis machine. The Prep Cell 491 has a special constructional complexity and requires the precision and observance of the basic principles of assembling its parts. The components should be tightly assembled and the gel preparation, spraying, fractionation and droplet adjustment steps should be done correctly, and since the application and operation of the device is long, it is necessary to schedule proper testing. The accuracy of the purification of the influenza virus proteins is very important due to the small size and the number of proteins and types of proteins. By adjusting the fractionation device, the volume of 8 ml and duration of 20 minutes for each fraction, this step lasted 48 h. Initially, the fractions contain a protein-free stain which should be discarded. After preparing the fractions and determining their absorbance at 280 nm, the precise and pure presence of the nucleoprotein in fractions 2 and 3 was observed after complete removal of color, and this result was confirmed by SDS-PAGE, but in the non-reducing procedure, no purification was performed, and no band was found in SDS-PAGE. To increase the volume of pure nucleoprotein fractions, fractions containing the nucleoprotein were lyophilized. After lyophilization of the fractions containing the nucleoprotein, protein assay, SDS-PAGE and staining with silver nitrate were performed again. The significant points about the electrophoresis of the influenza virus are the importance of the preparation stages and purification of the virus and the electrophoretic conditions affecting the pattern of electrophoresis of viral proteins. So that with the slightest change, it is possible to observe a change in the electrophoretic pattern of the virus. The lack of similarity of the electrophoretic pattern of various influenza viruses can be attributed to this cause. To ensure the absence of the influenza virus genome in purified nucleoprotein, (because the nucleoprotein and genome of the virus are in the structure of the virus and the nucleoprotein is the viral genome coverage, and together with the RNA, the RNP forms), the resulting samples were electrophoresed. To check the accuracy of the results, the influenza virus before and after lyophilization, and a purified nucleoprotein after lyophilization were tested. The results of electrophoresis indicated no genomic band in the nucleoprotein sample. Thus, during testing, it has been proven that with the help of the Prep Cell 491, we will be able to completely purify the H9N2 avian influenza virus and save time and cost. Purified nucleoprotein can be used to provide nucleoprotein anti-sera against influenza viruses in future researches. Significant points in this study are the high speed and precision of the test results, which can be expressed as a superior advantage over the success of the research. Studies have been conducted on nucleoprotein and different method used for purification of nucleoprotein. Harmon et al., investigated an immunoassay for serological diagnosis of influenza type using a recombinant DNA producing nucleoprotein antigen and monoclonal human antibody IgG ([@R21]). They used immunoaffinity chromatography method for NP purification. This method is time-consuming and costly, and although the appropriate amount of nucleoprotein was purified, supplementary experiments and a large number of viral samples are required. In the present study, with the least number of the viral samples, nucleoprotein can be obtained. Li et al., (2014), isolated and purified the NP by SDS-PAGE for NP purification and then mass spectrometry was performed ([@R22]). In the SDS-PAGE electrophoresis method, viral proteins are isolated but not completely purified, and when cutting from the gel, there is a possibility of error. On the other hand, in this method, the accuracy and skill of the researcher are of great importance, and the cost of mass spectrometry is significant for confirmation of the protein. Conclusion {#s5} ========== Considering the results of our study, the purified nucleoprotein was obtained very dynamically, with high speed, precision, and purity. Purified nucleoprotein can be used to produce nucleoprotein vaccines, as well as to study structural, molecular and diagnostic and therapeutic materials. Acknowledgments {#s6} =============== We thank our colleagues from Department of Botany, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Payame Noor University who provided insight and expertise that greatly assisted the research. Conflict of Interests {#s7} ===================== The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

River Glaven The River Glaven in the eastern English county of Norfolk is 10½ miles long and flows through picturesque North Norfolk countryside to the North Sea. Rising from a tiny headwater in Bodham the river starts 2½ miles before Selbrigg Pond where three streams combine at the outfall. The scenic value of the Glaven valley is important to the tourist industry in North Norfolk. The river is also 15km long and is one of over 200 chalk rivers in the world and one of 160 in the UK. Geography The river has a catchment area of approximately 115 km2 and from its source falls 50 metres to the present tidal limit at Cley sluice. The sub-surface geology is predominantly chalk and in parts of the lower valley the river runs over chalk beds. The land adjoining the river consists of a mixture of arable farm land and, in the upper reaches near Edgefield, coniferous plantations. In the middle reaches there are grazing meadows and low-lying washlands especially below Glandford Mill. The Glaven has two major tributaries: Stody Beck joins just above Hunworth Mill (Map Ref TG 066 356), and the Thornage Beck joins close to the unbridged ford on the Thornage to Hunworth road (Map Ref TG 062 363). Lakes and pools There are three "on-stream" lakes associated with the main channel, these being Hawksmere (Hempstead mill pond), Edgefield Hall Lake and Bayfield Hall Lake. The long, thin lake at Bayfield Hall in many ways epitomises the beauty of the lower Glaven valley. It was dug in the late eighteenth century for ornamental purposes. In the late 19th century an "extravaganza" tunnel was built into the valley side so that the Glaven could be partly diverted around the lake. This tunnel stopped operating in 2010 when the Bayfield hall project set out to create a new 1.2 mile long river channel to save the wildlife including many species of fish, especially Trout. The project was completed in 2014. It was very successful and this is the longest manmade river stretch in the UK. Watermills At the time of the Domesday Book the River Glaven had 19 watermills. Today the Glaven has six: in order of river descent they are Hempstead, Hunworth, Thornage, Letheringsett, Letheringsett Brewery mill and Glandford. Letheringsett mill is still in use and is the only working watermill in Norfolk, grinding corn to make flour which is on sale at the mill shop. Wildlife Water voles are present in the Glaven, in good numbers. Otters are difficult to see, but they make good use of the river. This could be one reason why mink are absent as otters are thought not to tolerate them. Both red deer and roe deer are seen. The bird population reflects the range of habitats available, and the total number of species present is around 126, of which 68 have bred (these figures do not include birds of the coastal wetlands north of the coast road (A 149) at Cley). Birds seen locally include kingfisher, barn owl, common buzzard and osprey. The last uses the Glaven Valley as a flyway on its spring and autumn migration and it also sometimes stays to fish. Common buzzard breed in small but increasing numbers and can be seen wheeling overhead. Barn owls frequently hunt during daylight hours. As winter approaches flocks of pink-footed geese and brent geese fly from the coast to feeding grounds on the farms inland. Fish Fish in the river include three-spined stickleback, bullhead, stone loach, brown trout, sea trout, brook lamprey, roach, rudd, perch, eel, pike, gudgeon, carp and tench. Insects and dragonflies Some insects and dragonfly to be seen on the river include banded demoiselle, emerald damselfly, scarce emerald damselfly, large red damselfly, red-eyed damselfly, small red-eyed damselfly, azure damselfly, common blue damselfly, blue-tailed damselfly, migrant hawker, southern hawker, brown hawker, emperor dragonfly, four-spotted chaser, broad-bodied chaser, black-tailed skimmer, keeled skimmer, common darter, ruddy darter, common hawker, Norfolk hawker, hairy dragonfly, red-veined darter, yellow-winged darter, black darter and the variable damselfly. Small mammals Small mammals seen in or near the river include hedgehog, mole, common shrew, pygmy shrew, water shrew, noctule bat, pipistrelle bat, Natterer’s bat, Daubenton’s bat, rabbits, brown hares, grey squirrel, bank vole, short-tailed field vole, water vole, wood mouse, house mouse and the brown rat. Larger mammals Red deer, roe deer, muntjac, red fox, badger, otter, stoat, weasel and feral cats. Gallery External links River Glaven Conservation Group Letheringsett watermill 1 Letheringsett watermill 2 River restoration project at Glandford Mill Glaven, River

SSLs use semiconductor light-emitting diodes (“LEDs”), polymer light-emitting diodes (“PLEDs”), organic light-emitting diodes (“OLEDs”), or other types of solid state emitters (SSEs) as sources of illumination. Generally, SSLs generate less heat, provide greater resistance to shock and vibration, and have longer life spans than conventional lighting devices that use filaments, plasma, or gas as sources of illumination (e.g., florescent or incandescent lights). SSL devices are increasingly in demand for many purposes because such devices efficiently produce high-intensity, high-quality light. Mobile phones, personal digital assistants, digital cameras, MP3 players, and other portable devices use SSLs, such as white light SSLs, for background illumination. The possible applications for SSL devices extend beyond portable devices and include ceiling panel lights, desk lamps, refrigerator lights, table lamps, street lights, automobile headlights, and many other lighting applications. White light is desirable for many applications, but current SSLs cannot directly produce white light. One conventional technique for emulating white light from an SSL includes depositing a converter material (e.g., a phosphor) on a light emitting material. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, a conventional SSL device 10 includes a support 2 carrying an LED die 4 and a converter material 6 deposited on the LED die 4. The LED die 4 can include one or more light emitting components. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, the LED die 4 can include a silicon substrate 12, an N-type gallium nitride (GaN) material 14, an indium gallium nitride (InGaN) material 16 (and/or GaN multiple quantum wells), and a P-type GaN material 18 on one another in series. The LED die 4 can also include a first contact 20 on the P-type GaN material 18 and a second contact 22 on the N-type GaN material 14. Referring to both FIGS. 1A and 1B, in operation, the InGaN material 16 of the LED die 4 emits a blue light that stimulates the converter material 6 to emit a light (e.g., a yellow light) at a desired frequency. The combination of the blue and yellow emissions appears white to human eyes if matched appropriately. Another conventional construction of an SSL device 20 is shown in FIG. 2. The device 20 has a support 23 upon which an LED 24 is mounted. The device 20 also includes a phosphor well 26 containing a converter material and a lens 28 formed over the LED 24. This configuration produces light primarily focused in a direction 29 perpendicular to the LED 24. The lighting distribution from this arrangement is suitable for some lighting applications. However, many other applications can benefit from a more dispersed angular distribution of light. Accordingly, there remains a need for SSL devices that produce multi-directional light patterns.

Q: Which one is more efficient: boolean or binary integer? I have to store a binary value in a variable or an array element, to indicate that an option is enabled or disabled. I believe using "Yes" or "No" is less efficient than 1 or 0 (or empty), but I wonder whether there's any difference between 1/0 and TRUE/FALSE, in terms of performance or memory usage or anything else. Between $option = 1; # if the option is enabled $option = 0; # if the option is disabled OR $option = ""; # if the option is disabled and $option = TRUE; # if the option is enabled $option = FALSE; # if the option is disabled which way is recommended? Why? Thanks. A: This answer1 suggests that zero, null and empty are equivalent, and this answer2 suggests that 1 and true are equivalent.

Filed 2/22/19; Certified for Publication 3/4/19 (order attached) IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION ONE ERIC PREVEN, B287559 Petitioner and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BS166039) v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES et al., Respondents. APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles, John P. Doyle, Judge. Affirmed in part, reversed in part. Paul Nicholas Boylan, for Petitioner and Appellant. Michael N. Feuer, City Attorney, Blithe S. Bock, Assistant City Attorney, and Paul L. Winnemore, Deputy City Attorney, for Respondents. __________________ This appeal concerns the statutory interpretation of one of the public comment requirements of California’s open meeting law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, Government Code section 54950 et seq. Appellant Eric Preven exercised 1 his opportunity to address a meeting of the Los Angeles City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee (PLUM). He was then denied the opportunity to address the full city council when it held a special meeting the next day to discuss, among other things, the recommendation arrived at by the PLUM committee. Asserting the City of Los Angeles’s (City) refusal to let him address the special city council meeting was part of a larger pattern of Brown Act violations, Preven sent a cease and desist demand letter to the City. When the City failed to respond to that letter, he filed a petition for a writ of mandate and complaint for declaratory relief to enforce the Brown Act. He further brought a second claim based on the California Public Records Act. ((CPRA); § 6250 et seq.) In response to the petition, the City argued the Brown Act requires only the opportunity to address a special meeting of a legislative body before it takes action. Since Preven spoke before the special city council meeting at the PLUM committee meeting, the City asserted it could bar Preven from addressing the full council on the same topic. The trial court agreed, sustained the City’s demurrer without leave to amend, and entered a judgment of dismissal. For the reasons set forth below, we find Preven has stated a claim for a writ of mandate and declaratory relief with regard to the Brown Act. We accordingly reverse the judgment of dismissal as to that count. Given Preven’s concession that he is not suing to enforce the CPRA, and did not 1 All statutory references are to the Government Code. 2 make any request for records pursuant to it, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal of the CPRA count as duplicative of his Brown Act claim. BACKGROUND When “ ‘reviewing a judgment of dismissal after a demurrer is sustained without leave to amend, we . . . assume the truth of all facts properly pleaded’ ” in the operative petition, “ ‘as well as those [facts] that are judicially noticeable.’ ” (Heckart v. A-1 Self Storage, Inc. (2018) 4 Cal.5th 749, 753.) On December 15, 2015, the PLUM committee held an open meeting. That committee consists of five members of the fifteen-member city council. Agenda item 5 for the meeting concerned a recommendation to the full city council on a proposed real estate development near Preven’s residence. The committee listened to comment from members of the public, including Preven, and voted unanimously to make a report and recommendation of approval to the full city council. The following day, December 16, 2015, a special meeting of the city council was held to decide (among other things) whether to approve the recommendation of the PLUM committee on the real estate development. Preven knew this special meeting was scheduled to take place when he attended the December 15th PLUM committee meeting. Preven attended the December 16th special meeting, and requested an opportunity to address the city council, including the ten council members who were not part of the five- member PLUM committee. His request was denied on the grounds that he and others had the opportunity to comment on the real estate development agenda item at the PLUM committee meeting the previous day. 3  On September 14, 2016, Preven delivered a cease and desist demand letter to the City Clerk. In it, he asserted the City had violated the Brown 2 Act by preventing him from speaking at the December 16, 2015 meeting, and that the City had engaged in similar improper conduct at subsequent special city council meetings in May and June 2016. The City did not respond to that letter within 60 days, or at any time afterwards. DISCUSSION “[W]e review the [operative petition] de novo to determine whether it alleges facts stating a cause of action under any legal theory.” (Tom Jones Enterprises, Ltd. v. County of Los Angeles (2013) 212 Cal.App.4th 1283, 1290; see also Jacobs v. Regents of University of California (2017) 13 Cal.App.5th 17, 24 [de novo review of petition for writ of mandate involving statutory guaranty], Shoyoye v. County of Los Angeles (2012) 203 Cal.App.4th 947, 954−955 [issues of statutory interpretation reviewed de novo].) A. The Brown Act “The purpose of the Brown Act is to facilitate public participation in local government decisions and to curb misuse of the democratic process by secret legislation.” (Boyle v. City of Redondo Beach (1999) 70 Cal.App.4th 1109, 1116.) As a remedial statute, we construe the Brown Act liberally to accomplish its purpose, and “suppress the mischief at which it is directed.” (International Longshoremen’s & Warehousemen’s Union v. Los Angeles Export Terminal, Inc. (1999) 69 Cal.App.4th 287, 294.) 1. Regular Versus Special Meetings 2 The sending of such a demand letter is required prior to pursuing litigation under the Brown Act to permit the legislative body the opportunity to commit not to repeat the actions alleged to be in violation of the Act. (§ 54960.2.) 4  The Brown Act distinguishes between regular and special meetings of a legislative body. Legislative bodies must determine a regular time and place for holding their meetings. (§ 54954, subd. (a).) Regular meetings must be preceded by 72 hours’ notice, including an agenda with “a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting.” (§ 54954.2.) While legislative discussion and action is generally restricted to items listed on the agenda, section 54954.2, subdivision (b) permits certain exceptions to this general rule. The scope of permissible public comment at a regular meeting includes “any item of interest to the public . . . that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.” (§ 54954.3, subd. (a) (54954.3(a)).) The public’s opportunity to address the legislative body must take place “before or during the legislative body’s consideration” of the item at issue. (Ibid.) However, the legislative body does need not provide an opportunity for public comment at a regular meeting: “on any item that has already been considered by a committee, composed exclusively of members of the legislative body, at a public meeting wherein all interested members of the public were afforded the opportunity to address the committee on the item, before or during the committee’s consideration of the item, unless the item has been substantially changed since the committee heard the item, as determined by the legislative body.” (§ 54953.3(a).) The parties refer to this as the “committee exception,” and we likewise use that terminology for ease of reference. Special meetings, on the other hand, may be called at any time by the presiding officer or a majority of the members of a legislative body no less than 24 hours in advance of the meeting, and upon certain specified notice requirements including notice of “the business to be transacted or discussed.” 5 (§ 54956, subd. (a).) The agenda posting exceptions listed in section 54954.2, subdivision (b) do not apply to special meetings, and no business beyond that set forth in the notice “shall be considered” at a special meeting. (§ 54956, subd. (a).) The scope of public comment is similarly delimited to items noticed for the special meeting. Instead of being able to address any item of interest within the legislative body’s subject matter jurisdiction, the public has a right to address a special meeting on “any item that has been described in the notice for the meeting.” (§ 54954.3(a).) As with general meetings, the public must be given the opportunity to address the legislative body “before or during consideration” of the agenda item. (Ibid.) 2. The Trial Court’s Ruling In sustaining the City’s demurrer, the trial court held that the Brown Act does not establish different public participation rules for special meetings and regular meetings, especially where an individual already had an opportunity to address a committee on the item in question. After granting leave to amend and considering additional legislative history submitted by the parties, the court found the committee exception in section 54954.3(a) applies to both regular and special meetings. The court further reasoned that Preven had the opportunity to address the PLUM committee before the special city council meeting, and therefore he did not have a right to be heard again on the same item at the special meeting. 3. The Committee Exception Does Not Apply to Special Meetings The trial court’s holding that the committee exception in section 54954.3(a) applies to special meetings was error. Indeed, before us, the City concedes the committee exception applies only to regular meetings. “Under general settled canons of statutory construction, we ascertain the 6 Legislature’s intent in order to effectuate the law’s purpose.” (White v. Ultramar, Inc. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 563, 572.) We “ ‘look first to the words of the statute, “because they generally provide the most reliable indicator of legislative intent.” ’ ” (Kirby v. Immoos Fire Protection, Inc. (2012) 53 Cal.4th 1244, 1250.) It is a general rule of statutory construction that modifying phrases are to be applied to the words immediately preceding them. (People v. Corey (1978) 21 Cal.3d 738, 742.) The full language of section 54954.3(a) has three sentences, which are separated below for ease of reference: “Every agenda for regular meetings shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public, before or during the legislative body’s consideration of the item, that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body, provided that no action shall be taken on any item not appearing on the agenda unless the action is otherwise authorized by subdivision (b) of Section 54954.2. “However, the agenda need not provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the legislative body on any item that has already been considered by a committee, composed exclusively of members of the legislative body, at a public meeting wherein all interested members of the public were afforded the opportunity to address the committee on the item, before or during the committee’s consideration of the item, unless the item has been substantially changed since the committee heard the item, as determined by the legislative body. “Every notice for a special meeting shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body concerning any item that has been described in the notice for the meeting before or during consideration of that item.” The plain language of section 54954.3(a) specifies that the committee exception applies to only to regular meetings. “ ‘If the statutory language is 7 clear and unambiguous, our inquiry ends.’ ” (Kirby, supra, 53 Cal.4th at p. 1250.) The sentence setting forth the committee exception comes after the first sentence discussing regular meetings, and begins with “However . . . .” This indicates the second sentence is modifying the first sentence. (Corey, supra, 21 Cal.3d at p. 742.) The sentence setting forth the committee exception also comes before the third sentence discussing special meetings, and the third sentence does not refer to the second sentence or any committee exception. 4. “Before” Cannot Be Read to Create a Committee Exception for Special Meetings Instead of arguing section 54954.3(a)’s committee exception applies to special meetings, the City claims it complied with the Brown Act because section 54954.3(a) requires the opportunity for public comment “before . . . consideration” of the special meeting agenda item, and Preven was given the opportunity to comment before the special city council meeting at the PLUM committee meeting the preceding day. We do not agree that section 54954.3(a)’s language requiring the opportunity for public comment “before . . . consideration” by a legislative body at a special meeting can be construed so broadly. A fundamental rule of statutory construction requires that every part of a statute be presumed to have some effect and not be treated as meaningless unless absolutely necessary. “ ‘[A] construction that renders a word surplusage should be avoided.’ ” (People v. Arias (2008) 45 Cal.4th 169, 180.) Construing the phrase requiring the public be allowed to address a special meeting “before . . . consideration of that item” to create what would in effect be a committee exception for special meetings renders the committee exception language already in section 54954.3(a) superfluous. Section 8 54954.3(a) requires that any public comments—whether at a regular or special meeting—occur “before or during” the legislative body’s consideration of that item. If public comment “before” a regular or special meeting includes a prior committee meeting, the committee exception language for regular meetings would be superfluous and unnecessary. As a fallback, the City tries to analogize the facts here to one continuous meeting over several days, citing Chaffee v. San Francisco Library Commission (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th 461, 468. In Chaffee, the court found that when a legislative body’s meeting spans more than one day, the legislative body needs to provide only a single general public comment period rather than comment periods on multiple days. (Id. at p. 468.) That analogy is inapt. Chafee involved a hearing of the same legislative body with the same members involved in one meeting that took more than one day. Here, in contrast, there was a meeting of the PLUM committee involving five members of the city council. That meeting started and ended on December 15, 2015. It was followed the next day by a separate and distinct meeting of the full city council—including 10 members not present at the committee meeting. 5. The Legislative History Indicates that the Word “Before” in Section 54954.3(a) Does Not Refer to Prior, Separate Committee Meetings Given the potential ambiguity in section 54954.3(a) over whether the required opportunity for public comment “before” a legislative body takes action at a special meeting includes comment at a prior separate meeting, or is limited to the timing of public comment within the special meeting itself, we also consider the legislative history of section 54954.3(a). (Nolan v. City of Anaheim (2004) 33 Cal.4th 335, 340.) When examining legislative history, it 9 is appropriate to consider the timing and historical context of the Legislature’s actions. (MCI Communications Services, Inc. v. California Dept. of Tax & Fee Administration (2018) 28 Cal.App.5th 635, 652.) a. Regular Meeting Provisions: 1953−1991 As originally enacted in 1953, the Brown Act did not require the opportunity for public comment at either regular or special meetings. (Stats. 1953, ch. 1588, § 1.) In 1986, the Act was amended to include a public comment requirement for regular meetings. The Legislature also created an exception to such public comment at regular meetings of a city council or board of supervisors where the public had previously addressed a committee of the council or board on the agenda item. (Stats. 1986, ch. 641, § 6.) In 1991—after the enactment of the committee exception for regular meetings—the Act was amended to require public comment at regular meetings of all legislative bodies (including city council and board of supervisor meetings) occur “before or during” consideration by the legislative body or committee of the item. (Stats. 1991, ch. 66, § 1.) As shown by this chronology, the “before” language for regular meetings was enacted five years after the committee exception. As with the structure of section 54954.3(a) itself, the statute’s provenance indicates that the “before” language was not designed to limit comment based on speech at a separate prior meeting. After all, at the time the “before” language was included in section 54954.3(a), that provision already had a committee exception, which addressed when comments could be limited based on prior meetings. The 1991 amendment was not designed to further limit public comment, but rather to make sure that public comments were in fact heard and considered. By requiring public comments “before or during” any legislative consideration at a regular or committee meeting, the 1991 “before” 10 language made sure public comments within a particular meeting (either a committee or regular meeting) were heard by the legislative body in that meeting before it considered an item and took action. b. Special Meeting Provisions: 1993−1994 It was not until 1993 that the Legislature required an opportunity for public comment at special meetings of legislative bodies. (Stats. 1993, ch. 1136 (Assem. Bill No. 1426) § 9; ch. 1137 (Sen. Bill No. 36) § 9.) In that year, the Legislature added a sentence at the end of section 54954.3(a) stating “Every notice for a special meeting at which action is proposed to be taken on an item shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body concerning that item prior to action on the item.” (Ibid.) Preven submitted evidence below indicating one suggested amendment to the 1993 Senate Bill included a committee exception for special meetings, which the Legislature ultimately did not include. The available legislative history provides no indication as to why this proposed committee exception for special meetings was not included in the final bill. This draft amendment, however, does highlight the obvious point that if the Legislature wanted to create a committee-like exception for special meetings, it knew how to say so clearly. That fact that the Legislature chose not to do so is evidence of its intent not to create the type of exception urged by the City. (People v. Tilbury (1991) 54 Cal.3d 56, 61−63.) Finally, in 1994, the special meeting language in section 54954.3(a) was amended into its current form to parallel more closely the first sentence of 11 that section requiring public comment at regular meetings occur “before or during” consideration by the legislative body. (Stats. 1994, ch. 32, § 9.) 3 c. Conclusion This legislative history shows that section 54954.3(a)’s current requirement that the public be allowed to address a special meeting “before or during” consideration of an agenda item has the same meaning as similar “before or during” language did when it was enacted in 1991 for general meetings. The “before or during” language concerns the timing of comments within a particular meeting, and does operate to restrict comment based on a prior distinct meeting. The City argues this construction would lead to absurd results by leading to different public participation rules for special and regular meetings. We see no such absurdity. Both the statute as well as its legislative history show that the Legislature has purposefully made a number of distinctions between regular and special meetings. The notice requirements are different—72 hours for regular meetings, 24 hours for special meetings. The scope of permissible comment at the meetings is different—“any item of interest to the public . . . within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body” for regular meetings, compared to only those items “described in the notice” for special meetings. There is a committee exception for regular meetings, and no committee exception for special meeting. To the extent the Brown Act’s public comment rules are 3 The changes from the 1993 language were as follows: Every notice for a special meeting at which action is proposed to be taken on an item shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body concerning any_that item prior to action on the itemthat has been described in the notice for the meeting before or during consideration of that item. 12 incongruous as between regular and special meetings preceded by a committee meeting, it is the province of the Legislature, and not this court, to bring them more in harmony. Given the plain language of the statute, and its legislative history, we find the Brown Act does not permit limiting comment at special city council meetings based on comments at prior, distinct committee meetings. Preven adequately alleged a claim that he was improperly denied the opportunity to comment on the agenda item at a special meeting. Preven also adequately alleged a pattern of conduct by the City at special city council meetings in violation of the Brown Act. He therefore stated a claim in his amended petition for a writ of mandate and complaint for declaratory relief under the Brown Act. B. Preven Failed to State a Claim Under the CPRA In addition to his Brown Act claim, Preven brought a second cause of action for declaratory relief and a writ of mandate under the CPRA to enforce his right to address the city council. Preven concedes that he is not suing to enforce the CPRA, and did not make a request for records pursuant to the statute. The City’s demurrer was sustained without leave to amend based on the CPRA claim being duplicative of the Brown Act claim. When a demurrer is sustained without leave to amend, we look to see “whether there is a reasonable possibility that the defect can be cured by amendment.” (City of Dinuba v. County of Tulare (2007) 41 Cal.4th 859, 865.) Given Preven’s acknowledgment that he is not seeking to enforce the CPRA, there is no reasonable possibility the defects in his second cause of action under the CPRA can be cured. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in sustaining the demurrer to the CPRA cause of action without leave to amend. 13  DISPOSITION The judgment of dismissal is reversed. The matter is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. The parties are to bear their own costs on appeal. WEINGART, J. * We concur: CHANEY, J., Acting P. J. BENDIX, J. * Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution. 14 Filed 3/4/19 IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION ONE ERIC PREVEN, B287559 Petitioner and Appellant, (Super. Ct. L.A. County No. BS166039) v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES et al., ORDER CERTIFYING OPINION FOR PUBLICATION Defendants and Respondents. THE COURT*: Good cause appearing, it is ordered that the opinion in the above entitled matter, filed February 22, 2019, be published in the official reports. _____________________________________________________________________ ________________________ _____________________ _____________________ *CHANEY, Acting P. J. BENDIX, J. WEINGART, J.** ** Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution. 

Ottawa (AFP) - Canadian special forces participating in military training in southeast Niger, near the border with Nigeria, were ordered to withdraw recently to avoid battling with Boko Haram Islamists, the military said Thursday. The troops had been posted to the town of Diffa, where the government of Niger declared a state of emergency on February 11 following attacks in the region that borders Boko Haram's stronghold in northeast Nigeria. The Canadians are participating in US-sponsored counterterrorism training that started on February 16 and is due to wrap up on March 9. The annual program has 1,300 troops from 19 countries training militaries in five African countries in shooting, movement, communications, and mission planning. Dominique Tessier from Canada's defense department did not say how many Canadians were at risk of confrontation with Boko Haram, but noted in an email to AFP that "several members" were relocated from Diffa to other areas such as Agadez and Niamey in Niger and N'Djamena in Chad "due to security issues." "This was seen as a prudent measure given the current security situation in the region," Tessier said, adding the exercise continues. "Recent events in Niger involving Boko Haram do highlight training such as this to help collective efforts against violent extremist organizations." The Canadian special forces also stand ready to provide humanitarian or other assistance, should Ottawa decide to offer help, Tessier said.

Epicardial adipose tissue as new cardio-metabolic risk marker and potential therapeutic target in the metabolic syndrome. Increased visceral adiposity, is an emerging cardiovascular risk factor. There is now a compelling need to quantify visceral adipose tissue not only for diagnostic purposes, but also for therapeutic interventions with weight reduction drugs or pharmaceuticals targeted to adipose tissue, as well as anti-obesity medications, thiazolidinediones, fibrates, angiotensin receptor blockers, highly active antiretroviral therapy and hormone replacement therapy. Among visceral adipose tissues, growing evidences suggest that cardiac adiposity may play an important role in the development of an unfavorable cardiovascular risk profile. Recent papers suggest that epicardial fat, index of cardiac and visceral adiposity, could locally modulate the morphology and function of the heart. The close anatomical relationship between epicardial adipose tissue and the adjacent myocardium should readily allow local paracrine interactions between these tissues. Echocardiography has been recently proposed for the direct assessment of epicardial adipose tissue. Echocardiographic assessment of epicardial fat may be a helpful tool not only for diagnostic purposes, as marker of visceral adiposity and inflammation, but also for therapeutic interventions with drugs that can modulate the adipose tissue. In this article, epicardial adipose tissue's structure, function, method of assessment and reliability as a diagnostic tool and potential therapeutic target is reviewed.

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Get laser-quality black text and superior photos from the patented dye-based ink in the HP 02 Black Ink Cartridge. Brand HP (Hewlett-Packard) Manufacturer Contact Info http://www.hp.com 13 10 47 Our customer service staff are standing by to assist you. Should you have questions about this product, please complete the form below and we'll be in touch soonest possible. We aim to answer your enquiries within 24 hours. For IMMEDIATE customer service assistance or help with an order please call our Customer Service Team on: 02 9011 2078

Q: IPhone: How to Switch Between Subviews That Were Created in Interface Builder So I basically have two subviews within my main view. I created each subview by going to the library in IB and dragging a view onto my main nib file and then positioning controls on them. Now, I'd like to flip between these views via a "flip" button. What I don't understand is how I can programmatically do this. My question is: do I "Hide" one of the subviews and then unhide it someway programmatically when I do the flip? Do I give each a name via the Interface Builder and do it that way? I don't really need the code to actually do the flip or anything, I just need a conceptual understanding of how I'd refer to views built in IB programmatically and if hiding makes sense in my scenerio... Any suggestions? thanks A: You connect to things in IB by using IBOutlet UIView *myView; or @property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UIView *myView; in your header file. The IBOutlet keyword tells IB to make that outlet available to connect. You make the actual connection in the Connection inspector by dragging from the outlet to the view: making a connection http://cl.ly/eb3b5cd826b20fc9e307/content (Do this for both your views.) Note: your views don't have to be inside the window in IB. You can create them outside, and they won't be displayed until you want them to. You might want to put one of them in so it shows up when your app launches. Then, when you actually want to flip to the other view, assuming you're using iOS 4.0, it's simple (there are methods for 3.x and lower, but this is the easiest): [UIView transitionFromView:myView1 toView:myView2 duration:0.2 options:UIViewAnimationOptionTransitionFlipFromRight completion:^{ // something to do when the flip completes }]; Or, if you want to dynamically determine which view is already visible: UIView *oldView, *newView; UIViewAnimationOptions transition; if (myView1.superview) { // view 1 is already visible oldView = myView1; newView = myView2; transition = UIViewAnimationOptionTransitionFlipFromRight; } else { // view 2 is visible oldView = myView2; newView = myView1; transition = UIViewAnimationOptionTransitionFlipFromLeft; } [UIView transitionFromView:oldView toView:newView duration:0.2 options:transition completion:^{ // something to do when the flip completes }];

Mahatma missing from Rs 2,000 notes withdrawn from MP bank Out shopping with some money he managed to withdraw from his bank in this Madhya Pradesh district, a farmer was shocked when shopkeepers returned the Rs 2,000 note saying it was a fake since it had no picture of Mahatma Gandhi on it. Pic. Courtesy: ABP News However, the State Bank of India branch, from where Lakshman Meena had withdrawn the money, on Thursday said they had changed the notes and attributed the faulty notes to a “printing mistake”. Meena and some other farmers from Bicchugavandi village had withdrawn money from a State Bank of India branch in Baroda town on Tuesday. He had chosen to take out Rs 6,000 and received three notes of Rs 2,000 each. On Wednesday, when Meena went out to buy groceries, he was told that the notes do not have the picture of Gandhi and can be fake. A worried Meena went back to the bank with all haste. “The notes with missing Gandhi were taken back and exchanged for new ones. They were not fake but printing mistake,” SBI bank official Aakash Srivastav told IANS on Thursday. According to sources, the amount was received from SBI’s Sheopur branch chest in bundles of Rs 2,000 in which there were other notes as well with printing issues, because of which the bundle is being sent back to the branch. It is not yet known how many others have received such notes. Since the demonetisation in November 8 last year, many such cases involving Rs 2,000 notes have come forward, such as notes with two pictures of Gandhi or having no water mark. But this was the first case where the Mahatma was entirely absent. (IANS)

# Arb Arb is a C library for arbitrary-precision interval arithmetic. It has full support for both real and complex numbers. The library is thread-safe, portable, and extensively tested. Arb is free software distributed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), version 2.1 or later.  Documentation: http://arblib.org Development updates: http://fredrikj.net/blog/ Author: Fredrik Johansson <fredrik.johansson@gmail.com> Bug reports, feature requests and other comments are welcome in private communication, on the GitHub issue tracker, or on the FLINT mailing list <flint-devel@googlegroups.com>. [](https://travis-ci.org/fredrik-johansson/arb) ## Code example The following program evaluates `sin(pi + exp(-10000))`. Since the input to the sine function matches a root to within 4343 digits, at least 4343-digit (14427-bit) precision is needed to get an accurate result. The program repeats the evaluation at 64-bit, 128-bit, ... precision, stopping only when the result is accurate to at least 53 bits. #include "arb.h" int main() { slong prec; arb_t x, y; arb_init(x); arb_init(y); for (prec = 64; ; prec *= 2) { arb_const_pi(x, prec); arb_set_si(y, -10000); arb_exp(y, y, prec); arb_add(x, x, y, prec); arb_sin(y, x, prec); arb_printn(y, 15, 0); printf("\n"); if (arb_rel_accuracy_bits(y) >= 53) break; } arb_clear(x); arb_clear(y); flint_cleanup(); } The output is: [+/- 6.01e-19] [+/- 2.55e-38] [+/- 8.01e-77] [+/- 8.64e-154] [+/- 5.37e-308] [+/- 3.63e-616] [+/- 1.07e-1232] [+/- 9.27e-2466] [-1.13548386531474e-4343 +/- 3.91e-4358] Each line shows a rigorous enclosure of the exact value of the expression. The program demonstrates how the user can rely on Arb's automatic error bound tracking to get an output that is guaranteed to be accurate -- no error analysis needs to be done by the user. For more example programs, see: http://arblib.org/examples.html ## Features Besides basic arithmetic, Arb allows working with univariate polynomials, truncated power series, and matrices over both real and complex numbers. Basic linear algebra is supported, including matrix multiplication, determinant, inverse, nonsingular solving, matrix exponential, and computation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Support for polynomials and power series is quite extensive, including methods for composition, reversion, product trees, multipoint evaluation and interpolation, complex root isolation, and transcendental functions of power series. Other features include root isolation for real functions, rigorous numerical integration of complex functions, and discrete Fourier transforms (DFTs). ## Special functions Arb can compute a wide range of transcendental and special functions, including the gamma function, polygamma functions, Riemann zeta and Hurwitz zeta function, Dirichlet L-functions, polylogarithm, error function, Gauss hypergeometric function 2F1, confluent hypergeometric functions, Bessel functions, Airy functions, Legendre functions and other orthogonal polynomials, exponential and trigonometric integrals, incomplete gamma and beta functions, Jacobi theta functions, modular functions, Weierstrass elliptic functions, complete and incomplete elliptic integrals, arithmetic-geometric mean, Bernoulli numbers, partition function, Barnes G-function, Lambert W function. ## Speed Arb uses a midpoint-radius (ball) representation of real numbers. At high precision, this allows doing interval arithmetic without significant overhead compared to plain floating-point arithmetic. Various low-level optimizations have also been implemented to reduce overhead at precisions of just a few machine words. Most operations on polynomials and power series use asymptotically fast FFT multiplication based on FLINT. Similarly, most operations on large matrices take advantage of the fast integer matrix multiplication in FLINT. For basic arithmetic, Arb should generally be around as fast as MPFR (http://mpfr.org), though it can be a bit slower at low precision, and around twice as fast as MPFI (https://perso.ens-lyon.fr/nathalie.revol/software.html). Transcendental functions in Arb are quite well optimized and should generally be faster than any other arbitrary-precision software currently available. The following table compares the time in seconds to evaluate the Gauss hypergeometric function `2F1(1/2, 1/4, 1, z)` at the complex number `z = 5^(1/2) + 7^(1/2)i`, to a given number of decimal digits (Arb 2.8-git and mpmath 0.19 on an 1.90 GHz Intel i5-4300U, Mathematica 9.0 on a 3.07 GHz Intel Xeon X5675). | Digits | Mathematica | mpmath | Arb | | -------:|:------------|:-----------|:-----------| | 10 | 0.00066 | 0.00065 | 0.000071 | | 100 | 0.0039 | 0.0012 | 0.00048 | | 1000 | 0.23 | 1.2 | 0.0093 | | 10000 | 42.6 | 84 | 0.56 | ## Dependencies, installation, and interfaces Arb depends on FLINT (http://flintlib.org/), either GMP (http://gmplib.org) or MPIR (http://mpir.org), and MPFR (http://mpfr.org). See http://arblib.org/setup.html for instructions on building and installing Arb directly from the source code. Arb might also be available (or coming soon) as a package for your Linux distribution. SageMath (<http://sagemath.org/>) includes Arb as a standard package and contains a high-level Python interface. See the SageMath documentation for RealBallField (http://doc.sagemath.org/html/en/reference/rings_numerical/sage/rings/real_arb.html) and ComplexBallField (http://doc.sagemath.org/html/en/reference/rings_numerical/sage/rings/complex_arb.html). Nemo (<http://nemocas.org/>) is a computer algebra package for the Julia programming language which includes a high-level Julia interface to Arb. The Nemo installation script will create a local installation of Arb along with other dependencies. A standalone Python interface to FLINT and Arb is also available (<https://github.com/fredrik-johansson/python-flint>). A separate wrapper of transcendental functions for use with the C99 `complex double` type is available (<https://github.com/fredrik-johansson/arbcmath>). Other third-party wrappers include: * A Julia interface: https://github.com/JeffreySarnoff/ArbNumerics.jl * Another Julia interface: https://github.com/JuliaArbTypes/ArbFloats.jl * Java wrapper using JNA: https://github.com/crowlogic/arb/

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Warren’s Antitrust Proposal: Break Up Big Tech or Just Regulate It Better? - howard941 https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2019/04/warrens-antitrust-proposal-should-we-break-up-big-tech-or-just-regulate-it-better.html ====== blackflame7000 I’ll take Big Tech over Big Govt any day because one doesn't have a fleet of attack drones ~~~ used2code "Big Tech" knows where we live, owns "our" data. "They" don't need attack drones, maybe? The real point to be made, imo, is that busting up the Big Bell into the Baby Bells, and so on, did not really address the issue: regionality does not provide for "competitive markets", multiplicity of players in the field is what makes for "choice" and "competition", and keeps folks honest, we have to hope. Therefore, anti-trust could be about enhancing entrances and exits (startups, refinancings/redirections, retirements), or changes in management, i.e., effective "regulation" could be more like "market development" or influence, rather than "being a lid on the jar", "turd in the punch bowl", mostly a tariffing and acquisitions/merger blocker or allower. If Big Tech and Big Govt want to smooth the path into the future together, without taking individual political freedoms away from folks, that is definitely possible, given the motivation and will to make that happen. Without the motivation and will, it's not going to happen, no matter how possible it is. There's a lot of societal level contributions that "Big Tech" has not figured out how to build and maintain, such as the appropriate freedom of speech while also providing privacy and safety online. There's simply a lot to be "regulated" or defined as a requirement of "Big Tech" by society. The Amish and their careful approach to technology bears review and some amount of emulation, as I see it. ymmv. Thanks for reading. ------ raven105x The best part of an emergent global economy is that any single government can only over-reach so much before the country's GDP plummets in the global ranking, leading to revolution or collapse.

BNB is back to the top 10, and with increasing volumes and DEX and explorer test net, coin holders are likely to reap big profits. So far, Binance coin is up 17.1 percent and back to the top 10. Binance Coin (BNB) Price Analysis Fundamentals Like Ethereum’s ETH, Binance Coin is a utility token in the Binance chain network. It is a tool for incentivizing use and so far, the coin is rallying. Perhaps induced by the overly successful BitTorrent’s BTT ICO, the currency is retesting key resistance levels of 2018. Adding to the bullish impetus is news that both the Binance Coin and the Bitcoin DEX testnet is now open to the public. The new release will allow testing of the Binance Coin chain explorer as well as the Web Wallet. Binance said this about the new testnet: “Binance Chain is a new blockchain developed and released by Binance. Binance DEX is a high performance and user-friendly platform built on top of Binance Chain, where users can create, issue and trade digital assets.” To get started in what Binance describes as a standard for DEXs, all a user needs to do is set up a new wallet, unlock the wallet, transfer assets and place orders right away. The eventual launch of the mainnet will be very bullish for Binance coin as users of the Binance DEX will have to pay for gas to power transactions. Gas and fees are quoted in BNB only and assuming there is an immediate shift from centralized exchanges to unhackable Binance DEX–with better liquidity and UIs, then BNB holders stand to benefit. Candlestick Arrangements Thus far, the coin is up 17.1 percent in the last week. Aside from favorable candlestick arrangement, the sole reason behind this week’s expansion may be because of DEX testnet. As we said, Binance is yet to announce the mainnet launch, but from the chart, the path of least resistance is upwards. A simple Fibonacci retracement tool between the BNB’s high low show that prices are finding support off the 78.6 percent level and with increasing volumes, bulls are back. Technically and when we draw guidance from Fibonacci retracement rules, the reaction at 78.6 percent level often leads to a retest of recent highs and in that case ideal targets may be 2017 highs of $26. All the same, before BNB explode, modest targets will be at Q2 2018 highs of $18. Technical Indicators Week ending Feb 10 bull bar reversed losses of the week ending Nov 25. Accompanying these upswings are increasing average volumes–7 million to 15 million and wide trade ranges which is bullish. Although we expect prices to cool off, ideal reversal zones will be at around last week’s lows of $8.5. However, such deep corrections are unlikely. Sellers may drive prices back to the $10 level before bull trend resume.

# Tenko parser test case - Path: tests/testcases/operator_precedent/sanity_canaries/div_and_lhs_xor_gte_min_lor_land_seq_or_pow.one.rev.md > :: operator precedent : sanity canaries > > ::> div and lhs xor gte min lor land seq or pow.one.rev > > Random ops to test for precedence ## Input `````js x0 / x1 & x2 << x3 ^ x4 >= x5 - x6 || x7 && x8 === x9 | x10 ** x ````` ## Output _Note: the whole output block is auto-generated. Manual changes will be overwritten!_ Below follow outputs in five parsing modes: sloppy, sloppy+annexb, strict script, module, module+annexb. Note that the output parts are auto-generated by the test runner to reflect actual result. ### Sloppy mode Parsed with script goal and as if the code did not start with strict mode header. ````` ast: { type: 'Program', loc:{start:{line:1,column:0},end:{line:1,column:64},source:''}, body: [ { type: 'ExpressionStatement', loc:{start:{line:1,column:0},end:{line:1,column:64},source:''}, expression: { type: 'LogicalExpression', loc:{start:{line:1,column:0},end:{line:1,column:64},source:''}, left: { type: 'BinaryExpression', loc:{start:{line:1,column:0},end:{line:1,column:34},source:''}, left: { type: 'BinaryExpression', loc:{start:{line:1,column:0},end:{line:1,column:18},source:''}, left: { type: 'BinaryExpression', loc:{start:{line:1,column:0},end:{line:1,column:7},source:''}, left: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:0},end:{line:1,column:2},source:''}, name: 'x0' }, operator: '/', right: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:5},end:{line:1,column:7},source:''}, name: 'x1' } }, operator: '&', right: { type: 'BinaryExpression', loc:{start:{line:1,column:10},end:{line:1,column:18},source:''}, left: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:10},end:{line:1,column:12},source:''}, name: 'x2' }, operator: '<<', right: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:16},end:{line:1,column:18},source:''}, name: 'x3' } } }, operator: '^', right: { type: 'BinaryExpression', loc:{start:{line:1,column:21},end:{line:1,column:34},source:''}, left: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:21},end:{line:1,column:23},source:''}, name: 'x4' }, operator: '>=', right: { type: 'BinaryExpression', loc:{start:{line:1,column:27},end:{line:1,column:34},source:''}, left: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:27},end:{line:1,column:29},source:''}, name: 'x5' }, operator: '-', right: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:32},end:{line:1,column:34},source:''}, name: 'x6' } } } }, operator: '||', right: { type: 'LogicalExpression', loc:{start:{line:1,column:38},end:{line:1,column:64},source:''}, left: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:38},end:{line:1,column:40},source:''}, name: 'x7' }, operator: '&&', right: { type: 'BinaryExpression', loc:{start:{line:1,column:44},end:{line:1,column:64},source:''}, left: { type: 'BinaryExpression', loc:{start:{line:1,column:44},end:{line:1,column:53},source:''}, left: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:44},end:{line:1,column:46},source:''}, name: 'x8' }, operator: '===', right: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:51},end:{line:1,column:53},source:''}, name: 'x9' } }, operator: '|', right: { type: 'BinaryExpression', loc:{start:{line:1,column:56},end:{line:1,column:64},source:''}, left: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:56},end:{line:1,column:59},source:''}, name: 'x10' }, operator: '**', right: { type: 'Identifier', loc:{start:{line:1,column:63},end:{line:1,column:64},source:''}, name: 'x' } } } } } } ] } tokens (25x): IDENT PUNC_DIV IDENT PUNC_AND IDENT PUNC_LT_LT IDENT PUNC_CARET IDENT PUNC_GT_EQ IDENT PUNC_MIN IDENT PUNC_OR_OR IDENT PUNC_AND_AND IDENT PUNC_EQ_EQ_EQ IDENT PUNC_OR IDENT PUNC_STAR_STAR IDENT ASI ````` ### Strict mode Parsed with script goal but as if it was starting with `"use strict"` at the top. _Output same as sloppy mode._ ### Module goal Parsed with the module goal. _Output same as sloppy mode._ ### Sloppy mode with AnnexB Parsed with script goal with AnnexB rules enabled and as if the code did not start with strict mode header. _Output same as sloppy mode._ ### Module goal with AnnexB Parsed with the module goal with AnnexB rules enabled. _Output same as sloppy mode._ ## AST Printer Printer output different from input [sloppy][annexb:no]: ````js ((((x0 / x1) & (x2 << x3)) ^ (x4 >= (x5 - x6))) || ((x7 && ((x8 === x9) | (x10 ** x))))); ```` Produces same AST

Dempo said that the talks with Khan, who co-owns IPL-winning side Kolkata Knight Riders, were "progressing very well". "We are discussing with Mr Shah Rukh Khan on his possible investment in the club and the only thing I can say is that talks are progressing very well," Dempo said. "His response has been very positive. Mr Khan is very passionate about football and, apart from just involving himself in Dempo, he wants to do something for Indian football. He said that football was his first love even before cricket," Dempo added. Dempo would not elaborate much on the details but sources said that Khan has been in talks with the Goa-based I-League champion club for a while. They said Khan has met Dempo quite a few times and he was interested in acquiring 50 per cent stake in the club. "Talks are on and he has also met the Dempo management, including the owner, a couple of times, but it is yet to be confirmed. Some things need to be worked out before finalising the deal," a source said. It has been learnt that the club was keen on using Khan's name and popularity in promoting the I-League champion side who have been dominating Indian football for quite a while now. The club recently bought a 34 per cent stake in leading Danish soccer club and academy FC Midtjylland, for 12 million euros. Dempo have won the I-league three times since its inception in 2007-08, including the inaugural edition, besides winning the erstwhile National Football League (NFL) twice. They are also the only Indian club to make it to the semifinals of the AFC Cup, Asia's second tier club competition, in 2008.

The invention relates to an apparatus for counting numbers of microscopic fine particles such as blood corpuscles, and more particularly to an apparatus which ensures a more accurate counting of such fine particles with ease in operation. Apparatus which have been used conventionally to this end are generally based on an impedance method or a photoelectrical scanning method. The apparatus based on the impedance method usually suffer from unfavorable disturbance caused by noises, and an opening in its detector is apt to be soon clogged with impurities or fine particles to be counted. The other known apparatus for the photoelectric scanning are highly complex in view of its mechanism for driving a sample holder and its photoelectrical or electrical mechanism, so it is difficult to operate the apparatus which unavoidably costs too much. A more frequent blood counting is recently being required by physicians. However, blood cells in blood samples will coagulate or be broken as time passes so that correct measurements of them become difficult. Such circumstances have given rise to a demand for a better apparatus which will enable the physicians to perform an easy rapid blood count soon after a sampling of blood. Such improved apparatus is also needed in many other fields of science and industry in which a rapid counting of fine microscopic particles must be correctly conducted.

1. The Field of the Invention This invention relates to the continuous monitoring of the effluent of a filter. The meter measures the quality of the filter discharge and controls the filter cycle. This, in turn, maximizes the quality of the filter effluent. 2. Background of the Invention Filters are used to remove solids of varying composition, concentration and size distribution from flowing fluids. Therefore, various types of filters are used to remove these solids. Differential pressure across a filter increases as the filter collects contaminants from the fluid runs. Most filters have cycles where they filter, backwash to remove the collected contaminants and filter again. It is an indication of length of the filtration stage because harmful by-pass of solids occurs at high differential pressure. Solids by-pass results in poorer water quality, which is one of the problems of inefficient filter operation. One approach has been to measure the solids concentration of the filter effluent regardless of the size distribution or the composition of the solids. Solids concentration alone is not solely indicative of water quality related to injectivity into a producing formation in a waterflood. Common contaminants, such as oil and scale, can cause poor water quality, yet they remain undetected by solids meters. This often indicates that filtration alone is adequate for achieving water quality which will protect water injection wells from damage. Inadvertent damage by oil droplets and scale would have been overlooked.

A commentary on the case of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted of the murder of 270 people in the Pan Am 103 disaster. Saturday, 11 February 2017 Lockerbie witnesses were paid [This is the headline over anarticleby Dr Ludwig de Braeckeleer published in OhmyNews International on this date in 2009. It reads in part:] In recent times, allegations have resurfaced regarding payments offered to key witnesses of the Lockerbie trial. Specifically, there have been rumors that Majid Giaka, Paul and Tony Gauci were each paid about US$4 million for their help in the conviction of Megrahi for the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Scotland on Dec. 21, 1988. (...) Richard Marquise, the FBI agent who led the Lockerbie investigation, forcefully denied that witnesses were ever offered any money. '"I can assure you that no witnesses were ever offered any money by anyone--including the CIA," Marquise told OhmyNews. "This issue came up at trial and I spoke with the defense lawyers about it in Edinburgh in 1999 -- before trial. No one was promised or even told that they could get money for saying anything. Every FBI agent was under specific orders not to mention money to any potential witness." (...) 'A source speaking on condition of anonymity told Jeff Stein, the national security editor of the Congressional Quarterly, that a key witness, Tony Gauci, and his brother were each paid somewhere between $3 million to $4 million for providing information leading to the conviction of Megrahi. 'Moreover, former State Department lawyer Michael Scharf confirmed to OhmyNews that rewards were paid in the context of the Lockerbie trial. '"I knew that rewards payments were made, but not the amount. The Awards for Terrorism Information program has been around since the 1980s, and has been expanded to rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of international indicted war criminals like Karadzic and Mladic. When I worked at the Office of the Legal Adviser of the State Department I was involved in the program," Scharf wrote in an email to OhmyNews. (...) 'Prof Black, often referred to as the architect of the Lockerbie trial, agrees. "The issue of payments made or promised to witnesses forms an important part of the Grounds of Appeal," Black told the author. '"At one time in Scotland, if payment had been made, or promised, to a witness that was an absolute bar to his giving evidence. Today, it is simply a factor that must be taken into account in assessing his credibility. However, in order for this to be done, it is necessary that the court should know that the payment was made or promised. Failure by the Crown to disclose the promise or the payment is a serious breach of their duty to the court and to the administration of justice," Black said.' 1 comment: I could not have put it better myself Robert so why did Marquis deny that money was paid. The trial was to be held under "Scottish"law not US law. Bribing the witnesses is only part of the problem. The whole Lockerbie scenario from start to finish was hijacked. Is this because of the "Special"relationship which a US state dept official described as "You do exactly what we tell you" And that is exactly what we did at every level. Translate Blog Archive Contributors VISITS The hit counter that I have been using has given up the ghost. From now on, I shall periodically disclose here the total number of pageviews from July 2010, as provided by blogspot/blogger. As at 09.00 GMT on 08 Febuary 2018, the pageviews numbered 1,700,288. unique visitors since 2200 on 13 Nov 09 Comments Readers are invited to comment on blog posts. All comments require to be pre-moderated by me, and I shall reject all (a) that are not related to the Lockerbie disaster or (b) that fail to meet my -- perhaps idiosyncratic -- standards of courtesy towards other contributors. Comments will not be rejected simply because I disagree with them or because I, or other contributors, find them irritating. But comments will be rejected if they distort or misrepresent the evidence; are defamatory; or if they risk embroiling me, as publisher, in defamation proceedings. I am perfectly relaxed about being sued in respect of material which I personally have posted -- but not in respect of material that others wish to post as comments and which, in any case, I often strongly disagree with. Particularly during my sojourns in South Africa, it may not be possible for me to perform the moderation function speedily. I regret the necessity of moderation but it has been rendered inevitable by the behaviour of a particular commentator whose contributions will always and without exception be rejected. No correspondence will be entered into regarding moderation decisions. Contact me If you have news or views about the Lockerbie case, you can contact me at rblackqc@outlook.com

International Action International Action is a small, non-violent, political group in Hong Kong campaigning for a range of issues such as non-violence, social justice, human rights and democracy. The group was founded in 2004 and is made up of expatriate permanent residents and locals. Their website claims that they represent the new breed of foreigners who reside in Hong Kong without the expatriate perks. International Action is not a closed group and welcomes anyone who may want to join. The group uses mixed campaign strategies of forging support and attention both in public and private spaces. Beliefs and approach The group's website states that it believes the democratic movement in Hong Kong needs to change its strategy to be more effective in the fight for real power for the people. It says the democratic camp should consider using tactics that are right for the cultural, social and political situation of Hong Kong in 2008. Past action On April 30, 2006, the group deflated a large McDonald's advertisement located on top of North Point Ferry Pier. The group was calling for better worker's rights and a minimum wage for Labour Day, the following day. A member also described the inflatable bill-board as an "eyesore" on the harbour. On January 23, 2006, the group supported teachers' unions demanding less pressure in Hong Kong schools. The group wore nooses around their necks to symbolise the increasing number of teacher stress-related suicides in the territory. On December 21, 2005, Matt Pearce, dressed as Santa Claus, climbed onto a structure across Connaught Road, Central, while the Legislative Council voted on constitutional development. He was subsequently charged with causing a public nuisance and given 100 hours of community service. On December 4, 2005, group members, in costume, joined the democracy march to oppose the government's 5th report on Constitutional Development. On July 6, 2005, members dressed in tribal African clothing and unfurled a banner demanding more to be done at the G8 meeting to tackle poverty in Africa. On July 1, 2005, the group dressed as cartoon characters 'The Incredibles' and joined the territory-wide pro-democracy demonstration. On June 3, 2005, Matt Pearce climbed to the top of large outdoor TV screen in Central and unfurled a banner that said "Tiananmen Square 4.6.1989 : Justice Must Prevail". For this protest, he was convicted of causing a public nuisance and given a 21-day prison sentence. On May 17, 2005, on the first International Day Against Homophobia, the group dressed up to support the gay and lesbian community and demand that gay marriage is made legal. On May 1, 2005, Labour Day in Hong Kong, the group staged a protest dressed as Supermen in a branch of local supermarket 'Park n Shop'. The group handed out $50 notes to staff, suggesting that the amount would be an appropriate minimum wage for Hong Kong workers. On April 1, 2005, April Fool's Day, the group dressed as clowns, suggesting that the upcoming election for Chief Executive was a joke and Hong Kong people wanted full democracy. On March 14, 2005 on the eve of the 2005 Budget, a member dressed as Robin Hood and handcuffed himself to the front door of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The group wanted more to be done to help the poor in Hong Kong. See also Direct Action Non-violence References External links International Action Website Category:Politics of Hong Kong Category:Protests Category:Activism

Pyrroloquinoline quinone attenuates iNOS gene expression in the injured spinal cord. Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is a naturally occurring redox cofactor that acts as an essential nutrient, antioxidant, and redox modulator. PQQ has been demonstrated to oxidize the redox modulatory site of N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors. Such agents are known to be neuroprotective in experimental stroke models. Therefore, we examined the possible ameliorating effect of PQQ on spinal cord injury (SCI) in adult rats. Intraperitoneal administration of PQQ effectively promoted the functional recovery of SCI rats after hemi-transection, which was preceded by the attenuation of the expression of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) mRNA in the injury site. NO is involved in the secondary detrimental mechanisms and has been implicated in NMDA receptor-mediated neurotoxicity. In fact, administration of PQQ induced significantly decreased lesion size and increased axon density adjoining the lesion area. These observations suggest that PQQ protects against the secondary damage by reducing iNOS expression following primary physical injury to the spinal cord.

Safety and immunogenicity of a chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored Ebola vaccine in healthy adults: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-finding, phase 1/2a study. The ongoing Ebola outbreak led to accelerated efforts to test vaccine candidates. On the basis of a request by WHO, we aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of the monovalent, recombinant, chimpanzee adenovirus type-3 vector-based Ebola Zaire vaccine (ChAd3-EBO-Z). We did this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-finding, phase 1/2a trial at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland. Participants (aged 18-65 years) were randomly assigned (2:2:1), via two computer-generated randomisation lists for individuals potentially deployed in endemic areas and those not deployed, to receive a single intramuscular dose of high-dose vaccine (5 × 10(10) viral particles), low-dose vaccine (2·5 × 10(10) viral particles), or placebo. Deployed participants were allocated to only the vaccine groups. Group allocation was concealed from non-deployed participants, investigators, and outcome assessors. The safety evaluation was not masked for potentially deployed participants, who were therefore not included in the safety analysis for comparison between the vaccine doses and placebo, but were pooled with the non-deployed group to compare immunogenicity. The main objectives were safety and immunogenicity of ChAd3-EBO-Z. We did analysis by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02289027. Between Oct 24, 2014, and June 22, 2015, we randomly assigned 120 participants, of whom 18 (15%) were potentially deployed and 102 (85%) were non-deployed, to receive high-dose vaccine (n=49), low-dose vaccine (n=51), or placebo (n=20). Participants were followed up for 6 months. No vaccine-related serious adverse events were reported. We recorded local adverse events in 30 (75%) of 40 participants in the high-dose group, 33 (79%) of 42 participants in the low-dose group, and five (25%) of 20 participants in the placebo group. Fatigue or malaise was the most common systemic adverse event, reported in 25 (62%) participants in the high-dose group, 25 (60%) participants in the low-dose group, and five (25%) participants in the placebo group, followed by headache, reported in 23 (57%), 25 (60%), and three (15%) participants, respectively. Fever occurred 24 h after injection in 12 (30%) participants in the high-dose group and 11 (26%) participants in the low-dose group versus one (5%) participant in the placebo group. Geometric mean concentrations of IgG antibodies against Ebola glycoprotein peaked on day 28 at 51 μg/mL (95% CI 41·1-63·3) in the high-dose group, 44·9 μg/mL (25·8-56·3) in the low-dose group, and 5·2 μg/mL (3·5-7·6) in the placebo group, with respective response rates of 96% (95% CI 85·7-99·5), 96% (86·5-99·5), and 5% (0·1-24·9). Geometric mean concentrations decreased by day 180 to 25·5 μg/mL (95% CI 20·6-31·5) in the high-dose group, 22·1 μg/mL (19·3-28·6) in the low-dose group, and 3·2 μg/mL (2·4-4·9) in the placebo group. 28 (57%) participants given high-dose vaccine and 31 (61%) participants given low-dose vaccine developed glycoprotein-specific CD4 cell responses, and 33 (67%) and 35 (69%), respectively, developed CD8 responses. ChAd3-EBO-Z was safe and well tolerated, although mild to moderate systemic adverse events were common. A single dose was immunogenic in almost all vaccine recipients. Antibody responses were still significantly present at 6 months. There was no significant difference between doses for safety and immunogenicity outcomes. This acceptable safety profile provides a reliable basis to proceed with phase 2 and phase 3 efficacy trials in Africa. Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), through the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.

Q: Find JSON value for a specific key in Nested JSON with unstructured keys using underscore I have a Nested JSON object and I want to find the value of the specific key in it. let's say JSON is like this: var data={ name:"dsd", work: "abcd", address:{ street:"wewe 32", apt: 12, city: "ca", geo:{ lat: 23.4332, lng: 132.232 }, hobbies:["play","sing"] } } Now if I want to find the value of "city", then it should give me "ca", If I want to find the value of "lng" then it should return 132.232. if I want to find the value of "hobbies" it should give me [play, sing]. How can I get this? Solution using underscore or lodash will be appreciated. A: You can achieve this by recursively iterating over lodash#some. Check the comments below for guidance. function getValueByKey(object, key) { // The resulting value of a matched key var result; // Use _.some as an iterator, to stop the iteration // and recursion once a match is found. Also, name // the predicate function for recursion. _.some(object, function matchKey(value, $key) { if ($key === key) { // is key a match? result = value; // set the result return true; // this stops the iteration and recursion } else if (_.isObject(value)) { // is value an object? // recursively match the keys all over again return _.some(value, matchKey); } }); // return matched result return result; } var data = { name: "dsd", work: "abcd", address: { street: "wewe 32", apt: 12, city: "ca", geo: { lat: 23.4332, lng: 132.232 }, hobbies: ["play", "sing"] } }; function getValueByKey(object, key) { // The resulting value of a matched key var result; // Use _.some as an iterator, to stop the iteration // and recursion once a match is found. Also, name // the predicate function for recursion. _.some(object, function matchKey(value, $key) { if ($key === key) { // is key a match? result = value; // set the result return true; // this stops the iteration and recursion } else if (_.isObject(value)) { // is value an object? // recursively match the keys all over again return _.some(value, matchKey); } }); // return matched result return result; } console.log('hobbies:', getValueByKey(data, 'hobbies')); console.log('geo:', getValueByKey(data, 'geo')); console.log('lng:', getValueByKey(data, 'lng')); .as-console-wrapper { min-height: 100%; top: 0; } <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/lodash.js/4.17.4/lodash.min.js"></script> Alternative: Here's a non-recursive vanilla javascript solution: function getValueByKey(object, key) { // simulate recursion by stacking var stack = [object]; var current, index, value; // keep iterating until the stack is empty while (stack.length) { // take the head of the stack current = stack.pop(); // iterate over the current object for (index in current) { // get value of the iterated object value = current[index]; // is it a match? if (key === index) { return value; // return the matched value } // value must be an object and not a null value // to be subject for the next stack iteration else if (value !== null && typeof value === 'object') { // add this value in the stack stack.unshift(value); } } } } var data = { name: "dsd", work: "abcd", address: { street: "wewe 32", apt: 12, city: "ca", geo: { lat: 23.4332, lng: 132.232 }, hobbies: ["play", "sing"] } } function getValueByKey(object, key) { // simulate recursion by stacking var stack = [object]; var current, index, value; // keep iterating until the stack is empty while (stack.length) { // take the head of the stack current = stack.pop(); // iterate over the current object for (index in current) { // get value of the iterated object value = current[index]; // is it a match? if (key === index) { return value; // return the matched value } // value must be an object and not a null value // to be subject for the next stack iteration else if (value !== null && typeof value === 'object') { // add this value in the stack stack.unshift(value); } } } } console.log('hobbies:', getValueByKey(data, 'hobbies')); console.log('geo:', getValueByKey(data, 'geo')); console.log('lng:', getValueByKey(data, 'lng')); .as-console-wrapper { min-height: 100%; top: 0; }

* Calls to this number will be recorded for quality, compliance and training purposes. Property features A two double bedroom period cottage Two reception rooms, Modern Kitchen Ground floor Bathroom off kitchen Double glazed sash windows Gas heating throughout Brick shed with electricity supply 0.5 miles to High Barnet Tube Property description There is a wide choice of restaurants in High Barnet and the recently regenerated Spires Shopping Centre is host to a Carluccio restaurant along with a selection of privately owned restaurants and a brand new H&M. You can also Visit the local farmers market on a Wednesday or Saturday and sample a beer from the local micro brewery. Local schools are Fould's and Christchurch. A well presented two double bedroom period semi-detached cottage . The property comprises of two reception rooms with wood flooring, modern kitchen with all the required appliances including a dishwasher and a ground floor bathroom with shower over the bath. One of the bedrooms include a large storage area and the other has a small cupboard used as a wardrobe. The property has gas central heating and double glazed sash windows. The private rear garden includes an independent brick shed with an electricity supply and an area to the side where you can place a table and chairs. Disclaimer Property descriptions and related information displayed on this page, with the exclusion of Running Costs data, are marketing materials provided by Andrews - Barnet, and do not constitute property particulars. Please contact Andrews - Barnet for full details and further information. The Running Costs data displayed on this page are provided by Zoopla to give an indication of potential running costs based on various data sources. Zoopla does not warrant or accept any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the property descriptions, related information or Running Costs data provided here. What's it like to live here? Broadband speed at this location Superfast Up to 80 Mbps + Learn more- Close Aimed at larger families and heavy internet users. Superfast broadband is great if you download a lot of HD or 4K movies and TV boxsets and ensures a smooth, buffering-free experience when you're using streaming services, such as Netflix, Now TV and Spotify, to watch HD TV on multiple devices around the home. Online gaming is much more responsive too.

Category: Catering Catering to some couples, the finest wines and the choicest delicacies are worth splashing out on, for others, food is secondary to entertainment, bridal and decorations. As with many areas of wedding planning, your budget will help dictate where to hold your reception. For many people, holding their reception in a Hotel or restaurant which already accommodates for food and beverage is a great way to keep costs down. For others who have their hearts set on luxurious villas, a well established and reliable Bali catering company is a must have. Bali Wedding Solutions works with a number of Bali’s reputable companies and by choosing us as your planner you are not only securing a great vendor but you will also be paying less if you were to organise it yourself. Ely’s Catering Ely’s makes catering for your friends, family and work colleagues easy, providing set menu’s, buffets and cocktail menus as well as non-alcoholic and alcoholic open bar beverage packages. With their extensive range of menus for every taste and budget, they aim to please. They pride themselves on making the catering of your event as enjoyable as possible. Their experienced team of caterers can not only help you plan your event catering but also give you the best advice, from ordering the right menu to ensuring you have enough delicious food for your hungry guests. If you’re looking for something a little bit different for your special event, their team can make a tailor made menu to suit your needs.www.elysbalicatering.com Taste Testing Regardless of the menu you order (set or buffet) all dishes are available for taste testing before the big day. Inquire Your Name (required) Your Email (valid email required) Event Date (required) Ceremony OptionsLegal WeddingCommitmentBlessingRenewal of Vows Your Message Submit Welcome Hi I’m Diana, owner of Bali Wedding Solutions, if you’re looking to get married in Bali then you’ve come to the right place. Bali Wedding Solutions offers an extensive range of wedding ceremony packages as well as legal wedding organising, wedding planning services and wedding reception coordination. Feel free to look around, if you have any questions you can email me through our enquiry form page above. Facebook B3, Newland JimbaranJl Raya Uluwatu, 88XBali, Indonesia +62 81805528603 dianaatmanegara Hi Diana, Thank you so much for organising the perfect Bali wedding!! It was everything we wished for and more!! We couldn't have done it without you. Everyone absolutely loved the day. The set up was perfect, the food was amazing and the way you guys took care of everything on sight made us be able to relax and enjoy the big day!

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Follow us Account HOTLINE Volvo will unveil the follow-up to its acclaimed ’twister’ commercial on Monday, kicking off a heavyweight pounds 2-pounds 3 million run on national television over the next six weeks. The spot was created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and directed by Patricia Murphy at Patricia Murphy Films. Volvo will unveil the follow-up to its acclaimed ’twister’ commercial on Monday, kicking off a heavyweight pounds 2-pounds 3 million run on national television over the next six weeks. The spot was created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and directed by Patricia Murphy at Patricia Murphy Films. CIA Medianetwork has begun seeking a senior management figure to take a new role with the company. The general manager will cover the commercial side of the business as well as client handling. The Natural History Museum has shortlisted WCRS, Mellors Reay and Partners and Court Burkitt and Company for its advertising account. The previous incumbent, Leagas Delaney, parted company with the museum earlier this year. TSMS, the ITV sales house, has signed a new four-and-a-half-year airtime sales contract with the Wales and West of England broadcaster, HTV. The deal scotches speculation that Carlton UK Sales was about to poach the account from its rival. TSMS is also looking for a high-profile executive to represent commercial opportunities beyond spot airtime. Levi Strauss is launching a music programme next week in association with its media agency, Motive, and MTV Europe. MTV Base will incorporate Levi’s branding in its title sequences. Levi’s will also promote the show through its Original Levi’s Stores. Ogilvy and Mather has appointed the account director, David Muir, as new-business manager. Muir replaces Tom Vick, who is returning to account management to run the Eagle Star account. Muir, a 1997 Campaign Face to Watch, will work closely with Katrina Michel, O&M’s new-business director for the UK and Europe. Paul Twivy is still talking to the BBC about a top-level strategic marketing job, having pulled out of the race for the newly created post of director of marketing and communications, BBC Broadcast, some weeks before the job went to Sue Farr (Campaign, last week). The World Conservation Union, the 50-year-old international charity dedicated to scientific research and nature conservation, has appointed Ammirati Puris Lintas to handle its through-the-line global communications. APL’s assignment will include an awareness campaign, worth pounds 1 million, and the development of a new corporate identity. The business will be led out of London and then rolled out across key markets worldwide. CIA Medianetwork has scooped the pan-European media planning and buying account for the classic bike company, Harley-Davidson. CIA pitched for the account - expected to be worth more than pounds 1 million in the UK - alongside the creative agency network, Elan, whose UK partner, Butterfield Day Devito Hockney, will handle the creative business in the UK. John Thater, the managing director of Emap Media, which publishes magazines such as Broadcast and Media Week, has resigned following a reorganisation of reporting lines by Tony Tillen, the chief executive of the company’s umbrella, Emap Business Communications. Thater leaves the company at the end of this week. Tony Harris, the managing director of Emap Computing, will assume Thater’s responsibilities in a move that is likely to lead to closer ties between the Media and Computing arms. Wagadon has hired Tina Gaudoin, the deputy editor at Conde Nast’s Tatler, to edit its new fashion and lifestyle women’s monthly, inspired by the men’s magazine, Arena. The new magazine has yet to be given a name. Freemans, the home shopping company, has shortlisted three agencies for

Expression of mRNAs encoding oestrogen receptor (ER) alpha and ERbeta, androgen receptor and progesterone receptor during gonadal and follicular development in the marsupial brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). The objective of the present study was to determine which ovarian cells express mRNAs for oestrogen (ERalpha and ERbeta), androgen (AR) and progesterone (PR) receptors during ovarian and follicular development in the brushtail possum. Expression of ERalpha and/or ERbeta mRNA was observed from birth, initially in cells of the blastema, then in the medullary cords from Day 20. ERalpha was expressed in the oocytes and granulosa cells of secondary and antral follicles. Preovulatory follicles did not express ERalpha mRNA, although their oocytes were not examined for any gene. ERbeta mRNA was observed in oocytes at all follicular stages examined, but was not consistently observed in granulosa or theca cells. Expression of AR mRNA before Day 40 was very faint; thereafter, expression was observed in the medullary cords, peaking between Days 60 and 120. Oocytes, granulosa cells and theca of secondary and antral, but not preovulatory, follicles expressed AR mRNA. PR mRNA was expressed throughout the gonad by Day 20. Granulosa cells of some secondary and antral follicles and theca of antral follicles expressed PR mRNA. Thus, the expression of mRNAs encoding steroidogenic receptors in a time- and cell-specific manner supports a role for steroids in the process of ovarian follicular formation and growth.

The deaths of two female students from Thailand, whose bodies were found in an apartment on Tuesday, has been ruled a murder-suicide, The Seattle Times reported Thursday. Kornkamol Leenavarat, 25, and her friend Thiti-orn Chotchuangsap, 32, were found dead in an apartment in Seattle’s University District on Tuesday after police responded to a call from a building manager around 9:30 a.m. The building managers had conducted a welfare check and “found a seriously injured woman inside,” a police statement said. When police arrived, both of the women were dead. The younger woman died from multiple stab wounds and her death was ruled a homicide, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office in Seattle said Thursday. Bangkok media reported that she had flown to the U.S. recently to attend the University of Washington. The medical examiner said the older woman died of a stab wound to the chest and that her death was ruled a suicide. Both women died on Saturday. Seattle Police said there are no outstanding suspects in the investigation. The younger woman is reportedly a member of a political family in Thanyaburi, a district located about 35 miles northeast of Bangkok. Both women were studying for a master’s degree in law, according to a statement from University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce. "This is a heartbreaking loss for their families, friends and our entire community. I offer condolences on behalf of our University to everyone who is grieving as a result of this tragedy," she said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Gib Guilbeau Floyd August "Gib" Guilbeau (September 26, 1937 – April 12, 2016) was an American Cajun country rock musician and songwriter. As a member of Nashville West, Swampwater, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and later The Burrito Brothers, Guilbeau helped pioneer the fusion of rock and country music in the 1960s. Biography Guilbeau was born in Sunset, Louisiana and raised among fiddle players. His father and brothers played fiddle, and Gib started playing fiddle at the age of fourteen. In 1960, Guilbeau formed The Four Young Men with guitarist Wayne Moore, which Bobby Edwards then joined to become Bobby Edwards & the Four Young Men. Together, they released the single "You're the Reason", which became a nationwide hit, peaking at #4 Country and #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. In 1967 Guilbeau formed The Reasons (aka "Nashville West," actually the name of a club they played at in El Monte, CA), a short-lived country rock group with multi-instrumentalist Gene Parsons, who had played with Guilbeau in a band called the Castaways years earlier, guitarist Clarence White, formerly of the Kentucky Colonels, and Wayne Moore on bass. Along with bands such as the Byrds, Dillard & Clark and the International Submarine Band, Nashville West was one of the first country rock bands. Country rock notables such as Gram Parsons and future Flying Burrito Brother Sneaky Pete Kleinow would sit in with the group. It also provided backing for other groups, such as the Gosdin Brothers and others on Gary Paxton's Bakersfield International record label. The Reasons came to an end in 1968 when Gram Parsons abruptly left the Byrds and the group asked Clarence White (and, shortly thereafter, Reasons drummer Gene Parsons—no relation) to replace him. In 1969, Guilbeau played in the group Swampwater, originally formed to back Linda Ronstadt following the breakup of the Stone Poneys. Swampwater played a unique brand of Cajun rock that had no precedents in rock music. Swampwater recorded two albums before they broke up. In 1972, Guilbeau contributed to the soundtrack for the Martin Scorsese film Boxcar Bertha. In 1974, along with Gene Parsons and original members Chris Ethridge and Sneaky Pete Kleinow, he formed a latter-day version of the Flying Burrito Brothers. The band underwent many personnel changes, performing and recording sporadically into the 1990s. Guilbeau died in 2016, aged 78. As a songwriter, Guilbeau's songs have been covered by many artists, including The Byrds, Ricky Nelson, Bobby Womack, Ronnie Wood, and Rod Stewart. References External links Category:1937 births Category:2016 deaths Category:People from Sunset, Louisiana Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Singers from Louisiana Category:The Flying Burrito Brothers members Category:Cajun musicians Category:Songwriters from Louisiana Category:Nashville West members

Objectives: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is strongly associated with many aspects of military service including blast injury. The objectives of this proposal are to improve the prevention and treatment of SNHL in veterans. Research Design: To improve our understanding of cellular processes underlying hair cell (HC) damage and loss, the contributions of molecular isoforms within known HC damage and survival pathways will be evaluated by determining their expression, and by evaluating HC loss in gene knockout mice. To improve SNHL prevention, pharmaceutical agents that can protect cochlear HCs from damage will also be identified. To improve treatment for SNHL, transcription factors that enhance the ability of Atoh1 to induce the conversion of mammalian cochlear non-sensory cells into HCs will be identified. In addition, modifications to mechanisms of gene silencing will be studied to identify epigenetic limitations on the ability of nonsensory inner ear cells to adopt features of the HC phenotype. Methodology: Studies will be performed using in vitro cultures of inner ear sensory epithelia, and in vivo studies of noise damage to the cochlea. For identification of HC protectants and transcription factors, innovative high-throughput methods have been developed to permit rapid, but targeted, screening of pharmaceuticals and induced gene expression in mammalian cochlear epithelia. Progress over the past period of funding: Mechanisms of ototoxin entry into HCs have been identified; cellular patterns of reactive oxygen species accumulation into HCs have been determined and antioxidant treatments evaluated; two novel intracellular pathways of HC protection have been defined; three gene mutations that lead to deafness have been identified; a critical period of HC development in which transplantation is possible has been determined; two novel transcription factors that enhance the conversion of nonsensory cochlear cells into HCs have been identified, and epigenetic manipulation of the cochlear sensory epithelium to enhance gene expression induced by a viral vector has been performed. Clinical Relationship: The prevention and treatment of SNHL is of great importance to veterans and to the VA. The effects of SNHL on veterans' quality of life are substantial. SNHL and tinnitus also account for more disability compensation in the VA than any other disorder, and rehabilitation costs are high. The proposed research is targeted at developing new and improved therapies for prevention and treatment of this important health problem.

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Air conditioning systems sometimes play an unintended role as a source of pathogenic microorganisms. Under certain conditions frequently common in the evaporator section of an air conditioning system, mold can grow on the evaporator coil and drain pan surfaces, thereby affecting overall air quality. As a viable method to control the microbial growth, UltraViolet Germicidal Radiation (UVGR) sterilization has gained public acceptance. More specifically, ultraviolet C-band (UVC) radiation within the evaporator assembly provided by a UVC lamp improves air quality and maintains system efficiency by keeping the evaporator mold-free. However, UVC can cause eye injury and therefore must be carefully integrated with the evaporator assembly. To prevent such injury, a safety interlock mechanism is often integrated with UVC lamp units preventing illumination of the lamp unless it is completely installed in its intended position. One system relies upon a spring biasing a switch depressing lever away from the switch when the mounting assembly is not installed in a proper aperture of a duct. This can be defeated readily by installing a UV lamp into the mounting assembly, and then depressing an exposed portion of the switch depressing lever. Another approach is similar with a mounting base that must be in contact with the duct to energize the electrical circuit. It appears that this interlock could be defeated in much the same way as the previous art because it only requires contact with a “depressing surface.” Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a more positive interlock that prevents electrical circuit activation when the lamp holder is not installed in the base.

Microsoft Visual Studio Solution File, Format Version 10.00 # Visual Studio 2008 Project("{8BC9CEB8-8B4A-11D0-8D11-00A0C91BC942}") = "Util", "Util_x64_vs90.vcproj", "{6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}" EndProject Project("{8BC9CEB8-8B4A-11D0-8D11-00A0C91BC942}") = "TestSuite", "testsuite\TestSuite_x64_vs90.vcproj", "{E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}" ProjectSection(ProjectDependencies) = postProject {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C} = {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C} EndProjectSection EndProject Global GlobalSection(SolutionConfigurationPlatforms) = preSolution debug_shared|x64 = debug_shared|x64 release_shared|x64 = release_shared|x64 debug_static_mt|x64 = debug_static_mt|x64 release_static_mt|x64 = release_static_mt|x64 debug_static_md|x64 = debug_static_md|x64 release_static_md|x64 = release_static_md|x64 EndGlobalSection GlobalSection(ProjectConfigurationPlatforms) = postSolution {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.debug_shared|x64.ActiveCfg = debug_shared|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.debug_shared|x64.Build.0 = debug_shared|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.debug_shared|x64.Deploy.0 = debug_shared|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.release_shared|x64.ActiveCfg = release_shared|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.release_shared|x64.Build.0 = release_shared|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.release_shared|x64.Deploy.0 = release_shared|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.debug_static_mt|x64.ActiveCfg = debug_static_mt|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.debug_static_mt|x64.Build.0 = debug_static_mt|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.debug_static_mt|x64.Deploy.0 = debug_static_mt|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.release_static_mt|x64.ActiveCfg = release_static_mt|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.release_static_mt|x64.Build.0 = release_static_mt|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.release_static_mt|x64.Deploy.0 = release_static_mt|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.debug_static_md|x64.ActiveCfg = debug_static_md|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.debug_static_md|x64.Build.0 = debug_static_md|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.debug_static_md|x64.Deploy.0 = debug_static_md|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.release_static_md|x64.ActiveCfg = release_static_md|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.release_static_md|x64.Build.0 = release_static_md|x64 {6FF56CDB-787A-4714-A28C-919003F9FA6C}.release_static_md|x64.Deploy.0 = release_static_md|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.debug_shared|x64.ActiveCfg = debug_shared|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.debug_shared|x64.Build.0 = debug_shared|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.debug_shared|x64.Deploy.0 = debug_shared|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.release_shared|x64.ActiveCfg = release_shared|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.release_shared|x64.Build.0 = release_shared|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.release_shared|x64.Deploy.0 = release_shared|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.debug_static_mt|x64.ActiveCfg = debug_static_mt|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.debug_static_mt|x64.Build.0 = debug_static_mt|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.debug_static_mt|x64.Deploy.0 = debug_static_mt|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.release_static_mt|x64.ActiveCfg = release_static_mt|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.release_static_mt|x64.Build.0 = release_static_mt|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.release_static_mt|x64.Deploy.0 = release_static_mt|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.debug_static_md|x64.ActiveCfg = debug_static_md|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.debug_static_md|x64.Build.0 = debug_static_md|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.debug_static_md|x64.Deploy.0 = debug_static_md|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.release_static_md|x64.ActiveCfg = release_static_md|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.release_static_md|x64.Build.0 = release_static_md|x64 {E40E738C-447B-40F4-A878-EBA9A2459270}.release_static_md|x64.Deploy.0 = release_static_md|x64 EndGlobalSection GlobalSection(SolutionProperties) = preSolution HideSolutionNode = FALSE EndGlobalSection EndGlobal

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 09-6800 MARVIN J. COVINGTON, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, Rick Jackson Warden, Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Graham C. Mullen, Senior District Judge. (3:09-cv-00020-GCM) Submitted: September 10, 2009 Decided: September 15, 2009 Before KING, DUNCAN, and AGEE, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Marvin J. Covington, Appellant Pro Se. Clarence Joe DelForge, III, Assistant Attorney General, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Marvin J. Covington seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2006) petition. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (2006). A certificate of appealability will not issue absent “a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) (2006). A prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists would find that any assessment of the constitutional claims by the district court is debatable or wrong and that any dispositive procedural ruling by the district court is likewise debatable. See Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336-38 (2003); Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000); Rose v. Lee, 252 F.3d 676, 683-84 (4th Cir. 2001). We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Covington has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny Covington’s motion for a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 2 

/* * Copyright © 2017 Google, Inc. * * This is part of HarfBuzz, a text shaping library. * * Permission is hereby granted, without written agreement and without * license or royalty fees, to use, copy, modify, and distribute this * software and its documentation for any purpose, provided that the * above copyright notice and the following two paragraphs appear in * all copies of this software. * * IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR * DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES * ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN * IF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH * DAMAGE. * * THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, * BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS * ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER HAS NO OBLIGATION TO * PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS. * * Google Author(s): Behdad Esfahbod */ #ifndef HB_AAT_LAYOUT_MORX_TABLE_HH #define HB_AAT_LAYOUT_MORX_TABLE_HH #include "hb-open-type.hh" #include "hb-aat-layout-common.hh" #include "hb-ot-layout-common.hh" #include "hb-aat-map.hh" /* * morx -- Extended Glyph Metamorphosis * https://developer.apple.com/fonts/TrueType-Reference-Manual/RM06/Chap6morx.html * https://developer.apple.com/fonts/TrueType-Reference-Manual/RM06/Chap6mort.html */ #define HB_AAT_TAG_morx HB_TAG('m','o','r','x') #define HB_AAT_TAG_mort HB_TAG('m','o','r','t') namespace AAT { using namespace OT; template <typename Types> struct RearrangementSubtable { typedef typename Types::HBUINT HBUINT; typedef void EntryData; struct driver_context_t { static constexpr bool in_place = true; enum Flags { MarkFirst = 0x8000, /* If set, make the current glyph the first * glyph to be rearranged. */ DontAdvance = 0x4000, /* If set, don't advance to the next glyph * before going to the new state. This means * that the glyph index doesn't change, even * if the glyph at that index has changed. */ MarkLast = 0x2000, /* If set, make the current glyph the last * glyph to be rearranged. */ Reserved = 0x1FF0, /* These bits are reserved and should be set to 0. */ Verb = 0x000F, /* The type of rearrangement specified. */ }; driver_context_t (const RearrangementSubtable *table HB_UNUSED) : ret (false), start (0), end (0) {} bool is_actionable (StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> *driver HB_UNUSED, const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { return (entry.flags & Verb) && start < end; } void transition (StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> *driver, const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { hb_buffer_t *buffer = driver->buffer; unsigned int flags = entry.flags; if (flags & MarkFirst) start = buffer->idx; if (flags & MarkLast) end = hb_min (buffer->idx + 1, buffer->len); if ((flags & Verb) && start < end) { /* The following map has two nibbles, for start-side * and end-side. Values of 0,1,2 mean move that many * to the other side. Value of 3 means move 2 and * flip them. */ const unsigned char map[16] = { 0x00, /* 0 no change */ 0x10, /* 1 Ax => xA */ 0x01, /* 2 xD => Dx */ 0x11, /* 3 AxD => DxA */ 0x20, /* 4 ABx => xAB */ 0x30, /* 5 ABx => xBA */ 0x02, /* 6 xCD => CDx */ 0x03, /* 7 xCD => DCx */ 0x12, /* 8 AxCD => CDxA */ 0x13, /* 9 AxCD => DCxA */ 0x21, /* 10 ABxD => DxAB */ 0x31, /* 11 ABxD => DxBA */ 0x22, /* 12 ABxCD => CDxAB */ 0x32, /* 13 ABxCD => CDxBA */ 0x23, /* 14 ABxCD => DCxAB */ 0x33, /* 15 ABxCD => DCxBA */ }; unsigned int m = map[flags & Verb]; unsigned int l = hb_min (2u, m >> 4); unsigned int r = hb_min (2u, m & 0x0F); bool reverse_l = 3 == (m >> 4); bool reverse_r = 3 == (m & 0x0F); if (end - start >= l + r) { buffer->merge_clusters (start, hb_min (buffer->idx + 1, buffer->len)); buffer->merge_clusters (start, end); hb_glyph_info_t *info = buffer->info; hb_glyph_info_t buf[4]; memcpy (buf, info + start, l * sizeof (buf[0])); memcpy (buf + 2, info + end - r, r * sizeof (buf[0])); if (l != r) memmove (info + start + r, info + start + l, (end - start - l - r) * sizeof (buf[0])); memcpy (info + start, buf + 2, r * sizeof (buf[0])); memcpy (info + end - l, buf, l * sizeof (buf[0])); if (reverse_l) { buf[0] = info[end - 1]; info[end - 1] = info[end - 2]; info[end - 2] = buf[0]; } if (reverse_r) { buf[0] = info[start]; info[start] = info[start + 1]; info[start + 1] = buf[0]; } } } } public: bool ret; private: unsigned int start; unsigned int end; }; bool apply (hb_aat_apply_context_t *c) const { TRACE_APPLY (this); driver_context_t dc (this); StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> driver (machine, c->buffer, c->face); driver.drive (&dc); return_trace (dc.ret); } bool sanitize (hb_sanitize_context_t *c) const { TRACE_SANITIZE (this); return_trace (machine.sanitize (c)); } protected: StateTable<Types, EntryData> machine; public: DEFINE_SIZE_STATIC (16); }; template <typename Types> struct ContextualSubtable { typedef typename Types::HBUINT HBUINT; struct EntryData { HBUINT16 markIndex; /* Index of the substitution table for the * marked glyph (use 0xFFFF for none). */ HBUINT16 currentIndex; /* Index of the substitution table for the * current glyph (use 0xFFFF for none). */ public: DEFINE_SIZE_STATIC (4); }; struct driver_context_t { static constexpr bool in_place = true; enum Flags { SetMark = 0x8000, /* If set, make the current glyph the marked glyph. */ DontAdvance = 0x4000, /* If set, don't advance to the next glyph before * going to the new state. */ Reserved = 0x3FFF, /* These bits are reserved and should be set to 0. */ }; driver_context_t (const ContextualSubtable *table_, hb_aat_apply_context_t *c_) : ret (false), c (c_), mark_set (false), mark (0), table (table_), subs (table+table->substitutionTables) {} bool is_actionable (StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> *driver, const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { hb_buffer_t *buffer = driver->buffer; if (buffer->idx == buffer->len && !mark_set) return false; return entry.data.markIndex != 0xFFFF || entry.data.currentIndex != 0xFFFF; } void transition (StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> *driver, const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { hb_buffer_t *buffer = driver->buffer; /* Looks like CoreText applies neither mark nor current substitution for * end-of-text if mark was not explicitly set. */ if (buffer->idx == buffer->len && !mark_set) return; const HBGlyphID *replacement; replacement = nullptr; if (Types::extended) { if (entry.data.markIndex != 0xFFFF) { const Lookup<HBGlyphID> &lookup = subs[entry.data.markIndex]; replacement = lookup.get_value (buffer->info[mark].codepoint, driver->num_glyphs); } } else { unsigned int offset = entry.data.markIndex + buffer->info[mark].codepoint; const UnsizedArrayOf<HBGlyphID> &subs_old = (const UnsizedArrayOf<HBGlyphID> &) subs; replacement = &subs_old[Types::wordOffsetToIndex (offset, table, subs_old.arrayZ)]; if (!replacement->sanitize (&c->sanitizer) || !*replacement) replacement = nullptr; } if (replacement) { buffer->unsafe_to_break (mark, hb_min (buffer->idx + 1, buffer->len)); buffer->info[mark].codepoint = *replacement; ret = true; } replacement = nullptr; unsigned int idx = hb_min (buffer->idx, buffer->len - 1); if (Types::extended) { if (entry.data.currentIndex != 0xFFFF) { const Lookup<HBGlyphID> &lookup = subs[entry.data.currentIndex]; replacement = lookup.get_value (buffer->info[idx].codepoint, driver->num_glyphs); } } else { unsigned int offset = entry.data.currentIndex + buffer->info[idx].codepoint; const UnsizedArrayOf<HBGlyphID> &subs_old = (const UnsizedArrayOf<HBGlyphID> &) subs; replacement = &subs_old[Types::wordOffsetToIndex (offset, table, subs_old.arrayZ)]; if (!replacement->sanitize (&c->sanitizer) || !*replacement) replacement = nullptr; } if (replacement) { buffer->info[idx].codepoint = *replacement; ret = true; } if (entry.flags & SetMark) { mark_set = true; mark = buffer->idx; } } public: bool ret; private: hb_aat_apply_context_t *c; bool mark_set; unsigned int mark; const ContextualSubtable *table; const UnsizedOffsetListOf<Lookup<HBGlyphID>, HBUINT, false> &subs; }; bool apply (hb_aat_apply_context_t *c) const { TRACE_APPLY (this); driver_context_t dc (this, c); StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> driver (machine, c->buffer, c->face); driver.drive (&dc); return_trace (dc.ret); } bool sanitize (hb_sanitize_context_t *c) const { TRACE_SANITIZE (this); unsigned int num_entries = 0; if (unlikely (!machine.sanitize (c, &num_entries))) return_trace (false); if (!Types::extended) return_trace (substitutionTables.sanitize (c, this, 0)); unsigned int num_lookups = 0; const Entry<EntryData> *entries = machine.get_entries (); for (unsigned int i = 0; i < num_entries; i++) { const EntryData &data = entries[i].data; if (data.markIndex != 0xFFFF) num_lookups = hb_max (num_lookups, 1 + data.markIndex); if (data.currentIndex != 0xFFFF) num_lookups = hb_max (num_lookups, 1 + data.currentIndex); } return_trace (substitutionTables.sanitize (c, this, num_lookups)); } protected: StateTable<Types, EntryData> machine; NNOffsetTo<UnsizedOffsetListOf<Lookup<HBGlyphID>, HBUINT, false>, HBUINT> substitutionTables; public: DEFINE_SIZE_STATIC (20); }; template <bool extended> struct LigatureEntry; template <> struct LigatureEntry<true> { enum Flags { SetComponent = 0x8000, /* Push this glyph onto the component stack for * eventual processing. */ DontAdvance = 0x4000, /* Leave the glyph pointer at this glyph for the next iteration. */ PerformAction = 0x2000, /* Use the ligActionIndex to process a ligature * group. */ Reserved = 0x1FFF, /* These bits are reserved and should be set to 0. */ }; struct EntryData { HBUINT16 ligActionIndex; /* Index to the first ligActionTable entry * for processing this group, if indicated * by the flags. */ public: DEFINE_SIZE_STATIC (2); }; static bool performAction (const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { return entry.flags & PerformAction; } static unsigned int ligActionIndex (const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { return entry.data.ligActionIndex; } }; template <> struct LigatureEntry<false> { enum Flags { SetComponent = 0x8000, /* Push this glyph onto the component stack for * eventual processing. */ DontAdvance = 0x4000, /* Leave the glyph pointer at this glyph for the next iteration. */ Offset = 0x3FFF, /* Byte offset from beginning of subtable to the * ligature action list. This value must be a * multiple of 4. */ }; typedef void EntryData; static bool performAction (const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { return entry.flags & Offset; } static unsigned int ligActionIndex (const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { return entry.flags & Offset; } }; template <typename Types> struct LigatureSubtable { typedef typename Types::HBUINT HBUINT; typedef LigatureEntry<Types::extended> LigatureEntryT; typedef typename LigatureEntryT::EntryData EntryData; struct driver_context_t { static constexpr bool in_place = false; enum { DontAdvance = LigatureEntryT::DontAdvance, }; enum LigActionFlags { LigActionLast = 0x80000000, /* This is the last action in the list. This also * implies storage. */ LigActionStore = 0x40000000, /* Store the ligature at the current cumulated index * in the ligature table in place of the marked * (i.e. currently-popped) glyph. */ LigActionOffset = 0x3FFFFFFF, /* A 30-bit value which is sign-extended to 32-bits * and added to the glyph ID, resulting in an index * into the component table. */ }; driver_context_t (const LigatureSubtable *table_, hb_aat_apply_context_t *c_) : ret (false), c (c_), table (table_), ligAction (table+table->ligAction), component (table+table->component), ligature (table+table->ligature), match_length (0) {} bool is_actionable (StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> *driver HB_UNUSED, const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { return LigatureEntryT::performAction (entry); } void transition (StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> *driver, const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { hb_buffer_t *buffer = driver->buffer; DEBUG_MSG (APPLY, nullptr, "Ligature transition at %u", buffer->idx); if (entry.flags & LigatureEntryT::SetComponent) { /* Never mark same index twice, in case DontAdvance was used... */ if (match_length && match_positions[(match_length - 1u) % ARRAY_LENGTH (match_positions)] == buffer->out_len) match_length--; match_positions[match_length++ % ARRAY_LENGTH (match_positions)] = buffer->out_len; DEBUG_MSG (APPLY, nullptr, "Set component at %u", buffer->out_len); } if (LigatureEntryT::performAction (entry)) { DEBUG_MSG (APPLY, nullptr, "Perform action with %u", match_length); unsigned int end = buffer->out_len; if (unlikely (!match_length)) return; if (buffer->idx >= buffer->len) return; /* TODO Work on previous instead? */ unsigned int cursor = match_length; unsigned int action_idx = LigatureEntryT::ligActionIndex (entry); action_idx = Types::offsetToIndex (action_idx, table, ligAction.arrayZ); const HBUINT32 *actionData = &ligAction[action_idx]; unsigned int ligature_idx = 0; unsigned int action; do { if (unlikely (!cursor)) { /* Stack underflow. Clear the stack. */ DEBUG_MSG (APPLY, nullptr, "Stack underflow"); match_length = 0; break; } DEBUG_MSG (APPLY, nullptr, "Moving to stack position %u", cursor - 1); buffer->move_to (match_positions[--cursor % ARRAY_LENGTH (match_positions)]); if (unlikely (!actionData->sanitize (&c->sanitizer))) break; action = *actionData; uint32_t uoffset = action & LigActionOffset; if (uoffset & 0x20000000) uoffset |= 0xC0000000; /* Sign-extend. */ int32_t offset = (int32_t) uoffset; unsigned int component_idx = buffer->cur().codepoint + offset; component_idx = Types::wordOffsetToIndex (component_idx, table, component.arrayZ); const HBUINT16 &componentData = component[component_idx]; if (unlikely (!componentData.sanitize (&c->sanitizer))) break; ligature_idx += componentData; DEBUG_MSG (APPLY, nullptr, "Action store %u last %u", bool (action & LigActionStore), bool (action & LigActionLast)); if (action & (LigActionStore | LigActionLast)) { ligature_idx = Types::offsetToIndex (ligature_idx, table, ligature.arrayZ); const HBGlyphID &ligatureData = ligature[ligature_idx]; if (unlikely (!ligatureData.sanitize (&c->sanitizer))) break; hb_codepoint_t lig = ligatureData; DEBUG_MSG (APPLY, nullptr, "Produced ligature %u", lig); buffer->replace_glyph (lig); unsigned int lig_end = match_positions[(match_length - 1u) % ARRAY_LENGTH (match_positions)] + 1u; /* Now go and delete all subsequent components. */ while (match_length - 1u > cursor) { DEBUG_MSG (APPLY, nullptr, "Skipping ligature component"); buffer->move_to (match_positions[--match_length % ARRAY_LENGTH (match_positions)]); buffer->replace_glyph (DELETED_GLYPH); } buffer->move_to (lig_end); buffer->merge_out_clusters (match_positions[cursor % ARRAY_LENGTH (match_positions)], buffer->out_len); } actionData++; } while (!(action & LigActionLast)); buffer->move_to (end); } } public: bool ret; private: hb_aat_apply_context_t *c; const LigatureSubtable *table; const UnsizedArrayOf<HBUINT32> &ligAction; const UnsizedArrayOf<HBUINT16> &component; const UnsizedArrayOf<HBGlyphID> &ligature; unsigned int match_length; unsigned int match_positions[HB_MAX_CONTEXT_LENGTH]; }; bool apply (hb_aat_apply_context_t *c) const { TRACE_APPLY (this); driver_context_t dc (this, c); StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> driver (machine, c->buffer, c->face); driver.drive (&dc); return_trace (dc.ret); } bool sanitize (hb_sanitize_context_t *c) const { TRACE_SANITIZE (this); /* The rest of array sanitizations are done at run-time. */ return_trace (c->check_struct (this) && machine.sanitize (c) && ligAction && component && ligature); } protected: StateTable<Types, EntryData> machine; NNOffsetTo<UnsizedArrayOf<HBUINT32>, HBUINT> ligAction; /* Offset to the ligature action table. */ NNOffsetTo<UnsizedArrayOf<HBUINT16>, HBUINT> component; /* Offset to the component table. */ NNOffsetTo<UnsizedArrayOf<HBGlyphID>, HBUINT> ligature; /* Offset to the actual ligature lists. */ public: DEFINE_SIZE_STATIC (28); }; template <typename Types> struct NoncontextualSubtable { bool apply (hb_aat_apply_context_t *c) const { TRACE_APPLY (this); bool ret = false; unsigned int num_glyphs = c->face->get_num_glyphs (); hb_glyph_info_t *info = c->buffer->info; unsigned int count = c->buffer->len; for (unsigned int i = 0; i < count; i++) { const HBGlyphID *replacement = substitute.get_value (info[i].codepoint, num_glyphs); if (replacement) { info[i].codepoint = *replacement; ret = true; } } return_trace (ret); } bool sanitize (hb_sanitize_context_t *c) const { TRACE_SANITIZE (this); return_trace (substitute.sanitize (c)); } protected: Lookup<HBGlyphID> substitute; public: DEFINE_SIZE_MIN (2); }; template <typename Types> struct InsertionSubtable { typedef typename Types::HBUINT HBUINT; struct EntryData { HBUINT16 currentInsertIndex; /* Zero-based index into the insertion glyph table. * The number of glyphs to be inserted is contained * in the currentInsertCount field in the flags. * A value of 0xFFFF indicates no insertion is to * be done. */ HBUINT16 markedInsertIndex; /* Zero-based index into the insertion glyph table. * The number of glyphs to be inserted is contained * in the markedInsertCount field in the flags. * A value of 0xFFFF indicates no insertion is to * be done. */ public: DEFINE_SIZE_STATIC (4); }; struct driver_context_t { static constexpr bool in_place = false; enum Flags { SetMark = 0x8000, /* If set, mark the current glyph. */ DontAdvance = 0x4000, /* If set, don't advance to the next glyph before * going to the new state. This does not mean * that the glyph pointed to is the same one as * before. If you've made insertions immediately * downstream of the current glyph, the next glyph * processed would in fact be the first one * inserted. */ CurrentIsKashidaLike= 0x2000, /* If set, and the currentInsertList is nonzero, * then the specified glyph list will be inserted * as a kashida-like insertion, either before or * after the current glyph (depending on the state * of the currentInsertBefore flag). If clear, and * the currentInsertList is nonzero, then the * specified glyph list will be inserted as a * split-vowel-like insertion, either before or * after the current glyph (depending on the state * of the currentInsertBefore flag). */ MarkedIsKashidaLike= 0x1000, /* If set, and the markedInsertList is nonzero, * then the specified glyph list will be inserted * as a kashida-like insertion, either before or * after the marked glyph (depending on the state * of the markedInsertBefore flag). If clear, and * the markedInsertList is nonzero, then the * specified glyph list will be inserted as a * split-vowel-like insertion, either before or * after the marked glyph (depending on the state * of the markedInsertBefore flag). */ CurrentInsertBefore= 0x0800, /* If set, specifies that insertions are to be made * to the left of the current glyph. If clear, * they're made to the right of the current glyph. */ MarkedInsertBefore= 0x0400, /* If set, specifies that insertions are to be * made to the left of the marked glyph. If clear, * they're made to the right of the marked glyph. */ CurrentInsertCount= 0x3E0, /* This 5-bit field is treated as a count of the * number of glyphs to insert at the current * position. Since zero means no insertions, the * largest number of insertions at any given * current location is 31 glyphs. */ MarkedInsertCount= 0x001F, /* This 5-bit field is treated as a count of the * number of glyphs to insert at the marked * position. Since zero means no insertions, the * largest number of insertions at any given * marked location is 31 glyphs. */ }; driver_context_t (const InsertionSubtable *table, hb_aat_apply_context_t *c_) : ret (false), c (c_), mark (0), insertionAction (table+table->insertionAction) {} bool is_actionable (StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> *driver HB_UNUSED, const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { return (entry.flags & (CurrentInsertCount | MarkedInsertCount)) && (entry.data.currentInsertIndex != 0xFFFF ||entry.data.markedInsertIndex != 0xFFFF); } void transition (StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> *driver, const Entry<EntryData> &entry) { hb_buffer_t *buffer = driver->buffer; unsigned int flags = entry.flags; unsigned mark_loc = buffer->out_len; if (entry.data.markedInsertIndex != 0xFFFF) { unsigned int count = (flags & MarkedInsertCount); unsigned int start = entry.data.markedInsertIndex; const HBGlyphID *glyphs = &insertionAction[start]; if (unlikely (!c->sanitizer.check_array (glyphs, count))) count = 0; bool before = flags & MarkedInsertBefore; unsigned int end = buffer->out_len; buffer->move_to (mark); if (buffer->idx < buffer->len && !before) buffer->copy_glyph (); /* TODO We ignore KashidaLike setting. */ for (unsigned int i = 0; i < count; i++) buffer->output_glyph (glyphs[i]); if (buffer->idx < buffer->len && !before) buffer->skip_glyph (); buffer->move_to (end + count); buffer->unsafe_to_break_from_outbuffer (mark, hb_min (buffer->idx + 1, buffer->len)); } if (flags & SetMark) mark = mark_loc; if (entry.data.currentInsertIndex != 0xFFFF) { unsigned int count = (flags & CurrentInsertCount) >> 5; unsigned int start = entry.data.currentInsertIndex; const HBGlyphID *glyphs = &insertionAction[start]; if (unlikely (!c->sanitizer.check_array (glyphs, count))) count = 0; bool before = flags & CurrentInsertBefore; unsigned int end = buffer->out_len; if (buffer->idx < buffer->len && !before) buffer->copy_glyph (); /* TODO We ignore KashidaLike setting. */ for (unsigned int i = 0; i < count; i++) buffer->output_glyph (glyphs[i]); if (buffer->idx < buffer->len && !before) buffer->skip_glyph (); /* Humm. Not sure where to move to. There's this wording under * DontAdvance flag: * * "If set, don't update the glyph index before going to the new state. * This does not mean that the glyph pointed to is the same one as * before. If you've made insertions immediately downstream of the * current glyph, the next glyph processed would in fact be the first * one inserted." * * This suggests that if DontAdvance is NOT set, we should move to * end+count. If it *was*, then move to end, such that newly inserted * glyphs are now visible. * * https://github.com/harfbuzz/harfbuzz/issues/1224#issuecomment-427691417 */ buffer->move_to ((flags & DontAdvance) ? end : end + count); } } public: bool ret; private: hb_aat_apply_context_t *c; unsigned int mark; const UnsizedArrayOf<HBGlyphID> &insertionAction; }; bool apply (hb_aat_apply_context_t *c) const { TRACE_APPLY (this); driver_context_t dc (this, c); StateTableDriver<Types, EntryData> driver (machine, c->buffer, c->face); driver.drive (&dc); return_trace (dc.ret); } bool sanitize (hb_sanitize_context_t *c) const { TRACE_SANITIZE (this); /* The rest of array sanitizations are done at run-time. */ return_trace (c->check_struct (this) && machine.sanitize (c) && insertionAction); } protected: StateTable<Types, EntryData> machine; NNOffsetTo<UnsizedArrayOf<HBGlyphID>, HBUINT> insertionAction; /* Byte offset from stateHeader to the start of * the insertion glyph table. */ public: DEFINE_SIZE_STATIC (20); }; struct Feature { bool sanitize (hb_sanitize_context_t *c) const { TRACE_SANITIZE (this); return_trace (c->check_struct (this)); } public: HBUINT16 featureType; /* The type of feature. */ HBUINT16 featureSetting; /* The feature's setting (aka selector). */ HBUINT32 enableFlags; /* Flags for the settings that this feature * and setting enables. */ HBUINT32 disableFlags; /* Complement of flags for the settings that this * feature and setting disable. */ public: DEFINE_SIZE_STATIC (12); }; template <typename Types> struct ChainSubtable { typedef typename Types::HBUINT HBUINT; template <typename T> friend struct Chain; unsigned int get_size () const { return length; } unsigned int get_type () const { return coverage & 0xFF; } unsigned int get_coverage () const { return coverage >> (sizeof (HBUINT) * 8 - 8); } enum Coverage { Vertical = 0x80, /* If set, this subtable will only be applied * to vertical text. If clear, this subtable * will only be applied to horizontal text. */ Backwards = 0x40, /* If set, this subtable will process glyphs * in descending order. If clear, it will * process the glyphs in ascending order. */ AllDirections = 0x20, /* If set, this subtable will be applied to * both horizontal and vertical text (i.e. * the state of bit 0x80000000 is ignored). */ Logical = 0x10, /* If set, this subtable will process glyphs * in logical order (or reverse logical order, * depending on the value of bit 0x80000000). */ }; enum Type { Rearrangement = 0, Contextual = 1, Ligature = 2, Noncontextual = 4, Insertion = 5 }; template <typename context_t, typename ...Ts> typename context_t::return_t dispatch (context_t *c, Ts&&... ds) const { unsigned int subtable_type = get_type (); TRACE_DISPATCH (this, subtable_type); switch (subtable_type) { case Rearrangement: return_trace (c->dispatch (u.rearrangement, hb_forward<Ts> (ds)...)); case Contextual: return_trace (c->dispatch (u.contextual, hb_forward<Ts> (ds)...)); case Ligature: return_trace (c->dispatch (u.ligature, hb_forward<Ts> (ds)...)); case Noncontextual: return_trace (c->dispatch (u.noncontextual, hb_forward<Ts> (ds)...)); case Insertion: return_trace (c->dispatch (u.insertion, hb_forward<Ts> (ds)...)); default: return_trace (c->default_return_value ()); } } bool apply (hb_aat_apply_context_t *c) const { TRACE_APPLY (this); hb_sanitize_with_object_t with (&c->sanitizer, this); return_trace (dispatch (c)); } bool sanitize (hb_sanitize_context_t *c) const { TRACE_SANITIZE (this); if (!length.sanitize (c) || length <= min_size || !c->check_range (this, length)) return_trace (false); hb_sanitize_with_object_t with (c, this); return_trace (dispatch (c)); } protected: HBUINT length; /* Total subtable length, including this header. */ HBUINT coverage; /* Coverage flags and subtable type. */ HBUINT32 subFeatureFlags;/* The 32-bit mask identifying which subtable this is. */ union { RearrangementSubtable<Types> rearrangement; ContextualSubtable<Types> contextual; LigatureSubtable<Types> ligature; NoncontextualSubtable<Types> noncontextual; InsertionSubtable<Types> insertion; } u; public: DEFINE_SIZE_MIN (2 * sizeof (HBUINT) + 4); }; template <typename Types> struct Chain { typedef typename Types::HBUINT HBUINT; hb_mask_t compile_flags (const hb_aat_map_builder_t *map) const { hb_mask_t flags = defaultFlags; { unsigned int count = featureCount; for (unsigned i = 0; i < count; i++) { const Feature &feature = featureZ[i]; hb_aat_layout_feature_type_t type = (hb_aat_layout_feature_type_t) (unsigned int) feature.featureType; hb_aat_layout_feature_selector_t setting = (hb_aat_layout_feature_selector_t) (unsigned int) feature.featureSetting; retry: const hb_aat_map_builder_t::feature_info_t *info = map->features.bsearch (type); if (info && info->setting == setting) { flags &= feature.disableFlags; flags |= feature.enableFlags; } else if (type == HB_AAT_LAYOUT_FEATURE_TYPE_LETTER_CASE && setting == HB_AAT_LAYOUT_FEATURE_SELECTOR_SMALL_CAPS) { /* Deprecated. https://github.com/harfbuzz/harfbuzz/issues/1342 */ type = HB_AAT_LAYOUT_FEATURE_TYPE_LOWER_CASE; setting = HB_AAT_LAYOUT_FEATURE_SELECTOR_LOWER_CASE_SMALL_CAPS; goto retry; } } } return flags; } void apply (hb_aat_apply_context_t *c, hb_mask_t flags) const { const ChainSubtable<Types> *subtable = &StructAfter<ChainSubtable<Types>> (featureZ.as_array (featureCount)); unsigned int count = subtableCount; for (unsigned int i = 0; i < count; i++) { bool reverse; if (!(subtable->subFeatureFlags & flags)) goto skip; if (!(subtable->get_coverage() & ChainSubtable<Types>::AllDirections) && HB_DIRECTION_IS_VERTICAL (c->buffer->props.direction) != bool (subtable->get_coverage() & ChainSubtable<Types>::Vertical)) goto skip; /* Buffer contents is always in logical direction. Determine if * we need to reverse before applying this subtable. We reverse * back after if we did reverse indeed. * * Quoting the spac: * """ * Bits 28 and 30 of the coverage field control the order in which * glyphs are processed when the subtable is run by the layout engine. * Bit 28 is used to indicate if the glyph processing direction is * the same as logical order or layout order. Bit 30 is used to * indicate whether glyphs are processed forwards or backwards within * that order. Bit 30 Bit 28 Interpretation for Horizontal Text 0 0 The subtable is processed in layout order (the same order as the glyphs, which is always left-to-right). 1 0 The subtable is processed in reverse layout order (the order opposite that of the glyphs, which is always right-to-left). 0 1 The subtable is processed in logical order (the same order as the characters, which may be left-to-right or right-to-left). 1 1 The subtable is processed in reverse logical order (the order opposite that of the characters, which may be right-to-left or left-to-right). */ reverse = subtable->get_coverage () & ChainSubtable<Types>::Logical ? bool (subtable->get_coverage () & ChainSubtable<Types>::Backwards) : bool (subtable->get_coverage () & ChainSubtable<Types>::Backwards) != HB_DIRECTION_IS_BACKWARD (c->buffer->props.direction); if (!c->buffer->message (c->font, "start chain subtable %d", c->lookup_index)) goto skip; if (reverse) c->buffer->reverse (); subtable->apply (c); if (reverse) c->buffer->reverse (); (void) c->buffer->message (c->font, "end chain subtable %d", c->lookup_index); if (unlikely (!c->buffer->successful)) return; skip: subtable = &StructAfter<ChainSubtable<Types>> (*subtable); c->set_lookup_index (c->lookup_index + 1); } } unsigned int get_size () const { return length; } bool sanitize (hb_sanitize_context_t *c, unsigned int version HB_UNUSED) const { TRACE_SANITIZE (this); if (!length.sanitize (c) || length < min_size || !c->check_range (this, length)) return_trace (false); if (!c->check_array (featureZ.arrayZ, featureCount)) return_trace (false); const ChainSubtable<Types> *subtable = &StructAfter<ChainSubtable<Types>> (featureZ.as_array (featureCount)); unsigned int count = subtableCount; for (unsigned int i = 0; i < count; i++) { if (!subtable->sanitize (c)) return_trace (false); subtable = &StructAfter<ChainSubtable<Types>> (*subtable); } return_trace (true); } protected: HBUINT32 defaultFlags; /* The default specification for subtables. */ HBUINT32 length; /* Total byte count, including this header. */ HBUINT featureCount; /* Number of feature subtable entries. */ HBUINT subtableCount; /* The number of subtables in the chain. */ UnsizedArrayOf<Feature> featureZ; /* Features. */ /*ChainSubtable firstSubtable;*//* Subtables. */ /*subtableGlyphCoverageArray*/ /* Only if version >= 3. We don't use. */ public: DEFINE_SIZE_MIN (8 + 2 * sizeof (HBUINT)); }; /* * The 'mort'/'morx' Table */ template <typename Types, hb_tag_t TAG> struct mortmorx { static constexpr hb_tag_t tableTag = TAG; bool has_data () const { return version != 0; } void compile_flags (const hb_aat_map_builder_t *mapper, hb_aat_map_t *map) const { const Chain<Types> *chain = &firstChain; unsigned int count = chainCount; for (unsigned int i = 0; i < count; i++) { map->chain_flags.push (chain->compile_flags (mapper)); chain = &StructAfter<Chain<Types>> (*chain); } } void apply (hb_aat_apply_context_t *c) const { if (unlikely (!c->buffer->successful)) return; c->set_lookup_index (0); const Chain<Types> *chain = &firstChain; unsigned int count = chainCount; for (unsigned int i = 0; i < count; i++) { chain->apply (c, c->plan->aat_map.chain_flags[i]); if (unlikely (!c->buffer->successful)) return; chain = &StructAfter<Chain<Types>> (*chain); } } bool sanitize (hb_sanitize_context_t *c) const { TRACE_SANITIZE (this); if (!version.sanitize (c) || !version || !chainCount.sanitize (c)) return_trace (false); const Chain<Types> *chain = &firstChain; unsigned int count = chainCount; for (unsigned int i = 0; i < count; i++) { if (!chain->sanitize (c, version)) return_trace (false); chain = &StructAfter<Chain<Types>> (*chain); } return_trace (true); } protected: HBUINT16 version; /* Version number of the glyph metamorphosis table. * 1, 2, or 3. */ HBUINT16 unused; /* Set to 0. */ HBUINT32 chainCount; /* Number of metamorphosis chains contained in this * table. */ Chain<Types> firstChain; /* Chains. */ public: DEFINE_SIZE_MIN (8); }; struct morx : mortmorx<ExtendedTypes, HB_AAT_TAG_morx> {}; struct mort : mortmorx<ObsoleteTypes, HB_AAT_TAG_mort> {}; } /* namespace AAT */ #endif /* HB_AAT_LAYOUT_MORX_TABLE_HH */

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a Washington nonprofit that brings together conservative lawmakers and corporate representatives to craft state-level legislation, announced on Tuesday it is disbanding its …

Michael Klein (World Bank official) Michael Klein is an author, and former World Bank official. Klein has published and co-authored several policy papers on the emerging markets and the effectiveness of foreign aid. He has regularly argued for enabling the private sector to bring about economic development rather than direct aid to the poorest nations. In a paper he co-authored in 2005, Klein says: "Private financial flows such as foreign direct investment seem to encourage economic growth and relieve poverty in part because they create excellent incentives for transferring know-how and in part because they are subject to a stern market test that ensures they are allocated and monitored carefully. For aid flows, not automatically subject to these disciplines, it is difficult to be as effective. This Note argues that aid agencies, by learning what makes private flows so effective, can bring better aid to the poorest." Education and Personal Life Klein is a German national and joined the World Bank as a youth through the Young Professionals program. He retired in 2009. References External links World Bank Category:Living people Category:World Bank people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Q: Как добавить на изображение строчку текста? Python Есть картинка, требуется на нее добавить строчку текста, которую можно задать. Как это сделать с помощью Python? Требуется создать бота для ВК, на примере вот это бота. https://vk.com/memes_bot A: Например, используйте библиотеку PIL. Самый простой пример рисования: # pip install Pillow from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont image = Image.open("images.jpg") font = ImageFont.truetype("arial.ttf", 25) drawer = ImageDraw.Draw(image) drawer.text((50, 100), "Hello World!\nПривет мир!", font=font, fill='black') image.save('new_img.jpg') image.show() Скриншот:

Wills & Trusts – Heirs – Adopted Child – Choice Of Law A decedent’s biological daughter who was adopted in Pennsylvania at age two by her stepfather can inherit from her biological father, who died intestate, a share of his personal property and of real property he owned in Virginia at the time of his death, a Prince William Circuit Court says, over the objection of decedent’s ...

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to heart-assist devices and, more particularly, to such devices incorporating balloon pumps. 2. Prior Art During the past thirty years there has been an ever-increasing frequency of heart surgery and greater study and knowledge of the functions of the heart. One of the product groups which has resulted from this increased activity in the knowledge of the function of the heart has been what are known as temporary circulatory-assist devices. The purpose of such devices is to stabilize, hemodynamically, a failing circulatory system resulting from a failure in the pumping action of the heart. Beneficial results have been realized by the use of heart-assist devices in patients with cardiogenic shock and in severe acute myocardial ischemia. Further, in the critical moments before or after a heart transplantation or after open heart surgical procedures, temporary support of the cardiocirculatory system is crucial. These heart-assist devices are intended to give the heart muscle the necessary time to rest and optionally to recover. The best known of the circulatory-assist devices is the intra-aortic balloon with its counterpulsation capability. With the development of percutaneous techniques for the balloon insertion (for example, through the femoral artery) it is possible to give immediate response to a critical heart condition. However, with the intra-aortic balloon, the cardiac output is increased approximately thirty to forty percent. It is clear that a more effective heart-assist device is necessary, particularly in the first moments of intervention, to prevent deterioration of the circulatory system of the patient. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a heart-assist device which is compact, is easily handled by a single specialist, is completely a traumatic both to the ventricular chamber and to the blood volume constituents, and is highly effective so as to achieve nearly normal physiological conditions during its use.

Mel Ziegler (artist) Mel Ziegler is an American artist (born 1956) whose artistic practice includes community art, integrated arts, public art. Biography Ziegler began his undergraduate studies at the Rhode Island School of Design, later transferring to the Kansas City Art Institute. He earned an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia in 1982. Born in Campbelltown, Pennsylvania, Ziegler currently lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee, where he is the current chair of the Department of Art at Vanderbilt University, and where he was also the host of the 2014 National Arts Administrators' conference. Throughout his career, Ziegler’s practice has examined the role of art in public space, the socially-constructed dimensions of our natural environment, the value of manual labor, and the importance of collaboration between the artist and the broader community. Ziegler has exhibited nationally and internationally and has presented solo exhibitions at venues including: Canadian Center for Architecture, Montreal in 1998; Artpace, San Antonio, in 1999; Secession, Vienna in 2003; and Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, Nebraska in 2014 Reviewing his 2014 exhibition “An American Conversation” at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Daniel Tidwell writes in Nashville Arts magazine: “[Ziegler] is part historian, conceptual artist, sociologist, and aspiring farmer—creating work that occupies a unique place in the art world, bridging political, historical, and social concerns—mining the buried histories and narratives of the American landscape.” He has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including being a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard School of Design in 1997; having been recognized by the Joan Mitchell Foundation with a 1997 painters and sculptors' grant, and the 2013 Joan Mitchell Center AIR program; being a 2000 Creative Capital (Visual Arts) Fellow; and being the recipient of National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works grants in 1989 and 1993. His work is held in many public and private collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York; Albright-Knox Museum, Buffalo, New York; Tang Museum, Skidmore College; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; San Diego Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University; Des Moines Art Center, Iowa; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas. Mel Ziegler has recently established the Sandhills Institute,“a catalyst for the creation of civically-engaged integrated art in and around the agricultural community” on the historic Davis Pine Creek Ranch near Rushville in north-west rural Nebraska, where he hosted a short form field trip residency for artists in June 2015. “International Art World Comes to Rushville, Nebraska” Sheridan County Journal Star, Thursday, 28 May 2015 Early career Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler were influential collaborators in social interventionist art, beginning officially as a team in 1985 and continuing until Ericson died of brain cancer in 1995. In 1988 their work was exhibited at both the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Hirshorn in Washington D.C., and was the subject of a major retrospective accompanied by a significant publication, "America Starts Here" at the MIT List Center for the Visual Arts in 2006. The exhibition was organized by curators Bill Arning, then at MIT List Visual Arts Center, and Ian Berry, the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, and toured to Austin Museum of Art, Texas, H&R Block Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute, and Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati. Together, Ericson and Ziegler made site-specific installations and objects concerned with mapping trajectories, questioning history, and highlighting the specificity of places and communities. As a collaborative duo, Ericson / Ziegler's work was integral to the emergence of integrated practice and community engagement as vital forms of contemporary art. In the Wall Street Journal review of their 2014 exhibition at Perrotin Gallery in New York, Carol Kino writes: “Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler were ardent pioneers of the art now known as "social practice."” Publications Stuffed. Secession, 2003. By Ziegler. Text in English and German. America Starts Here. MIT, 2005. By Kate Ericson and Ziegler. Edited by Ian Berry and Bill Arning. References Additional references Carol Kino, “New York's Galerie Perrotin Exhibits Artists Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler's Work”, The Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2014 External links Mel Ziegler: Growing Concern, 16 June to 8 November 1998, Canadian Center for Architecture, Montreal, Canada Winter 1999 International Artists-in-Residence program, Artpace, San Antonio, Dec 09, 1999 - Jan 16, 2000 Mel Ziegler: An American Conversation, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE, September 19, 2013 – March 1, 2014 Category:American artists Category:San Francisco Art Institute alumni Category:1956 births Category:Living people

Shorten your URLs using goo.gl Date posted: 10/04/2016 Name: * My email: * Recipient email: * Message: * Fields marked as bold are compulsory. You haven't filled in compulsory values.The email is not correct Shortened URLs have slowly turned into one of the latest trends. Even though it's been about 15 years they've been helping people having difficulty with limited character messaging applications and SMS, social networks sharing such limitations have caused some major increment in their use. We are going to see what shortened URLs are, and how we can create our own, using goo.gl API. What is a shortened URL? A shortened URL is a URL that redirects to the same address as the one requested. For example you can use goo.gl (Google's URL shortener service) to create a shortened URL by visiting https://goo.gl/ and placing the URL you want to shorten. If you place http://dotnethints.com/ you get http://goo.gl/5nIcLC. Now, if you hit that new address on your browser you will head to that URL shortener's company site. The original URL will be found and you will be automatically redirected to your destination. Keep in mind that shortened URLs are supposed to last forever. So, we may use shortened URLs when we want to minimize the number of characters contained within our URL. Shortened URLs can also be used if we want to hide the address our original URL is pointing to from the person to click it. This is the reason many spammers choose to use URL shortening. There are many URL shortening services out there, including bitly and tiny URL. goo.gl, the service supported by Google, is the one we will be using in this article. Using goo.gl As mentioned earlier, to use goo.gl a single person can use the service in the https://goo.gl/ page. A developer can also make use of the goo.gl API to create a JSON request containing the original URL and get a JSON response containing the shortened URL. To use the goo.gl API a developer needs to have an API key. You can get a key in this page Now that we have our key, we need to create our request to https://www.googleapis.com/urlshortener/v1/url?key=my_API_key and deal with the results so we get the shortened URL. For example if I used the code above to ask for the http://dotnethints.com/ shorten URL, I would get the following JSON { "kind": "urlshortener#url", "id": "http://goo.gl/RWZBj0", "longUrl": "http://dotnethints.com/" } Since a serialized JSON is no more than a string we can also get its id by using string methods, but I personally find this way to be a better one. Summary Shortened URLs are URLs that can be used in place of the original longer ones to minimize their length. There are many services we can use to create a shortened URL, goo.gl being one of them. We can either visit goo.gl's home page to create shortened URLs on the fly or use the goo.gl API to create JSON requests and get responses containing the info we want.

Q: I'm Indonesian, can I leave Frankfurt airport without a visa when I'm waiting for a connecting flight to London? So far I know that Indonesians need a visa to visit Germany (EU) however I will have a UK visa on my passport, and a ticket (connecting flight to London), and my question is pretty obvious: Are all those documents good enough to pass through immigration? Or do I need to apply for a German visa in the German embassy for a really short visit? or is there some special counter that can do a visa on arrival in the airport? Can anyone give me an answer? A: As an Indonesian Citizen transiting Germany when travelling between two non-Schengen countries you do not need a visa, presuming you are passing through one of the following airports : Cologne/Bonn (CGN), Frankfurt (FRA), Munich (MUC), Hamburg (HAM), or Dusseldorf (DUS). When traveling through these airports you will be able to "Transit Without Visa" (TWOV), however as you will not have a Visa you will have to remain "airside" and will not be allowed to pass through 'Passport Control' and enter the country. If you wish to enter Germany, even briefly, you will require a Visa. Visa's are NOT available at the airport, and would need to be arranged in advance. If you are travelling through Berlin Tegel (TXL) then you MAY also be able TWOV, however it depends on the exact details of your arrival/departure, and you should contact your airline to confirm what is required.

Eat this on the golf course, not that I know it's hard times for the print media business, but still I was not prepared for what I read in this "list". Things like #3: "garlic edamame". Okay so boiled soybean pods might be nutritious and wholesome, but eating them tends to produce a lot of scraps, which tends to make them a not-so-great food for the course. Not sure I like where this list is going. #4: "Apple pie spiced wonton chips"? I am no nutrition expert but goddammit--wonton skins are not a superfood. FUCK. Now I'm getting upset. Listen, store-bought wonton skins ain't nothing but white flour a.k.a. glutinous carbs a.k.a. THE ENEMY of all that's wholesome and nutritious. And I got news for you: nutritionally, these things are NOT better than a candy bar, as GD claims. They're worse! A regular Snickers bar is light years better for you than this empty-calorie crap. This article is now bordering on GD irresponsible if you ask me. Next on the list, #5: "baked kale chips"? I like kale okay, I probably eat more of it than you do, and I have actually baked up some of it before, but again, this is a good on-course snack how? Kale, they say has many wonderful nutritional properties, but one thing it's not good at is calories. Foods like kale appeal to many people because they are low in calories. Next thing you are going to tell me I should be putting celery and cabbage in my golf bag. FUCK. I'm pacing around the room now. What's making me so mad at this point is the feeling that this crap was not even written by someone who plays actual golf. Kale chips might be a lo-cal nice snack, as is popcorn, for grazing while watching a movie. Watching sports. Not an energy consumptive activity like playing golf. For all the chewing and digesting of leafy greens, you don't get much back in the way of fuel. I don't know about you Golf Digest, but when I put something in my mouth on the golf course, it's for the sake of providing energy, which tends to get expended in the participation of this activity. #8: "Lemon hummus". Even if I was the world's biggest hummus fan, I would still shit on this idea. How and why would I attempt to enjoy my favorite dip in the middle of a golf round. Where do I even put it? What if it's really hot out? Or really cold? This so-called suggestion leaves me with way more questions than answers. Thanks once again for nothing Golf Digest. Yecch--I can't even look at you right now. #10/11: "Granola/granola bars". Okay, maybe not the worst choice, but still a) granola was played out a hundred years ago and 2) who didn't already know about granola. Granola bars are essentially dried fruits and nuts (which I like) with some shitty oats thrown in there with some sort of sticky substance to bind it all, and then pressed and cut into rationed units. Why bother? Just throw some of your own fruits and nuts into a goddamn ziplock baggie and call it a life. #12: "Frozen blueberries covered in yogurt". Nothing Golf Digest could write at this point can surprise me. I will believe nothing, I will expect nothing. #14: "Baked carrot chips". Why it's good for golfers: Because you might want a chip and this one provides vitamin A for healthy eyes, so you can track your shot from tee to green. Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I will just say that this kind of take on nutrition and the function of nutrients like vitamin A is not even fit for fucking Highlights magazine. I'm sorry, the language is getting out of control. #16: "Beef jerky". Somewhere in the middle of this abortion, I keep thinking Okay, out of "17 Super Foods", Golf Digest is bound to get at least ONE right, and sure enough with the second-to-last item we finally get a snack that is dense with protein, minimal in size and easy to eat--a smart choice for an efficient mid-round snack. Still, they manage to botch the whole suggestion by accompanying it with a weird, time- and labor-intensive beef jerky "recipe" which in the interest of food safety I would recommend you don't try. Now for #17, the final item in this wonderful list (good, because this isn't fun anymore. This turned out to be nothing short of an attack on common sense.) What else? Popcorn! A fitting end. Oh yeah! Let's take empty carbs, sprinkle with butter, oil, salt and cheese, then take it to the course and proceed to get this all over our gloves, grips and balls. ------------ Listen, it doesn't take a nutrition genius to break this down. Golf is like most other sports in that it doesn't afford you a lot of time or energy for fine dining. You need snacks that are nutrient-dense, fit easily in your bag, and don't cause any mess or hassle. It is why no actual golfer in the history of the world has ever said the words "Let's bring hummus to the golf course today!" I won't insult your intelligence. I'll stay out of this fray except to point out what works for me. As far as I see it the options are limited, especially if you want to keep things whole and wholesome. I pick one from each of these groups: I know, pretty boring. Not exactly a plethora of choices. But hey, first world problems. You can always hit the buffet line after the round. Anyways, let's get back to the real issue here. I am writing this not so much as a kind of nutritional public service--which it is--but more to point out... Who the heck would print such a wacked out, know-nothing article under the auspice of "golf instruction" and expect to get away with it? Two things are clear to us now: 1) whatever respect Golf Digest might have previously had for its readers, is now completely gone, and B) this once-respected publication has now devolved into pure airport magazine-stand drivel, is useless to actual golfers, and is most likely circling the drain operations-wise. The demise of a long-running business is almost always a shame, but if it's gonna mean more lies articles like these, the sooner the better. I don't know, take the kale chips and some hummus with some blueberries in yogurt. Pair that up with a tart white wine.........I could see you getting an ass kicking on just about any public golf course in the country!

Sarosa sesiiformis Sarosa sesiiformis is a moth in the subfamily Arctiinae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1854. It is found in Venezuela. References Category:Moths described in 1854 Category:Arctiinae

--- author: - Richard S Ellis title: Conference Summary --- \#1[[*\#1*]{}]{} \#1[[*\#1*]{}]{} = \#1 1.25in .125in .25in Introduction ============ Clusters of galaxies are of wide interest in the astronomical community both as laboratories where baryons and dark matter can be conveniently studied and, through their statistical properties at various look-backtimes, as tracers of cosmic structure and evolution. The Local Organising Committee wisely narrowed the topics of this meeting to four broad themes and so I will organise my summary remarks under these headings. First I think I should address the plea “Why bother to study clusters?”, raised provocatively by Colin Norman at one stage during the proceedings[^1]. We have learnt enough about clusters and the growth of structure to know that two of the traditional motivations require much more careful consideration. For years on time allocation committees, I read observers repeat a [*mantra*]{} in the first sentence of their proposals: [*“Clusters of galaxies represent the largest bound structures in the Universe.."*]{} in justification of their role as tracers of large scale structure. A number of speakers at this meeting reminded us that clusters no longer uniquely occupy this role. We have other tracers of large scale structure and, moreover, it seems we need to be much clearer of what exactly we mean by a cluster before we can convincingly use them as cosmological probes. A second, traditional, motive for studying clusters has been observational convenience, e.g. in studying constituent populations such as galaxies at various look-back times. At first sight, it’s an attractive proposition for an observer to study a few rich clusters at various redshifts each containing hundreds of accessibly-luminous galaxies and then to “join the results" in a timeline to make some evolutionary claim. But, at most redshifts of interest, we can expect to find a wide range of overdensities represented (groups, merging systems, virialised clusters). Put simply, rich cluster A at $z$=1.2 is unlikely to evolve into rich cluster B at $z$=0.5 and neither may necessarily become a present-day Coma. Both these worries indicate a high degree of rigour is needed in using clusters. We need very large samples spanning ranges of mass at any redshift of interest and perhaps it would be foolish to adopt one single selection criterion for their study. A similar “panchromatic" theme has emerged over the past decade in understanding how to address the question of evolution using samples of galaxies.[^2] The motivation for studying clusters that emerged at this meeting focused broadly along the following themes: - Testing gravitational instability by measuring the number density of massive clusters at high redshift, viz. $\Phi(M_{cluster},z)$. - Breaking degeneracies in estimates of the the cosmological parameters by examining the local population of clusters as a probe of the mean mass density and the normalisation of the mass power spectrum, $\Omega_M$ and $\sigma_8$. - Verifying hierarchical structure and the nature of the dark matter and keeping those theorists in check who predict a universal mass profile with central cusps, $\rho_M(r) \propto r^{-1.5}$. - Determining the origin of the heating of the intracluster medium, its enrichment history and examining whether non-gravitational processes are involved. - Examining the history of spheroidal galaxies and role of the environment, for example in understanding the origin of the morphology-density relation and the destiny of the infalling component of gas-rich field galaxies. Let me make a disclaimer in what follows. I am not an expert in any of the areas I was asked to summarise and so I submit these concluding remarks only as someone who tried to listen carefully to most talks, dutifully avoiding the lunchtime mountain hikes to make sense of what I heard[^3]. With $\simeq$70 talks and $\simeq$80 posters, inevitably I have had to be very selective in discussing results. If one could summarise the meeting in two paragraphs, I would say the following: - There is an explosion of terrific data, from large surveys (X-ray and ground-based) which offer qualitatively new ways in which we find and do statistical studies of clusters, and also in [*resolved*]{} data within clusters which opens up new opportunities for understanding the detailed astrophysics of dense environments. - The subject is moving from exploratory surveying to detailed astrophysics. As part of this “growing up" there is a need to admit defeat on some of the old methods and to embrace new ones, particularly on the statistical questions. For many years cluster workers had something of a monopoly in the study of early galaxies and large scale structure, but it is time to take advantage of other datasets being delivered and view cluster astrophysics as only one part of a larger body of information. Searching for Distant Clusters ============================== During the first part of our meeting we listened to progress made in finding clusters, mostly (but not exclusively) at high redshift. We heard about a bewildering number of deep surveys (MACS, REFLEX, WARPS, LCDCS, EIS, RDCS to name but a few..Figure 1) each requiring significant follow-up with the world’s most powerful facilities. Excellent reviews of this active field have been given by Borgani (2001) and Borgani & Guzzo (2001). The motivation is a sound one: testing gravitational instability in the context of a known cosmological model, or alternatively, by assuming a structure formation model such as CDM, constraining the cosmological parameters. The fraction of collapsed large massive structures ($M\simeq10^{14}M_{\odot}$) at, say, $z\simeq$1 for a given cosmology is one of the most robust predictions of the dark matter models (Figure 2). The necessary ingredients are a large well-defined sample and robust estimates of the cluster masses. An additional motivation for locating high $z$ clusters, is to undertake evolutionary studies. For galaxies, this is less appealing now we can find statistically-complete field samples at similar redshifts by independent photometric means (Adelberger 2000, Daddy et al 2001, McCarthy et al 2001), many of which are extensive enough for locating clustered objects in a self-consistent way. Marc Postman stressed the dangers here by contrasting differences found between conclusions drawn from galaxies studied in the X-ray selected CNOC and optically-selected Morphs samples. If clusters are found by a manner which relates to the properties of their constituent galaxies (e.g. by only searching for ones with prominent red sequences as discussed by Mike Gladders, or finding ones associated with powerful radio galaxies as reviewed by Philip Best), one can get different views of what is going on in dense regions. The quest for high $z$ clusters has a chequered history. Most of the early work was motivated by a quest for the deceleration parameter based on brightest cluster galaxies (Gunn & Oke 1975, Kristian et al 1976). Denis Zaritsky gave us a new twist to this story with his evidence for varying accretion onto brightest cluster galaxies in the Las Campanas Distant Cluster Survey (see also Aragón-Salamanca et al 1998). Claims for number evolution in cluster counts with redshift have also swung to and fro over the years. Until recently only a handful of optical or X-ray selected clusters were available[^4]. The most exciting aspect about this meeting is the enormous advance in the numbers of distant clusters. So how best to find distant clusters? Marc Postman nicely summarised the various search techniques, their advantages and biases. The most useful techniques are those that minimise projection effects. Faint X-ray surveying in the 0.1-10 keV range is cerainly an expensive method in telescope time (but good things don’t come cheap): the background is low, we expect $L_x \propto n_e^2$ and thus, so long as massive clusters have hot intracluster media, this is the method of choice. Kathy Romer emphasized how, even with the higher EPIC background, XMM promises to extend the depth of the ROSAT surveys to mean redshifts well beyond $z\simeq$1. Whilst we have yet to reap the benefits of SZ effect as a survey tool, James Bartlett showed us that this method has the great advantage of being distance independent (modulo evolution) with a signal $\propto n_e$. Instruments such as Planck Surveyor, and the proposed Arcminute Microkelvin Imager which Rüdiger Kneissl described, should also readily probe beyond $z\simeq$1. In a similar category to the SZ effect is weak lensing. As this technique wasn’t explicitly reviewed at the meeting, I reproduce the nice discovery of a $z$=0.28 cluster by Wittman et al (2001) in Figure 3. Although lensing offers the most direct route to the total mass, it still suffers from projection effects, the effect of the mass sheet degeneracy[^5] and, as a high density of background galaxies is needed, the technique will most likely be limited to the study of clusters with 0.1$<z<$0.8. Concerning the optical searches, Marc showed us, from the analysis of Goto et al (in preparation) how, even locally within the SDSS, changing the search algorithms can deliver very different samples. This is worrying to me as I imagine this kind of uncertainty can only be worse in faint surveys. While smart ideas such as “matched filters" designed to minimise projection and maximise contrast, are of course to be welcomed there is a natural concern that, like Maximum Entropy restoration techniques, such methods work reliably only when we have a clear idea of what we are searching for. Do we? The Red Cluster Sequence method described by Mike Gladders seems the most promising of the optical methods. Indeed the authors claim it to be “comparable or superior to X-ray methods" (Gladders & Yee 2000) - a bold assertion! Certainly panoramic detectors sensitive in $R$ and $z'$ make this a much more efficient way to locate red colour-magnitude sequences to $z\simeq$1 and, at CFHT, there is the prospect of coupling lower $z$ detections with weak lensing constraints to directly get masses. Simulations suggest this search technique should be complete to $z\simeq$1, even allowing for some dispersion and bluing in the color-magnitude relation. Unless there is a (perverse) population of massive clusters devoid of a uniform population of spheroidals, the technique seems a sound one. But the next thorny issue is how to get a [*reliable mass*]{}, the second important requirement to test Figure 2 and one worth thinking about before embarking on any time-consuming survey! The mass of a distant cluster has traditionally been inferred from the X-ray luminosity (assuming a $L_x-T_x$ relation), an optical richness (very crude) or a velocity dispersion based on a few members. Clearly none of these is really adequate. This is, I think, where the X-ray surveys win hands down even if “smart” algorithms rescue the optical searches. We can fully expect, with adequate investment, X-ray temperatures for large numbers of distant clusters in the coming years. Brian Holden showed new Chandra data that indicates little evolution in the $L_x-T_x$ relation to $z\simeq$0.8. Whilst assumptions are necessary to link $T_x$ and virial mass (Voit 2000), the prospects look good, particularly with cross-checks from the SZ effect. Lauro Grego showed us the promise of deriving masses independently from her interferometric SZ techniques. The major problem in my opinion is that the optical searchers have no real route to cluster mass (except by recourse to independent X-ray techniques or perhaps weak lensing over a limited $z$ range); projection also remains an issue. Multiple systems, often separated by only modest velocity differences, would be very hard to detect without a huge spectroscopic investment. A good example in showing the pitfalls is the cluster surrounding the $z$=1.206 galaxy 3C324 (Smail & Dickinson 1995, Figure 4) now known from spectroscopic evidence to consist of two components separated by only $\delta z\simeq$0.06. Although radio-selected, not only would its richness have been overestimated without careful spectroscopy, it seems unlikely the Red Sequence method [*applied to a similar system at any redshift*]{} would be able to photometrically-separate the two systems. In the case of the local X-ray cluster data essential as a basis for all high $z$ comparisons, Luigi Guzzo and Hans Böhringer demonstrated the remarkably precise cluster luminosity function obtained from the REFLEX survey. Few would disagree that this is a major achievement in the subject not just in statistical terms but also because of the considerable care taken to ensure homogeneity in the survey. Turning then to the cosmological results and necessarily being somewhat selective, Harald Ebeling (MACS) and Piero Rosati (RDCS) discussed a fairly modest decline in the abundance of massive clusters to $z\simeq$1 (Figure 5); this is a fairly convincing conclusion for $z<$0.5 but beyond I suspect there is still some room for manoever. Qualitatively, this is similar to the 4.7$\sigma$ decline claimed by Gioia (2001) in her NEP sample (not discussed at this meeting). Stefano Borgani has modelled the decline with redshift in the RDCS-3 sample with available $L_x-T_x$ data and claims the data is consistent with popular choices of $\Omega_M$ and $\sigma_8$ (see $\S$3). Can we say there is “concordance" between the observers? Not yet but good progress is being made. Most of any agreement refers to evolution in luminous, presumed massive, clusters. A number of niggly issues remain including the effects of incompleteness, cosmic variance for the smaller field surveys, AGN/cooling flow contamination, and how to compare surveys with minimal $L_x,z$ overlap. For example, at the lower luminosities probed by the WARPS survey, the situation is quite unclear with some arguing for no evolution at all. Much of the dispersion in the inferred evolution arises from uncertainties in the number of [*local*]{} massive clusters against which comparisons are needed. WARPS and RDCS appear to disagree on the “local" abundance to an extent that seriously affects their respective analyses. However, the prospects for extending these tests to higher redshift and clarifying the temperatures with Chandra appear very promising, even before the new XMM surveys are underway. As an outsider to the subject of distant X-ray cluster surveys, I was struck in both Harald and Marc Postman’s reviews of the large number of competing surveys underway. If the labour involved in constructing these surveys was not enough, remember that the time required to fully exploit them is even larger. For example, the construction of Ebeling’s ROSAT-based MACS sample of 840 clusters involved two colour CCD imaging and spectroscopic verification of a significant sample. To exploit all 109 clusters beyond $z>$0.3 with multi-slit spectrographs, a weak lensing deep imaging study, Sunyaev-Zel‘dovich (SZ) detections and other applications would require almost dedicated access to a huge range of facilities (a tall order even by Harald’s standards!). When one realizes this is just [*one*]{} of the many ambitious surveys we heard about with more in the pipeline, I worry has the planning of all these surveys seriously taken into account the necessary investment for a full exploitation? Mapping Large Scale Structure with Clusters =========================================== Bob Nichol gave us a very balanced review of the changing role of clusters as new probes of large scale structure became available. He also posed some controversial questions, e.g: “in the era of galaxy and lensing surveys, who needs clusters?" He also stressed many of the complications that arise from the frequent merging of clusters on our assumption of relaxed systems in virial equilibrium. I think it fair to say the traditional role of using clusters selected in various way (optically from the Abell/ACO catalogues or from X-rays) as the most efficient way to get to the mass power spectrum $P(k)$ on large scales is being overtaken by the large redshift surveys. In the era of 2dF and SDSS, huge volumes populated by over 100,000 galaxies are publically available[^6] and delineate the power spectrum more reliably than the earlier Abell/ACO cluster samples whose integrity is still being debated. In the case of the X-ray cluster samples, Luigi Guzzo’s analysis of the REFLEX survey is comparable in importance to 2dF and SDSS at the time of writing. A particularly impressive achievement in that sample is the detection of infall in the $\xi_v(\sigma,\pi)$ plane convincingly demonstrating the quality of the sample. However, the redshift surveys are continuing apace and from them one can create far more reliable spectroscopically-based cluster samples. Of particular interest is the volume to $z\simeq$0.55 probed by SDSS Luminous Red Galaxies survey. The message is clear: wholesale galaxy mapping has arrived..use the data! Bob drew attention to possible “baryon wiggles" in both the power spectrum of Abell/ACO clusters seen by Miller et al (2001) and referred to one tentatively in the 2dF data (Percival et al 2001). It must be remembered that, in such plots, the redshift-space power spectrum is significantly affected by aliasing introduced by the window function of the survey volume. Without careful simulation of this effect it is very hard to be sure whether bumps are artefacts or genuine baryon oscillations. Neither the REFLEX not the 2dF surveys claim to have detected these features. Indeed, the 2dF team estimates unless the baryon density is much higher than expected, they will remain undetected in the completed SDSS survey. Elena Pierpaoli described a second aspect of local cluster statistics, namely constraining the [*amplitude*]{} of the mass power spectrum. The abundance of clusters of known mass provides a joint constraint on the variance, $\sigma_8$ on 8$h^{-1}$ Mpc scales and the mean mass density, $\Omega_M$ in a form dependent on $\sigma_8\,\Omega_M^{0.5}$. By adding X-ray temperature measurements and improving the mass-$T_x$ connection, an improved constraints has been determined. In the past year, the same constraint has also been probed in a completely independent way via weak lensing studies of randomly-chosen fields (so called “cosmic shear” surveys) (eg. van Waerbeke et al 2001, Bacon et al 2000, 2001 in prep.). Reassuringly both methods get fairly similar answers with $\sigma_8\,\Omega_M^{0.6}$=0.40-0.50 although it is important to remember that cosmic variance and the redshift distribution of the background faint galaxies may affect uncertainties in the lensing estimates[^7] The weak lensing results are independent of any assumed cluster population and do not rely on Gaussian fluctuations in the mass spectrum. Accordingly, comparisons of lensing and cluster-based methods are an important way to verify the assumptions we may take for granted, not only in the cosmological framework but also in cluster physics. Physical Processes Within Clusters ================================== We had an interesting session on the internal mass distributions within cluster where Andrea Biviano gave a very comprehensive review of years of effort invested in estimating orbital anisotropies and mass distributions in clusters. The number of clusters which have been comprehensively surveyed spectroscopically is increasing rapidly and the new field surveys (SDSS, 2dF) will generate lots more. Cluster galaxy dynamics will remain a critical tool in determining the orbital anistropy of cluster galaxies of different types. As Andrea showed, there is convincing evidence that spheroidal galaxies retain an isotropic velocity field, consistent with their long-standing membership, whereas late type systems show a detectable radial anisotropy reflecting their continuous infall. The peripheries of clusters at moderate redshifts are largely unstudied regions important in linking cluster-based environmental evolution to that in field galaxies. Tommaso Treu and Taddy Kodama described complementary dynamical/HST and photometric imaging programs to address this question. Kodama finds a potentially important result whereby the colours of field galaxies undergo a sharp transition from blue-to-red at some galaxian surface density, presumably reflecting some process associated with their arrival at the cluster. Treu is embarking on a longer term project to understand the mechanistic details of infall in a single well-studied cluster. Both routes are important ones to pursue. Andrea was cautious about deriving mass profiles from galaxy velocities. This has been a long standing problem in individual clusters, even Coma, because of the inevitable degeneracies arising from unknown orbital anisotropies as a function of radius. If a functional form is adopted for the mass profile (e.g. NFW), solutions can be found but the present motivation is surely to determine these forms directly, as is possible in a more competitive way with X-ray data in the inner regions and weak lensing to the periphery. Steve Allen showed how much progress has been made in reconciling strong lensing and X-ray based mass estimates following improved Chandra data on 7 clusters and found no significant deviations from the universal mass profile seen in numerical simulations. In an effort to overcome some limitations, it has become common practice to co-add data from many clusters in the hope of improving signal to noise and erase asymmetries. Peter Katgert and Roland van der Marel showed us results from coadded samples based on the ENACS and CNOC surveys respectively, and concluded mass traces light to a reasonable approximation. However, is a composite cluster really a physical entity? A number of critics were unconvinced because of the dangerous effect one or two “complex" systems might have on the final conclusion. Even with a substantial number of redshifts, it seems one has to be cautious in interpreting dynamical data in terms of a simple gravitational potential. A salutory lesson can be learnt from the comprehensive survey of the regular cluster Cl0024+16 (see Treu et al, Metevier et al, these proceedings) by Czoske et al (2001). For many years this was regarded as a classic regular virialised system at $z$=0.4 and its mass profile even formed the basis for promoting self-interacting dark matter as discussed by Oleg Gnedin. However, when 650 redshifts were gathered (of which 295 are members), Czoske et al resolved a foreground system (whose mass was initially thought to be quite modest but now is claimed to be significant) undergoing an end-on merger with the main body of the cluster (Figure 6). This discovery may explain its low X-ray luminosity c.f. the original high velocity dispersion. With less than 100 member velocities, Cl0024+16 would surely have been considered a representative cluster for coaddition but now we know it is a more complex beast. Bootstrap-style experiments might be helpful to clarify the robustness of the coaddition procedure. Soon after the first X-ray detections of hot gas from the intracluster medium (ICM) were detected, it was realised that most of the baryons in clusters are in gaseous form. Assuming an isothermal distribution, the surface brightness profiles offer a valuable probe of cluster mass disribution, and the X-ray morphology indicates the evolutionary state. Clusters are expected to continuously assemble in popular hierarchical models and we can expect to directly witness this growth via shock heating events. XMM and Chandra are transforming this field and this conference has provided one of the first opportunities for us to discuss the assumptions made in analysing earlier data. Monique Arnaud illustrated some of this progress in her excellent review. Although merging substructures produce shock-heating Chandra reveals unforeseen complexities, for example in the “cold fronts" seen in some clusters which suggest the associated timescales may have been underestimated. Monique demonstrated several lines of evidence for the continuing assembly of clusters (X-ray substructure, anisotropic accretion etc). However, even in the well-studied case of the outskirts of the Coma cluster, Uli Briel demonstrated significant uncertainties in understanding the merger timescales involved. Such data are thus [*illustrative*]{} of hierarchical assembly but may not give us the needed [*quantitative*]{} verification of mass assembly. The most striking aspect of the new high quality data is the growing evidence for non-gravitational processes in understanding the physics of the ICM. Whilst temperature profiles obtained with ASCA and BeppoSAX were often discrepant (as discussed by De Grandi), the XMM data gives reasonable support to the assumption of isothermal cores. However, the expected self-similar “scaling laws" between the gas mass, virial radius and X-ray temperature, e.g. in $L_x \propto T^2$ are not obeyed. The steep $L_x-T$ relation implies non-gravitational processes, almost certainly associated with additional heating mechanisms. Theoretical explanations for the steep $L_x-T$ relation were the subject of almost an entire afternoon session. There was a bewildering number of ideas. Fabio Governato reviewed for us how feedback heating can be incorporated in numerical simulations and showed that a steep relation cannot be easily explained via conventional heating sources such as supernovae. Paolo Tozzi demonstrated that, with an energy of 1-2 kev/baryon, AGN are a promising possibility but it seems there is no obvious evidence for heating from these sources. Peter Thomas from the VIRGO consortium can predict the slope but only at the expense of a strong evolution in the relationship. Uros Seljak gave us an analytical model based on a universal gas profile where departure from self-similarity arises from a temperature-dependent hot gas fraction. Perhaps that glass of wine at lunchtime was not a good idea but this was a confusing session for me. Unlike observers who compare ASCA/BeppoSAX/XMM temperature profiles, worrying about sensitivity, psf and background differences, when it comes to numerical simulations, I am puzzled that there appears to be no necessity to inter-compare results. Surely this is a first step in convincing anyone of the believability of a particular simulation? Additional physical complexities in the inner cool cores of clusters were reviewed by Andy Fabian. In the physical environment of a dense cluster core, hot gas is able to cool radiatively in a timescale of less than $10^{9-10}$ years and a stable flow of cooling gas to the cluster centre is expected. Almost 50% of all X-ray clusters show some signs of the associated temperature gradient implying mass inflow and deposition rates of 10-100 $M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$. However, XMM spectra show no sign of the expected Fe XX lines of radiative cooling in the 13-18 Å range. Hans Böhringer also discussed additional temperature diagnostics unaffected by absorption effects. Either the gas is not cooling radiatively or there is perhaps is a balancing effects from a hitherto-unidentified heating mechanism. And there are serious duty cycle issues concerned with preventing cooling beyond 2-3 kev. As usual, Andy had no shortage of ideas for resolving the puzzle, the most intriguing from my perspective being the hypothesis of a starkly bimodal metallicity distribution which has the desired effect of suppressing the amount of cooling witnessed through the diagnostic iron lines. Like most conference participants I suspect, I have little idea where this additional complexity in the ICM physics is taking us. The Chandra images of the Perseus cluster discussed by Schmidt (with such enthusiasm!) show holes in the X-ray emission where the gas appears hotter and more metal rich. Dynamical complexities were introduced by Ettori in the wealth of data he presented for Abell 1795. A number of speakers introduced magnetic fields associated with radio polarisation (in the case of Abell 2255 discussed by Govoni), radio sources (although as Fabian remarked the gas is not obviously hotter in these regions) or in explaining the survival of cold clouds with associated fronts (Arnaud). I think we can be optimistic that there is a lot to learn which will assist in the entire interplay between gas cooling, star formation and enrichment. Many years ago at a conference I attended in Cambridge, Andy claimed confidently that cooling flows provided a key mechanism for the formation of giant elliptical galaxies. Although cooling flows remain controversial, Andy can still assert (as Richard Bower emphasised independently) that the physics of gas cooling in cluster cores will tell us much about feedback and star formation: still key ingredients in galaxy formation. Evolution of Galaxy Populations within Dense Environments ========================================================= On the last day, Pieter van Dokkum surveyed the literature on the role that clusters continue to play in our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. There is a subtle shift of emphasis however. Rather than being “laboratories of convenience" [^8], galaxies in clusters are now being studied alongside equivalent field populations and as likely successors to well-studied Lyman break galaxies at $z>$2. Most of the discussion, by van Dokkum, Rosati & Kelson, concentrated on the role of very distant ($z>$0.5) clusters, largely in terms of differentiating stellar ages and the ages of mass assembly of giant ellipticals. Our large telescopes are being flexed to their limits to secure impressive fundamental plane data (to $z=$1.2 in 12 hour Keck exposures!) which continues to support the notion that old stellar populations in at least some fraction of the data. That the stars in ellipticals may be older than the assemblies in which they now reside is illustrated in the red mergers seen in the well-studied X-ray luminous cluster MS1054 ($z$=0.83). Pieter posed the question of how common such a system might be and gave some new examples of red mergers in other clusters. It is good to see some progress in separating the ages of stars from those of the accumulated mass that makes up giant ellipticals. The biases introduced not only in selecting galaxies within clusters (by HST morphology, by colour or infrared magnitude) but also by how the clusters themselves were selected (X-ray, optical..) continue to worry me. D. Fadda also reminded us how gas rich and dusty systems may be common even in dense clusters. As remarked earlier, it is hard to know what errors are made by connecting data at different redshifts to delineate an evolutionary picture. One suspects we are reliant either on theoretical modelling (heaven forbid!) or comparative field samples. Beyond $z>$0.5 this will be some time coming although a number of speakers alluded to the upcoming Keck and VLT spectroscopic surveys. It is now 20 years since Alan Dressler published his quantitative study of the morphology-density relation in a nearby sample of 55 rich clusters (Dressler 1980). Pieter and Bianca Poggianti urged us to go back and improve the local samples now we have panoramic CCD cameras and multi-object spectrographs so we can be sure of the local fractions (Figure 7). A key issue here is the origin of S0s; the Morphs team (Dressler et al 1997) proposed their recent demise from gas stripping and tidal effects and presented a strong claim for an evolving E/S0 fraction with lookback time. Pieter urged us to be much more cautious in differentiating Es and S0s; with resolved spectroscopy of $z>$0.5 galaxies feasible on many telescopes, this appears to be a profitable route in conjunction with HST data. Parting Thoughts ================ This has been a fascinating meeting and we have a lot to be thankful for. Foremost we have amazing observational facilities capable of finding clusters and studying them to great depths in complementary ways. We now can resolve clusters at the arcsec level in X-rays and locate their concentrated masses with S-Z and weak lensing techniques. We can also locate local clusters as byproducts in the comprehensive redshift surveys being undertaken. Instead of viewing these as competing techniques we should exploit them all as complementary probes to check our physical assumptions. We also have the opportunity to learn new physics in the cluster cores from the paradoxes emerging from the steeper $L_x-T$ relations and the absence of lines of radiative cooling in those with temperature gradients. It should perhaps be no surprise that simple gravitational physics is not enough to explain what we see. The fall-out in our understanding of galaxy and cluster formation from resolving this paradox could be a big one. As the concluding speaker I want to thank Drs Mardirossian and Mezzetti for all the necessary arrangements here at beautiful Sesto Pusteria and to the Organising Committee for their hard work. We should in particular thank Stefano Borgani for his obvious insight in constructing a thoughtful scientific program and amazing energy he and his colleagues invested in making this a great meeting! Adelberger, K. 2000 in [*Clustering at High Redshift*]{}, eds. Mazure, A. et al, ASP Conference Series, 200, p13. Aragón-Salamanca, A. et al 1998 MNRAS, 297, 427. Bacon, D.J. et al 2000 MNRAS 318, 625. Beijersbergen, M. et al 2001 MNRAS in press (astro-ph/0106354). Borgani, S. 2001 in [*Galaxy Clusters and the High Redshift Universe Observed in X-rays*]{}, eds. Neumann, E. et al in press (astro-ph/0106471). Borgani, S. & Guzzo, L. 2001 Nature 409, 39. Czoske O., et al. 2001, A&A, in press(astro-ph/0111118) Daddy, E. et al 2001 A&A 376, 825. Dressler A. 1980, , 236, 351. Dressler A. et al. 1997, , 490, 577. Fukugita, M. 2000, in Proc. 30th ICHEP, eds. Lim, C.S. & Yamanata, T., World Sci. p299. Gioia, I. 2001 in [*Chemical Enrichment of the Intracluster Medium*]{} in press (astro-ph/0107452). Gladders, M. & Yee, H.C. 2001 in [*Cosmic Evolution & Galaxy Formation*]{}, ed. Franco, J. et al, ASP Conf. Series 215, p233 Gunn, J.E. & Oke, B. 1975 , 195, 255. Kodama T., et al. 2001, , 562, L9 Kristian, J. et al 1976 , 205, 688 McCarthy, P. et al 2001 , 560, L31. Miller et al 2001 , 555, 68. Percival, W. et al 2001 MNRAS 327, 1279. Smail, I. & Dickinson, M.E. 1995 , 455, L99. van Waerbeke, L. et al 2001 A&A 374, 757. Voit, G.M. 2000 , 543, 112. Wittman, D. 2001 , 557, L89. [^1]: Fortunately, I have forgotten to which speaker he made this remark! [^2]: Witness the controversy surrounding the use of UV/optical and far-infrared probes of the cosmic star formation history. No single technique wins: several are required. [^3]: I apologise if I missed some talks but I tried to secure powerpoint files or transparencies for most of those. [^4]: On more than one occasion, challenges to a standard paradigm have been made on the basis of the existence of a single high $z$, assumed massive, cluster. [^5]: Mass estimates based on weak shear of a background population are insensitive to an additional unclustered component of dark matter. [^6]: See http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/2dFGRS/ & http://archive.stsci.edu/sdss/edr\_main.html. [^7]: Since the conference, estimates about 20% lower for the combination of $\sigma_8$ and $\Omega_M$ have been published, both from cluster studies and large scale structure results. Lahav et al (astro-ph/0112162 gives a good summary) [^8]: Perhaps there is a better terminology here!

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Through a competition and short-list interview process, the team demonstrated the ability to harness the potential of programmable LEDs, remote sensing, parametric design and digital fabrication to create an open ended narrative of the story of the University through animated silhouette imagery of past and real-time present student life on the campus. Memory Cloud explores the embodiment of tradition, as patterns of movements handed down within a community of learning and practice. An ethereal constellation of light points in a sculptural cloud form expresses the dynamic pulse of Texas A&M campus life, and connects the past with the absolute present. Within each elegant strand, LED nodes flicker on and off to create three-dimensional silhouettes that float across a matrix of light. These silhouettes are drawn from archived footage of time-honored traditions: the Corp of Cadets, the Texas Aggie Marching Band, Kyle Field traditions, and past graduations. Memory Cloud juxtaposes and interlaces this footage with a real-time feed of everyday student life, portraying the moving silhouettes of students in the MSC. In this manner, students become both viewer and subject within the context of the work of art. Memory Cloud connects the past with the absolute present. This living sculpture uses multimedia technology to collapse time and space, to celebrate the daily renewal of tradition in the lives of Texas A&M students. Memory Cloud expresses this dynamic pulse of community through the real-time silhouettes that constantly change throughout the day. Past and present are united for the viewer, who cannot tell if these silhouettes were created minutes, hours, days, months, or decades before. Traditions unite past and present through shared patterns of movement, passed down through a community. Tradition is embodied in daily campus life, yet it has an ethereal, transcendent quality that lifts students above the everyday. This transcendent quality is best expressed in the medium of pure light, a medium made possible by LED technology. Memory Cloud features 4,000 networked LED nodes integrated within transparent tubes of various lengths suspended from a diagrid framework, creating a vibrant, illuminated pointillist sculpture. Memory Cloud invites viewers into a rewarding experience of discovery as they move around the sculpture. The sculpture’s dynamic, undulating form creates dramatic vistas for viewers as they travel up and down the stairways surrounding the work. Memory Cloud becomes part of the daily social life of the MSC. As viewers move through 12th Man Hall, the silhouettes seem to appear, then disappear. From certain angles, viewers see abstract patterns of pulsating lights; from other angles, they discover moving, three-dimensional silhouettes, blurring the boundaries between figuration and abstraction. Click above image to view slideshowDiagram (Image: RE:site + Metalab) Points of Light Four thousand points of individually controlled light are housed in 256 acrylic tubes and suspended from an ethereal floating canopy in 12 rows. Each layer can be programmed with a unique video from the real time feed or from archival video of past iconic events in any combination. While the sculpture is static, the animations create a work that is never the same twice and always refreshed by the participation of the student body. The lights are visible from all vantage points in the space and from outside in the newly renovated Rudder Plaza through the monumental glass wall of the new 12th Man Hall. Click above image to view slideshowDiagram (Image: RE:site + Metalab) Suspended Luminaires Custom fabricated acrylic disks are made directly from the artist’s digital model and are dimensionally tuned to find the form of the surface of the Memory Cloud. They will be illuminated via “fiber optic” effect by the lowest LED nodes in the tubes and convey the sense that the animated bodies in the video are passing though a glowing veil enveloping the space of the Memorial Student Center and 12th Man Hall in a fluid field of light.

Getty Images A bad start to the season for Buccaneers quarterback Josh McCown is getting worse. The thumb injury McCown suffered in Thursday night’s loss in Atlanta is likely to force McCown to miss “several weeks,” a source told Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. That would mean Mike Glennon, the 2013 third-round pick who became the starter during his rookie year, will start. Glennon showed some promise during his rookie season, but the new regime in Tampa obviously didn’t think he was ready to start, because the Bucs gave McCown a two-year, $10 million contract this offseason to become the starter. Unfortunately, McCown hasn’t done much with the starting job: After throwing just one interception in 224 passes last season, McCown has thrown four interceptions in just 68 passes this season. Although Bucs coach Lovie Smith has insisted that McCown is the starter when healthy, Glennon will get an opportunity to show he deserves to keep the starting job.

Washington Wizards point guard John Wall doesn’t think he’ll be selected to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro with Team USA. Despite being named to the All-Star team in each of the past two seasons, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall doesn’t think he’ll make the final Team USA roster for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. “I’ll be out of the picture,” Wall told CSN Washington with a laugh. Veteran point guard Chris Paul is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and will likely be joined on the roster by 2012 gold medalist Russell Westbrook. Kyrie Irving, who plays with Team USA star LeBron James for the Cavaliers and played for national team coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, likely stands to make the team as well. Reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry also sits above Wall in the point guard pecking order. • MORE NBA: SI's USA Basketball 2016 Dream Team | Minicamp takeaways “I’m just being honest,” Wall continued. “Chris Paul has already won one (Olympic gold medal) [sic]. Steph Curry had an amazing last year and just won the World Cup. Kyrie just won the World Cup. Russell will probably be on the team. They’ll use him as a two-guard.” Wall was one of 34 players (and six point guards) who attended last week’s Team USA minicamp in Las Vegas. Attendance at the camp was mandatory to be considered for a spot on the 12-man roster at the Olympics next summer. - Dan Gartland

New insights into the role of centrosomes in mammalian fertilization and implications for ART. In non-rodent mammalian species, including humans, the oocyte and sperm both contribute centrosomal components that are most important for successful fertilization. Centrosome pathologies in sperm and the oocyte can be causes for infertility which may be overcome by assisted reproductive technologies based on proper diagnosis of specific centrosomal pathologies. However, we do not yet fully understand the cell and molecular mechanisms underlying centrosome functions in germ cells and in the developing embryo, which calls for directed specific investigations to identify centrosome-related pathologies that include components in sperm, egg, or centrosome regulation within the fertilized oocyte. The present review highlights cellular and molecular aspects of centrosomes and centrosome-nuclear interactions focused on nuclear mitotic apparatus protein during fertilization and proposes future directions in expanding therapeutic approaches related to centrosome pathologies that may play a role in still unexplained causes of infertility.

Oasis (Do As Infinity song) "Oasis" is Do As Infinity's third single, released in 2000. This song was included in the band's compilation albums Do the Best and Do the A-side. Track listing "Oasis" "Sell..." "Oasis" (Instrumental) "Sell..." (Instrumental) "Wings" (Free Live 100 at Shibuya Public Hall) "Heart" (3SV Remix) "Heart" (Chromatic Mix) Chart positions External links "Oasis" at Avex Network "Oasis" at Oricon Category:2000 singles Category:Do As Infinity songs Category:Songs written by Dai Nagao Category:2000 songs Category:Song recordings produced by Seiji Kameda

Are you paying too much for your ERP? 1st August 2016 In the enterprise world, cost is endemic. Specifically, ERP cost management tends to consume more and more time over time. This is simply because the larger the resources-mass, the more frangible a system becomes requiring more and more maintenance over time. Consequently, if you add that pressure on top of constant customizing, process-dinking, annual subscription hikes, maintenance, support, the potential cost of ad hoc consulting fees, and various other requirements associated with daily operations, a departmental budget can get pretty bare if you’re not paying attention to your pennies. Nevertheless, growth is cost, and vice versa, and things can get out of hand unless you’re constantly looking out for ERP cost mitigation. Unbridled customization Today’s ERP systems are built to accept customization, but that’s not necessarily a good thing in certain situations. If you have created a large list of customization scripts that are now obsolete, it’s likely they are soaking up cycles, thereby slowing down processing times (time is money – right?); along with direct or in-direct maintenance costs that could be better applied to other system usage. Trim the pig and get rid of the clutter. Annual subscription hikes If you are operating on a cloud platform, and paying on the basis of an annualized fees schedule, chances are that somewhere in the bowels of the fine print, you’re potentially accepting fractional cost increases each year whether you know it or not. Most of the time, these cost ups are minimal, and somewhere on the order of 0.25% to 0.75% per seat; so in early days of the system agreement, the cost value of these hikes becomes virtually unnoticeable. However, over time if you are operating a large enterprise, consuming many seats, these year-over-year percentile increases can eat a budget up quickly if you’re not paying attention. The resolution here is to audit your fees schedules accordingly, whilst ensuring that you only pay for necessary seats. Clawback charges This cost gotcha sometimes applies when resolving the previous area of concern. Some annual subscription contracts call for a ‘clawback’ tariff in the event that an enterprise asks for a seat to be installed, but instead decides to abort the client downstream, while asking that the installation be removed to the master fees schedule. Sometimes these costs are passed on by use of fractional values, and other times they are passed as flat-fee charges. Nevertheless, the resolution is to ensure that you a) read your master contract carefully before executing a subscription agreement, b) audit your fees schedules annually; and c) if you choose to abort a seat, take a minute to contact your provider to ensure that you understand what will happen in the event. Granted these are only three ways to avoid the experience of a sudden ERP cost scare, but they’re important enough that you should remember them whenever you’re in the midst of any internal budget evolution. That said, if there’s only one central piece of advice you should bear in mind when keeping ERP costs in check, it’s to ensure that you go through your contract terms on a regular basis. More times than not, unless you look critically at your business agreements, there’s going to be something you’ll miss from the outset that you might have saved later. Rick Carlton About the author… Rick Carlton dba PRRACEwire, has worked as a tech journalist, writer, researcher, editor and publisher for many years. In addition to his editorial work, Rick has also served as a C-Level executive/consultant for a wide-range of private and public sector U.S. and International companies.

What Net Neutrality Changes Could Mean For Your Small Business Jenny Odegard , Women@ForbesI discuss the intersection of the law and your business.Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Today the U.S. Senate asked the FCC to take more time before announcing a possible change in the way that the agency categorizes the internet for regulatory purposes. Right now the internet is considered a utility, like electricity, water or gas. This category creates certain restrictions on what companies providing the utility can and cannot do, and provides users certain rights along with it. The FCC is considering changing the way it views the internet, and to re-categorize it as an information service, which would lift many of the restrictions placed on companies that provide internet service. If you don’t already know more about net neutrality, take a break from this article and wander over to one of thesehelpful summaries of the issue. It’s worth knowing about. The key issue is that lifting the regulations associated with providing a utility would clear the path for internet providers (like Time Warner, Verizon, Comcast, etc) to slow down or speed up your service based on what website you are browsing (or using to stream content, for example). These service differences would likely have to do with who is paying for the privilege of a fast connection, and this could have big implications for small businesses. Here are a few reasons why you should care: No new vines. Pay-to-play means innovative new content services won’t have a fair chance to thrive. Imagine a world where YouTube videos were always prioritized in loading speed above Vines. The six-second video loops would have been slow and choppy, and would have faced an uphill battle to becoming the viral darling that was acquired by Twitter. Without network neutrality, your new idea for innovative content or a new way to share information could be served up to users at a much slower rate than content provided by big media companies, making it harder to achieve unicorn startup status in an era where content is king. Shutterstock Worse service for your clients or customers. Direct to consumer products are the current wave in startup culture, with young companies prioritizing transparent labor practices, ethical materials sourcing and low pricing in a way that traditional retailers have not. However, if the page is loading slowly and images are not showing up clearly, customers will have a bad experience and likely be driven back to tried-and-true brands. As a small business owner, a user having a bad experience on your site can be a literal nightmare. It gives customers a bad impression of the brand in general and discourages continued browsing, which can hurt sales and customer retention. Your favorite software could stop working. Are you using software owned by a company that competes with your internet service provider? They could block it or slow it down so much that it becomes useless. This has actually happened before: When FaceTime first became available, AT&T considered charging customers more for use of the software over their cellular networks. Most of us don’t have much of a choice when it comes to our home internet service provider. If ISPs can block, slow down or charge more for use of software that you like, it is much more likely that you’ll change to the software your ISP prefers. Bottom line: less competition. The biggest issue with net neutrality is that it makes it harder for small businesses to compete with bigger ones. Whether it’s slower content, a worse user experience, or preferential treatment for company-owned software, these ramifications of losing net neutrality are bad news for small businesses and startups. Without equal access to internet services and users, small companies trying to disrupt the status quo will have less of a chance to survive and thrive. Follow my law practice on Twitter @odegardlaw for more tips and updates on laws that impact your business.

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Normal and neoplastic stem cells. Stem cells are cells that at the single cell level both self-renew and give rise to differentiated progeny. Self renewal is the property that distinguishes stem cells and progenitors, and in the blood-forming system explains why haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), not progenitors, are the only cells capable of providing rapid and sustained regeneration of the blood-forming system after ablation by cancer chemo- and radiotherapies. Cancer-free prospectively purified HSCs regenerate the haematopoietic system of patients as rapidly as a marrow or mobilized blood transplant, but without the risk of re-seeding the body with cancer cells. Further, purified allogeneic HSCs can establish donor-specific tolerance to subsequent tissue grafts. However, in contrast to widely-publicized reports of HSC plasticity, we have not been able to show transdifferentiation of HSC to muscle, heart, brain or gut, and conclude that rare cell fusions and incomplete purifications are likely explanations for the other published results. The ability to self-renew is also potentially dangerous, as poorly regulated self renewal is, we believe, a central lesion in all cancers. We have recently shown that myeloid leukaemias in mouse and human are often driven by rare leukaemia (cancer) stem cells which are at the progenitor stage of differentiation, but have activated the self-renewing cell division pathway normally used only by HSCs. Similar cancer stem cells have been isolated in other tumours.

[Free amino acids in plasma and milk of mexican rural lactating women]. To determine the free amino acid pool in plasma and milk in Mexican rural lactating women. Twenty-eight women with an age 24 +/- 5.0 (+/- SD) years, weight 50 +/- 4.9 kg and height 148 +/- 4.8 cm were studied under metabolic balance conditions. Subjects were divided into five groups (three groups of lactation at 1st, 3rd and 6th month, one post-weaning group and a control group of non pregnant, non lactating women). Amino acid analyses of the diet and of plasma and milk samples were performed using an automated amino acid analyzer. Differences were observed between the lactation groups and the other groups: aspartate increased at the 6th month (p < 0.05) while leucine, valine and isoleucine declined in the 3rd month (p < 0.05). In milk, valine, proline and taurine decreased at 6 months (p < 0.05), while serine and threonine raised at 3 months. Plasma levels were > 4 fold greater than milk levels for branched chain amino acids and for the basic, aromatic and neutral amino acids. In contrast, glutamate was 40 fold higher in milk than plasma and it was the predominant amino acid in the free pool of milk. Our results suggest that the metabolic use of amino acids and the presence of specific amino acid transport systems during lactation, contribute to specific concentrations of free amino acids in milk that were not associated with the pool of free amino acids in plasma.

We were there Saturday with eight of our neighbors. Everyone made the same comment "We will be back the food and service was great" Even a DAWG fan sit next to a LSU fan. No problems! GO DAWGS! Several others on our street were unable to join us and really missed a great meal. Awwwwwe all of you are so wonderful! Thank you so much for the kind words and support. You can't imagine how much it means to us this time of the year. I was not there Saturday night, as I was out of town. I did get to PM back and forth with "hutch" and as for "DAWGS" and "TIGERS" sitting next to each other I can't think of a better reason then to dine and chow down!!!! Thanks for your support too Cheering and sowalgayboi. And, ljeffries, I will pass that on about the service. It means so much to Chris and Kelly!!!! I agree they are quite special!!! I write this on my laptop sitting on a very bloated and happy belly. I will say as a blanket statement WOW. We arrived and discovered a beautifully decorated dining room. We chose a lovely Reisling and probably drove our waiter nuts as we tried to decide which dish we would have. I thought I had settled on the crawfish pasta when my other half mentioned Tuna. This brought the menu back up and the waiter back into the kitchen. I finally decided on the Tuna (great choice BTW). My other half had the grouper and crawfish. I had the Tuna and shrimp. My meal was wonderful, the prices are excellent and very appropriate for the amount (large amount) of food you receive. After working thru an entree that even a hungry man would struggle with we chose to share a dessert. OMFG what a dessert. There is cheesecake and then there is banana's foster. Combine the two and prepare to loosen a belt, buckle, or button (felt like I needed to loosen all three). This was truly a wonderful dinner and will definitely be back repeatedly. The ultimate top off is the Adult only fine dining atmosphere. D&K you ROCK!!! I write this on my laptop sitting on a very bloated and happy belly. I will say as a blanket statement WOW. We arrived and discovered a beautifully decorated dining room. We chose a lovely Reisling and probably drove our waiter nuts as we tried to decide which dish we would have. I thought I had settled on the crawfish pasta when my other half mentioned Tuna. This brought the menu back up and the waiter back into the kitchen. I finally decided on the Tuna (great choice BTW). My other half had the grouper and crawfish. I had the Tuna and shrimp. My meal was wonderful, the prices are excellent and very appropriate for the amount (large amount) of food you receive. After working thru an entree that even a hungry man would struggle with we chose to share a dessert. OMFG what a dessert. There is cheesecake and then there is banana's foster. Combine the two and prepare to loosen a belt, buckle, or button (felt like I needed to loosen all three). This was truly a wonderful dinner and will definitely be back repeatedly. The ultimate top off is the Adult only fine dining atmosphere. D&K you ROCK!!! P.S. They take credit cards. ;-) Click to expand... Thanks so much sgb....wish I had known you were there last night, but I'm sure Kelly and Chris took good care of you! Yes, the Banana's Foster Cheesecake is one of my favorites too. I just love the two flavors and textures together. In the cafe we (the staff) sometimes add a large scoop of vanilla ice cream to make it even more decadent. We can get bad bad bad making things over the top in the kitchen. I really love to take something great and make it better. We do have a children's menu both for lunch and dinner. As for the decor, I love to decorate a restaurant more then anything.....and I had a fantastic partner, Jamie Landreneau. Doug let us loose and we had a ball! Also I'm pretty sure the ice cream would have been over kill. :shock: Kelly was a wonderful server! Jamie came over and introduced himself as we were staring at the only surviving piece of his after Katrina. :angry: Ohhhhh Sj I love this picture of the cafe. Thanks for posting it!!! The lights focus on the entrance and keep the upstairs a bit mysterious. And, where do you get these Tars of yours????? They are so funny!!!!:funn: Also I'm pretty sure the ice cream would have been over kill. :shock: Kelly was a wonderful server! Jamie came over and introduced himself as we were staring at the only surviving piece of his after Katrina. :angry: All-in-all a wonderful experience, and great photo SJ. Click to expand... Nope that wasn't me wandering around with a baby in my arms. My baby often comes and sits in my lap, but she's 14! ;-) Although I have carried a baby around the cafe a number of times so the parents could eat. We appreciate YOU for noticing all the beautiful artwork on the walls and on the plate!!!!

The 24 kw is the mid-range system boiler that has been designed and built by Vaillant for performance, gas-efficiency and usability. Call Now On 03456 474747 or use the form and we will get straight back to you. For houses with mid-sized heat loads and loft storage space this could be the perfect boiler for you. The 624 incorporates innovative new design, such as the high-efficiency 2 speed pump and flame lit detection system to help minimise wasteful losses as well as reduce noise – It has consequently been awarded the Quiet Mark seal of approval.

Solid-state anomalies in IR spectra of compounds of pharmaceutical interest. Solid-state anomalies in the IR spectra of lysine monohydrochloride, etoxadrol hydrochloride, thiamine hydrochloride, and L-histidine in a potassium bromide matrix were noted. With the first three compounds, the anomalies were due to metathetical exchange of the halide anion between the compound and the matrix. The anomaly seen with L-histidine was related to the crystal structure.

/* * Copyright (c) MuleSoft, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.mulesoft.com * The software in this package is published under the terms of the CPAL v1.0 * license, a copy of which has been included with this distribution in the * LICENSE.txt file. */ package org.mule.runtime.deployment.model.api.domain; import java.util.Optional; import java.util.Properties; import java.util.Set; import org.mule.runtime.deployment.model.api.DeployableArtifactDescriptor; import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet; /** * Represents the description of a domain. */ public class DomainDescriptor extends DeployableArtifactDescriptor { public static final String DEFAULT_DOMAIN_NAME = "default"; public static final String DEFAULT_CONFIGURATION_RESOURCE = "mule-domain-config.xml"; public static final String MULE_DOMAIN_CLASSIFIER = "mule-domain"; /** * Creates a new domain descriptor * * @param name domain name. Non empty. */ public DomainDescriptor(String name) { super(name); } /** * Creates a new domain descriptor * * @param name domain name. Non empty. * @param deploymentProperties deploymentProperties */ public DomainDescriptor(String name, Optional<Properties> deploymentProperties) { super(name, deploymentProperties); } @Override protected Set<String> getDefaultConfigResources() { return ImmutableSet.<String>builder().add(DEFAULT_CONFIGURATION_RESOURCE).build(); } }

USCA1 Opinion Can't open 92-2417

--- author: - bibliography: - 'biblio.bib' title: | [**Pulsatile lipid vesicles under osmotic stress**]{}\ \ --- [ABSTRACT ]{} The response of lipid bilayers to osmotic stress is an important part of cellular function. Recent experimental studies showed that when cell-sized giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are exposed to hypotonic media, they respond to the osmotic assault by undergoing a cyclical sequence of swelling and bursting events, coupled to the membrane’s compositional degrees of freedom. Here, we establish a fundamental and quantitative understanding of the essential pulsatile behavior of GUVs under hypotonic conditions by advancing a comprehensive theoretical model of vesicle dynamics. The model quantitatively captures the experimentally measured swell-burst parameters for single-component GUVs, and reveals that thermal fluctuations enable rate-dependent pore nucleation, driving the dynamics of the swell-burst cycles. We further extract constitutional scaling relationships between the pulsatile dynamics and GUV properties over multiple time scales. Our findings provide a fundamental framework that has the potential to guide future investigations on the non-equilibrium dynamics of vesicles under osmotic stress. INTRODUCTION {#introduction .unnumbered} ============ In their constant struggle with the environment, living cells of contemporary organisms employ a variety of highly sophisticated molecular mechanisms to deal with sudden changes in their surroundings. One often encountered environmental assault on cells is osmotic stress, where the amount of dissolved molecules in the extracellular environment drops suddenly [@christensen1987; @hoffmann2009]. If left unchecked, this perturbation will result in a rapid flow of water into the cell through osmosis, causing it to swell, rupture, and die. To avoid this catastrophic outcome, even bacteria have evolved complex molecular machineries, such as mechanosensitive channel proteins, which allow them to release excess water from their interior [@berrier1996; @blount1997; @levina1999; @wood1999]. This then raises an intriguing question of how might primitive cells, or cell-like artificial constructs, that lack the sophisticated protein machinery for osmosensing and osmoregulation, respond to such environmental insults and preserve their structural integrity. Using rudimentary cell-sized giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) devoid of proteins and consisting of amphiphilic lipids and cholesterol as models for simple protocells, we showed previously that vesicular compartments respond to osmotic assault created by the exposure to hypotonic media by undergoing a cyclical sequence of swelling and poration [@oglecka2014]. In each cycle, osmotic influx of water through the semi-permeable boundary swells the vesicles and renders the bounding membrane tense, which in turn, opens a microscopic transient pore, releasing some of the internal solutes before resealing. This swell-burst process, [depicted in Fig. \[fig1\](A), ]{}repeats multiple times producing a pulsating pattern in the size of the vesicle undergoing osmotic relaxation. From a dynamical point of view, this autonomous osmotic response results from an initial, far-from-equilibrium, thermodynamically unstable state generated by the sudden application of osmotic stress. The subsequent evolution of the system, characterized by the swell-burst sequences described above, occurs in the presence of a global constraint, namely constant membrane area, during a dissipation-dominated process [@peterlin2008; @ho2016]. The study of osmotic response of lipid vesicles has a rich history in theoretical biophysics, beginning with the pioneering work by Koslov & Markin [@koslov1984], who provided some of the early theoretical foundations of osmotic swelling of lipid vesicles. In this work, they predicted that the response of a sub-micrometer sized vesicles to osmotic stress is likely pulsatile and due to the formation of successive transient pores (see Fig. 9, in [@koslov1984], for a schematic for the volume change of the vesicle over time). They further approximated the characteristic quantities of swell-burst cycles (e.g. swelling time, critical volumes), based on the probability of the membrane overcoming the nucleation energy barrier to form a pore. Independently, the dynamics of a single transient pore in a tense membrane were first theorized by Litster [@litster1975], and later investigated theoretically and experimentally by Brochard-Wyart and coworkers [@sandre1999; @brochard-wyart2000]. Idiart & Levin [@idiart2004] combined the osmotic swelling theory and pore dynamics, and calculated the dynamics of a pulsatile behavior assuming a constant lytic tension. These modeling efforts made great strides in our understanding of some of the essential physics underlying vesicle responses to osmotic stress. Previously, we used these ideas to provide a qualitative interpretation of pulsatile behavior of GUVs (see schematics in [@oglecka2014] Fig. 7h,i). However a general framework that quantitatively describes the response of pulsatile vesicles to osmotic stress at all relevant time scales is still missing. The success of such a model must rely on (a) the integration of vesicle dynamics, pore dynamics with nucleation, and long-time solute concentration dynamics within a unified framework, and (b) the assessment of the model predictions with respect to experimental measurements, in order to establish the physical relevance of the essential parameters that govern the system dynamics. Here, we build on the findings and theories reported previously [@litster1975; @koslov1984; @brochard-wyart2000; @idiart2004; @evans2003; @ryham2011] to develop such a quantitative model for the dynamics of swell-burst cycles in giant lipid vesicles subject to osmotic stress. In analyzing the pulsatile dynamics of GUVs, a number of general questions naturally arise: (i) Is the observed condition for membrane poration deterministic or stochastic? (ii) Is poration controlled by a unique value of membrane tension (*i.e.* lytic tension) introduced by the area-volume changes, which occur during osmotic influx, or does it involve coupling of the membrane response to thermal fluctuations? (iii) Does the critical lytic tension depend on the strain rate, and thus the strength of the osmotic gradient? Such questions arise beyond the present context of vesicle osmoregulation in other important scenarios where the coupling between the dissipation of osmotic energy and cellular compartmentalization has important biological ramifications [@rand2004; @diz-munoz2013; @stroka2014; @porta2015]. Motivated by these considerations, we carried out a combined theoretical-experimental study integrating membrane elasticity, continuum transport, and statistical thermodynamics. We gathered quantitative experimental data to address the questions above, and developed a general model that recapitulates the essential qualitative features of the experimental observations, emphasizes the importance of dynamics, and places the heretofore neglected contribution of thermal fluctuations in driving osmotic response of stressed vesicular compartments. MATERIALS AND METHODS {#materials-and-methods .unnumbered} ===================== The detailed materials and methods used in this work are available in Supporting Materials and Methods in the Supporting Material. The experimental configuration is similar to that already described [@angelova1992; @oglecka2014]. Briefly, we prepared GUVs consisting essentially of a single amphiphile, namely 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-1-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), doped with a small concentration (1 mol$\%$) of a fluorescently labeled phospholipid (1,2-dipalmitoyl -sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-(lissamine rhodamine B sulfonyl)) or Rho-DPPE using standard electroformation technique [@angelova1992]. The GUVs thus obtained were typically between 7 and 20 $\mu$m in radius, encapsulated 200 mM sucrose, and were suspended in the isotonic glucose solution of identical osmolarity. Diluting the extra-vesicular dispersion medium with deionized water produces a hypotonic bath depleted in osmolytes, subjecting the GUVs to osmotic stress. Shortly ($\sim$1 min delay) after subjecting the GUVs to the osmotic differential, GUVs were monitored using time-lapse epifluorescence microscopy at a rate of 1 image per 150 ms, and images were analyzed using a customized MATLAB code to extract the evolution of the GUV radii with time, with a precision of about 0.1 $\mu$m. We developed a mathematical model predicting the pulsatile behavior of GUVs in hypotonic environment. Essentially, the model couples pore nucleation by thermal fluctuations, osmotic swelling, and solute transport. These aspects are represented by Eqs. \[eq:sde\_r\], \[eq:ode\_R\] and \[eq:ode\_c\] respectively, and discussed below. Details regarding the theory and its numerical implementation are reported in Model Development and Simulations in the Supporting Materials. RESULTS {#results .unnumbered} ======= Homogeneous GUVs display swell-burst cycles in hypotonic conditions {#homogeneous-guvs-display-swell-burst-cycles-in-hypotonic-conditions .unnumbered} -------------------------------------------------------------------  A selection of snapshots, revealing different morphological states, and a detailed trace showing [the time-dependence of the vesicle radius $R$ and corresponding area strain ($\epsilon_\text{exp}=(R^2-R_0^2)/R_0^2$, where and $R_0$ is the resting initial vesicle radius) are shown]{} in Fig. \[fig1\](B, C, and D), for a representative GUV. Swelling phases are characterized by a quasi-linear increase of the GUV radius, while pore openings cause a sudden decrease of the vesicle radius. We outline here three key observations about the dynamics of swell-burst cycles from these experiments. 1. The period between two consecutive bursting events increases with each cycle, starting from a few tenths of a second for the early cycles, to several hundreds of seconds after the tenth cycle. 2. The maximum radius and therefore the maximum strain at which a pore opens decreases with cycle number, suggesting that lytic tension is a dynamic property of the membrane. 3. The observed transient pores are short lived, stay open for about a hundred milliseconds, and reach a maximum radius of up to 60 $\%$ of the GUV radius. We seek to explain these observations through a quantitative understanding of the pulsatile GUVs in hypotonic conditions. To do so, we first investigate the mechanics of pore nucleation and its relationship to the GUV swell-burst dynamics. Thermal fluctuations drive the dynamics of pore nucleation {#thermal-fluctuations-drive-the-dynamics-of-pore-nucleation .unnumbered} ----------------------------------------------------------  [ In the framework of classical nucleation theory [@litster1975], the energy potential $V(r,\epsilon)$ of a pore of radius $r$ in a lipid membrane under surface tension $\sigma$, is the balance of two competitive terms: $V_s(\epsilon)$, the strain energy, and $V_p(r)$, the pore energy. The strain energy tends to favor the opening and enlargement of the pore while the pore closure is driven by the pore line tension $\gamma$. Accordingly, the energy potential reads]{} $$\begin{aligned} V(r,\epsilon)=&V_s(\epsilon) + V_p(r) \nonumber\\ =&\dfrac{1}{2}\kappa_\text{eff} A_0 \epsilon^2 + 2\pi r \gamma \;. \end{aligned}$$ [The area strain is defined as $\epsilon=(A-A_0)/A_0$, where $A=4\pi R^2-\pi r^2$ is the surface of the membrane, and $A_0=4\pi R_0^2$ is the resting vesicle area. Here $V_s(\epsilon)$ is assumed to have a Hookean form, where $\kappa_\text{eff}$ is the effective stretching modulus, which relates the surface tension to the strain as $\sigma=\kappa_\text{eff}\epsilon$ (see next section for a discussion on $\kappa_\text{eff}$). These two energetic terms oppose each other, resulting in an energy barrier that the system has to overcome in order for a pore to nucleate. The competition between the strain and pore energy is expressed by the ratio $r_b=\gamma/\sigma$, which is the critical radius associated with the crossing of the energy barrier. That is, if a pore in a tensed membrane has a radius $r<r_b$, the pore energy $V_p(r)$ dominates and the pore closes. On the contrary, for $r>r_b$, the strain energy $V_s(\epsilon)$ prevails and the pore grows. The energy required to open a pore of radius $r$ in a tensed GUV is given by $\Delta V(r,\epsilon) = V(r,\epsilon)-V(0,\epsilon)$ and is represented in Fig. \[fig2\](A). The corresponding critical radius of the the energy barrier $r_b$ is shown as a function of the strain $\epsilon$ in Fig. \[fig2\](B). The height of the energy barrier and its critical radius are dependent on the membrane strain; the more the membrane is stretched, the lower the energy barrier is, and the smaller the amount of energy required to nucleate a pore. ]{} The amplitude of this energy barrier is strictly positive for finite strain values, making pore nucleation impossible without the addition of external energy. This issue has been often resolved by assuming a predetermined and *constant* lytic [strain ($\epsilon^*$)]{} corresponding to a critical energy barrier under which the pore opens (Fig. \[fig2\](C and E)). However, this approach is in contradiction with our experimental observations that the lytic strain in the membrane varies with each swell-burst cycle (Fig. \[fig1\](D)), due to a dependence on the strain rate [@evans2003]. In order to account for this variation, we included thermal fluctuations associated with the pore nucleation barrier in our analysis [@ting2011; @bicout2012]. In this scenario, increasing the membrane tension of the vesicle reduces the minimum pore radius $r_b$ at which a pore opens (Fig. \[fig2\](A and B)), lowering the energy barrier down to the range of thermal fluctuations, eventually letting the free energy of the system to overcome the nucleation barrier (Fig. \[fig2\](D and F)). The stochastic nature of the fluctuations can then explain a distribution of pore opening tensions, eliminating the need to assume constant lytic tension. A direct consequence of the fluctuation-mediated pore nucleation is that the membrane rupture properties become dynamic. Indeed, fluctuations naturally cause the strain at which the membrane ruptures to be dependent on the *strain rate*, as illustrated in Fig. \[fig2\](D). In order to understand this dynamic nucleation process, consider stretching the membrane at different strain rates $\dot{\epsilon}$. Doing so decreases the radius of the nucleation barrier at corresponding speeds, as shown in Fig. \[fig2\](F). For slow strain rates, as $r_b$ tends to zero, it spends more time in the accessible range of the thermal pore fluctuations, increasing the probability that a fluctuation will overcome the energy barrier. On the other hand, at faster strain rates, $r_b$ decreases quickly, reaching small values in less time, lowering the probability for above average fluctuations to occur during this shorter time. We use a Langevin equation to capture the stochastic nature of pore nucleation and the subsequent pore dynamics. This equation includes membrane viscous dissipation, a conservative force arising from the membrane potential, friction with water, and thermal fluctuations for pore nucleation (see Model Development and Simulations in the Supporting Material for detailed derivation). This yields the stochastic differential equation for the pore radius $r$ $$\label{eq:sde_r} \overbrace{\left(h \eta_m + C \eta_s r\right)}^{\mathclap{\text{viscous drag}}} \underbrace{\frac{d}{dt}(2\pi r)}_{\mathclap{\text{change of pore radius}}} = \overbrace{2\pi \left(\sigma r-\gamma\right)}^{\mathclap{\substack{\text{surface and}\\\text{line tension}}}} + \underbrace{\xi(t)}_{\mathclap{\substack{\text{thermal}\\\text{pore fluctuations}}}} \;,$$ where the noise source $\xi(t)$ has zero mean and satisfies, $\langle \xi(t)\xi(t^\prime) \rangle = 2\left(h \eta_m + C \eta_s r\right) k_B T \delta(t-t^\prime)$ according to the fluctuation dissipation theorem [@kubo1966]. Here, $\eta_m$ and $\eta_s$ are the membrane and solute viscosities respectively, $h$ is the membrane thickness, $C$ is a geometric coefficient [@ryham2011; @aubin2016], $k_B$ is the Boltzmann constant and $T$ is the temperature. [We assume here that the pore nucleation probability is independent on the total membrane surface area.]{} The values of the different parameters used in the model are given in Table S\[tab\_parameters\] in the Supporting Material. Model captures experimentally observed pulsatile GUV behavior {#model-captures-experimentally-observed-pulsatile-guv-behavior .unnumbered} ------------------------------------------------------------- ![Dynamics of swell-burst cycles from the model for a GUV of radius 14 $\mu$m in 200 mM hypotonic stress. (A and C) GUV radius and (B and D) pore radius as a function of time. The model captures the dynamics of multiple swell-burst cycles, in particular the decrease of maximum GUV radius and increase of cycle period with cycle number (A). Looking closely at a single pore opening event corresponding to the grey region, the model predicts three stage pore dynamics (C and D), namely opening, closing, and resealing, with a characteristic time of a few hundred milliseconds. Numerical reconstruction of the GUV is shown in Movies S3 and S4 in the Supporting Material. Results for $R_0=8$ and 20 $\mu$m are shown in Fig. S\[figS\_R\] in the Supporting Material.[]{data-label="fig3"}](fig_cycles_num) In addition to pore dynamics (Eq. \[eq:sde\_r\]), we need to consider mass conservation of the solute and the solvent. We assume that the GUV remains spherical at all times and neglect spatial effects. The GUV volume changes because of osmotic influx through the semi-permeable membrane and the leak-out of the solvent through the pore. The osmotic influx is the result of two competitive pressures, the osmotic pressure driven by the solute differential ($\Delta p_{osm} = k_B T N_A \Delta c$), and the Laplace pressure, arising from the membrane tension ($\Delta p_L = 2\sigma / R$), resulting in the following equation for the GUV radius $R$: $$\label{eq:ode_R} \underbrace{\frac{d}{dt}\left( \frac{4}{3}\pi R^3 \right)}_{\mathclap{\text{change of GUV volume}}} = \overbrace{\frac{P \nu_s }{k_B T N_A} \left( \Delta p_{osm} - \Delta p_L \right) A}^{\substack{\text{influx of solvent}\\\text{ through the membrane} }} - \underbrace{ v_L \pi r^2}_{\mathclap{\substack{\text{leak-out}\\\text{through the pore}}}} \;.$$ Here $A=4\pi R^2$ is the membrane area, $P$ is the membrane permeability to the solvent, $\nu_s$ is the solvent molar volume, and $N_A$ is the Avogadro number. Assuming low Reynolds number regime, the leak-out velocity is given by $ v_L = \Delta p_L r / (3\pi\eta_s)$ [@happel1983; @aubin2016]. Mass conservation of solute in the GUV is governed by the diffusion of sucrose and convection of the solution through the pore, which gives the governing equation for the solute concentration differential $\Delta c$: $$\label{eq:ode_c} \underbrace{\frac{d}{dt}\left(\frac{4}{3}\pi R^3 \Delta c \right)}_{\mathclap{\substack{\text{molar differential}\\\text{of solute}}}} = -\pi r^2 \bigg( \overbrace{D \frac{\Delta c}{R}}^{\mathclap{\substack{\text{diffusion through}\\\text{the pore}}}} + \underbrace{v_L\Delta c}_{\mathclap{\substack{\text{convection}\\\text{through the pore}}}} \bigg) \;,$$ where $D$ is the solute diffusion coefficient. These three coupled equations (Eqs. \[eq:sde\_r\] to \[eq:ode\_c\]) constitute the mathematical model. In order to completely define the system, we need to specify the relationship between the membrane surface tension $\sigma$ and the area strain of the GUV. We note that the GUV has irregular contours during the pore opening event and for a short time afterwards, when “nodules" are observed at the opposite end from the pore, indicating accumulation of excess membrane generated by pore formation (Fig. \[fig1\](B) middle and right panels). In the low tension regime, GUVs swell by unfolding these membrane nodules, and the stretching is controlled by the membrane bending modulus $\kappa_b$ and thermal energy, yielding an effective “unfolding modulus" $\kappa_u = 48\pi\kappa_b^2 / (R_0^2k_BT)$ of the order of 10$^{-5}$ N/m [@brochard1976]. In contrast, in the high tension regime, elastic stretching is dominant, and the elastic area expansion modulus $\kappa_e$ is roughly equal to 0.2 N/m [@evans1990]. Since the maximum area strain plotted in Fig. \[fig1\](D), is about 15 $\%$, significantly larger than the expected 4 $\%$ for a purely elastic membrane deformation, the experimental data suggests the occurrence of two stretching regimes: an unfolding driven stretching, and an elasticity driven stretching [@ertel1993; @hallett1993; @karatekin2003a]. [Therefore, for simplicity, we assume an effective stretching modulus $\kappa_\text{eff}$, which takes into account both unfoldoing and elastic regimes [@evans1990; @bloom1991] through a linear dependence between the membrane tension and the strain ($\sigma = \kappa_\text{eff} \epsilon$). Note that $\kappa_\text{eff}$ is the only adjustable parameter of the model.]{} We solved the three coupled equations (Eqs. \[eq:sde\_r\] to \[eq:ode\_c\]) for an initial inner solute concentration of $c_0=200$ mM, and different GUV radii of $R_0=8$, 14 and 20 $\mu$m. All the results presented here are obtained for $\kappa_\text{eff}=2 \times10^{-3}$N/m, the value that best fits the experimental observations (see Supplemental Fig. \[figS\_kappa\] for the effect of this parameter on the GUV dynamics). Dynamics of the GUV radius and the pore radius are shown in Fig. \[fig3\] for a typical simulation with $R_0=14$ $\mu$m (see Supplemental Fig. \[figS\_R\] for simulations with different values of $R_0$). Our model qualitatively reproduces the dynamics of the GUV radius during the swell burst cycle (compare Figs. \[fig1\](C) and \[fig3\](A)). Importantly, we recover the key features of the swell-burst cycle – namely an increase of the cycle period with each bursting event (point 1), and a decrease of the maximum radius with time (point 2). The stochastic nature of the thermodynamic fluctuations leads to variations and irregularities in the pore opening events, and therefore, the cycle period and maximum strain. The dynamics of a single cycle is shown in Fig. \[fig3\](C and D). Our numerical results show an abrupt drop in the GUV radius, followed by a slower decrease, suggesting a sequence of two leak-out regimes: a fast-burst releasing most of the membrane tension, and a low tension leak-out. This two-step tension release is confirmed by the pore radius dynamics, which after suddenly opening (release of membrane tension), reseals quasi-linearly due to dominance of line tension compared to membrane tension in Eq. \[eq:sde\_r\]. Furthermore, the computed pore amplitude and lifetime are in agreement with experimental observations (point 3). Overall, our model is able to reproduce the quantitative features of GUV response to hypotonic stress over multiple time scales. If thermal fluctuations are ignored, the strain to rupture needs to be adjusted to roughly 15$\%$ in order to match the range of maximum GUV radius observed experimentally (Fig. S\[figS\_det\] in the Supporting Material). However such a deterministic model does not capture the pulsatile dynamics as well as the stochastic model in terms of cycle period and strain rate (Fig. S\[figS\_comparison\] in the Supporting Material), and fails to reproduce a strain rate dependent maximum stress (Fig. S\[figS\_det\]). Solute diffusion is dominant during the low tension regime of pore resealing {#solute-diffusion-is-dominant-during-the-low-tension-regime-of-pore-resealing .unnumbered} ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ![[Diffusion of sucrose through the transient pore produces a step-wise decrease of the inner solute concentration. (A) In hypotonic conditions, the model predicts a step-wise decrease of solute concentration differential with time (blue line), which is solely due to diffusion of solute through the transient pore. In comparison, when diffusion is neglected in the model (grey line), the solute concentration differential decreases smoothly (also see Fig. S\[figS\_D\] in the Supporting Material for further analysis on the effect of diffusion). In isotonic conditions (dashed line), the solute concentration differential is constant with time. (Here $t_0=$ 40 s).]{} (B) Time evolution of the normalized fluorescence intensity of a GUV in hypotonic condition, encapsulating fluorescent glucose analog. $\Delta I$ is the difference in mean intensity between the inside of the GUV and the background. In hypotonic conditions (solid lines) the normalized intensity decreases with time due to the constant influx of water through the membrane, and shows sudden drops in intensity at each pore opening (indicated by arrows), due to diffusion of sucrose through the pore (see Movie S5 in the Supporting Material). In comparison, GUVs in an isotonic environment (dashed lines) exhibit a rather constant fluorescence intensity (see Movie S6 in the Supporting Material). (C) Micrographs of a GUV in hypotonic condition, encapsulating fluorescent glucose analog, just prior to bursting (left panel), with an open pore (middle panel), and just after pore resealing (right panel). The leak-out of fluorescent dye is observed in the middle frame, coinciding with a drop of the GUV radius. Frames extracted from Movie S7 in the Supporting Material. (D) Same as panel (C), with the images processed to increase contrast and attenuate noise. The blue, red, and white lines are the isocontours of the 90, 75, and 60 grey scale values respectively, highlighting the leak-out of fluorescent dye.[]{data-label="fig4"}](fig_efflux) The concentration differential of sucrose decreases exponentially and drops from 200 mM to about 10 mM in about 1000 seconds (Fig. S\[figS\_R\] in the Supporting Material). Even after 2000 s when the concentration differential is as low as 10 mM, the osmotic influx is still large enough to maintain the dynamics of swell-burst cycles (Fig. \[fig1\](C), Fig. S\[figS\_R\]). We further observe that every pore opening event produces a sudden drop in inner solute concentration (Fig. \[fig4\](A), blue line). This suggests that diffusion of sucrose plays an important role in governing the dynamics of solute. In the absence of diffusive effects, the model does not show the abrupt drops in concentration but a rather smooth exponential decay (Fig. \[fig4\](A), grey line). To experimentally verify the model predictions of sucrose dynamics, we quantified the evolution of fluorescence intensity in GUVs encapsulating 200 mM sucrose plus 58.4 $\mu$M 2-NBDG, a fluorescent glucose analog (see Supporting Material and Methods). Fig. \[fig4\](B) presents the evolution of fluorescent intensity of sucrose in time. GUVs in isotonic conditions (dashed lines) do not show a significant change in fluorescence intensity. GUVs in hypotonic conditions (solid lines) exhibit an overall decrease of intensity due to permeation of water through the membrane. Strikingly, consecutive drops of fluorescence intensity are observed coinciding with the pore opening events (Fig. \[fig4\](C and D) middle panels), and point out the importance of sucrose diffusion through the pore. While the quantitative dynamics of sucrose depends on the value of the diffusion constant (Fig. S\[figS\_D\]), the qualitative effect of diffusion on the dynamics remains unchanged. On the other hand, leak-out induced convection does not influence the inner concentration of sucrose, as both solvent and solute are convected, conserving their relative amounts. These observations are in agreement with the existence of the low tension pore closure regime discussed above, where Laplace pressure produces negligible convective transport compared to solute diffusion though the pore. Cycle period and strain rate are explicit functions of the cycle number and GUV properties {#cycle-period-and-strain-rate-are-explicit-functions-of-the-cycle-number-and-guv-properties .unnumbered} ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Given that lytic tension is a dynamic quantity, we asked how cycle period and strain rate evolve along with the cycles. We analyzed the simulated dynamics of GUVs with resting radii of 8, 14 and 20$\mu m$, each data point representing the mean and the standard deviation of 10 simulations with identical parameters (the variations being due to the stochastic nature of the model). [The details of this burst cycle analysis is reported in the Supporting Material]{}. Cycle periods and strain rates show a dependence on the GUV radius, as depicted in Fig. \[fig5\_1\] where larger GUVs have slower dynamics, resulting in smaller strain rates and longer cycle periods (Fig. S\[figS\_R\]). To verify this experimentally, a total of eight GUVs were similarly analyzed with resting radii ranging from 7.02 to 18.76 $\mu$m (Fig. S\[figS\_exp\] in the Supporting Material). The measured cycle period and strain rate as a function of the cycle number (corrected for the lag between the application of the hypotonic stress and the beginning of the observations) are shown in Fig. \[fig5\_1\](A) and (B), respectively. Experimental and model results quantitatively agree, and show a exponential dependence of the cycle period and strain rate on cycle number (Insets Fig. \[fig5\_1\](A and B)). Two further questions arise: How can we relate the cycle number to the driving force of the process, namely the osmotic differential? And, is there a scaling law that governs the GUV swell-burst dynamics? To answer these questions we computed the cycle solute concentration (defined as the solute concentration at the beginning of each cycle) as a function of the cycle number (Fig. S\[figS\_cn\] in the Supporting Material). We found that the solute concentration follows an exponential decay function of the cycle number, and is independent of the GUV radius. Additionally, plotting the cycle period and strain rate against the cycle solute concentration (Fig. \[fig5\_1\](C and D)), we observe that the cycle period increases as $\Delta c$ decreases, while the strain rate is a linear function of $\Delta c$. The data presented in Fig. \[fig5\_1\] suggest that the dynamics of GUVs swell-burst cycle can be scaled to their size. From the non-dimensional form of Eq. \[eq:ode\_R\], we extracted a characteristic time associated with swelling, defined by $\tau = R_0 / (P \nu_s c_0)$, and scaled the cycle period and strain rates with this quantity. As shown in Fig. \[fig5\_2\], all the scaled experimental and model data collapse onto the same curve, within the range of the standard deviations. The scaled relationships can be justified analytically, by estimating the cycle period and strain rates as [ $$\label{eq:cycle_period} \frac{ T_n}{\tau} \simeq \frac{\epsilon^*}{\left( 2\sqrt{\epsilon^*+1} \Delta c/c_0 \right)} \qquad \text{and} \qquad \tau \dot{\epsilon} \simeq \frac{2\sqrt{\epsilon^*+1} \Delta c}{c_0}$$ ]{} respectively (see Supporting Material for full derivation). These analytical expressions are plotted in Figs. \[fig5\_1\](C, D) and \[fig5\_2\](C, D) for a characteristic lytic strain of $\varepsilon^*=0.15$, showing good agreement with the numerical data. Taken together, these results suggest that the GUV pulsatile dynamics is governed by the radius, the membrane permeability, the solute concentration, and importantly the stochastic pore nucleation mechanism which determines the strain to rupture. DISCUSSION {#discussion .unnumbered} ========== Explaining how membrane-enclosed compartments regulate osmotic stress is a first step towards understanding how cells control volume homeostasis in response to environmental stressors. In this work, we have used a combination of theory, computation, and experiments in a simple model system to study how swell-burst cycles control the dynamics of GUV response to osmotic stress. Using this system, we show that the pulsatile dynamics of GUVs under osmotic stress is controlled through thermal fluctuations that govern pore nucleation and lytic tension. The central feature of a GUV’s osmotic response is the nucleation of a pore. Even though Evans and coworkers [@evans2003; @evans2011] identified that rupture tension was not governed by an intrinsic critical stress, but rather by the load rate, the idea of a constant lytic tension has persisted in the literature [@idiart2004; @popescu2008; @peterlin2008]. By coupling fluctuations to pore energy, we have now reconciled the dynamics of the GUV over several swell-burst cycles with pore nucleation and dependence on strain rate. Our model is not only able to capture the experimentally observed pulsatile dynamics of GUV radius and solute concentration (Figs. \[fig3\] and \[fig4\]), but also predicts pore formation events and pore dynamics (Fig. \[fig3\](B and D)). We also found that during the pore opening event, a low-tension regime enables a diffusion dominated transport of solute through the pore (Fig. \[fig4\]), a feature that has been until now neglected in the literature. Specifically, we have identified a scaling relationship between (a) the cycle period and cycle number and (b) the strain rate and the cycle number, highlighting that swell-burst cycles of the GUVs in response to hypotonic stress is a dynamic response (Fig. \[fig5\_2\]). One of the key features of the model is that we relate the cycle number, an experimentally observable quantity, to the concentration difference of the solute, a quantity that is hard to measure in experiments (Fig. S\[figS\_cn\]). This allows to interpret the scaling relationships described above in terms of solute concentration differential. The cycle period increases as the solute concentration difference decreases, while the strain rate is a linear function of the concentration difference. Both relationships are derived theoretically in the Supplemental material. These features indicate long time scale relationships of pulsatile vesicles in osmotic stress. Thermal fluctuations and stochasticity are known to play diverse roles in cell biology. Well-recognized examples include Brownian motors and pumps [@julicher1997; @oster2002], noisy gene expression [@elowitz2002], and red blood cell flickering [@turlier2016]. The pulsatile vesicles presented here provide yet another example of how fluctuations can be utilized by simple systems to produce dynamical adaptive behavior. Given the universality of fluctuations in biological processes, it appears entirely reasonable that simple mechanisms similar to these pulsatile vesicles may have been exploited by early cells, conferring them with a thermodynamic advantage against environmental osmotic assaults. On the other hand, if such swell-burst mechanisms were at play, the chronic leak-out of inner content could have led protocells to evolve active transport mechanisms to compensate for volume loss, and endure osmotic stress without a high energetic cost. In this study, we experimentally measure the dynamics of swell-burst cycles in GUVs, and provide for the first time a model that captures quantitatively the pulsatile behavior of GUVs under hypotonic conditions for long time scales. In order to do so, we developed a general framework which integrated parts of existing models [@koslov1984; @brochard-wyart2000; @ryham2011], with novel key elements: (a) the explicit inclusion of thermal pore fluctuations, which enables dynamic pore nucleation; (b) the definition of an effective stretching modulus, which combines membrane unfolding and elastic stretching; (c) the incorporation of solute diffusion through the pore, which results in a non-trivial contribution to the evolution of the osmotic differential. The coupling of these key features results in a unified model that is valid in all regimes of the vesicle, pore, and solute dynamics. While we have been able to explain many fundamental features of the pulsatile GUVs in response to osmotic stress, our approach has some limitations and there is a need for further experiments. We have assumed a linear relationship between stress and strain. Although this assumption is reasonable and appears to work well for the present experimental conditions, a more general expression should be considered to include both membrane (un)folding and elastic deformation [@helfrich1984]. Another important aspect of biological relevance is membrane composition, where the abundance of proteins and heterogeneous composition leading to in-plane order and asymmetry across leaflets influence the membrane mechanics [@alberts2014; @rangamani2014]. We have previously found experimentally that the dynamics of swell-burst cycles is related to the compositional degrees of freedom of the membrane [@oglecka2014]. Future efforts will be oriented toward the development of theoretical framework and quantitative experimental measures that provide insight into how the membrane’s compositional degrees of freedom influence the pulsatile dynamics of cell-size vesicles. [In addition to osmotic response and membrane composition, we will focus on how membrane components such as aquaporins and ion channels may couple thermal fluctuations with membrane tension to regulate their functions. Additionally, we are also investigating how the properties of the encapsulated bulk fluid phase may affect the response of the GUV in response to osmotic shock. The current work is a first and critical step in these directions. ]{} AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS {#author-contributions .unnumbered} ==================== J.C.S.H. and A.N.P. designed the experiments; J.C.S.H. performed the experiments; M.C. and P.R. derived the model; M.C. performed the simulations; M.C. and J.C.S.H. analyzed the data; all authors discussed and interpreted results; all authors wrote and agreed on the manuscript. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS {#acknowledgments .unnumbered} =============== We are grateful to Prof. Wouter-Jan Rappel and Prof. Alex Mogilner for insightful comments on the manuscript. We also thank Prof. Daniel Tartakovsky for enriching discussions. This work was supported in part by the FISP 3030 for the year 2015-2016 to M.C., NTU provost office to J.C.S.H., AFOSR FA9550-15-1-0124 award to P.R., and NSF PHY-1505017 award to P.R. and A.N.P. SUPPORTING CITATIONS {#supporting-citations .unnumbered} ==================== References (42-51) appear in the Supporting Material. Table of Content {#table-of-content .unnumbered} ================ **** ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- Supporting Materials and Methods 1 Model Development and Simulations 2 Derivation of the analytical relations between cycle period, strain rate, and concentration differential 4 Supporting References 5 Supporting Figures and Movies 6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- Supporting Materials and Methods {#supporting-materials-and-methods .unnumbered} ================================ **Swell-burst cycle experiments.** The experimental methods for the GUVs preparation has been described in [@oglecka2014; @angelova1992]. Briefly, GUVs (100$\%$ POPC + 1mol$\%$ Rho-DPPE) containing 200 mM of sucrose were prepared by electroformation, yielding vesicles with radii ranging from 7 to 20 $\mu$m. GUVs were then placed in a bath of deionized water at room temperature, inducing hypotonic stress proportional to the inner sucrose concentration. The kinetics of eight GUVs were recorded by time-lapse microscopy at 1/150 images/ms. In order to allow for the sedimentation of GUVs to the bottom of the well, observations were started about one minute after the GUVs were subject to hypotonic conditions. For each frame, the GUV radius was measured using a customized MATLAB (Mathworks, Natick, MA) code to streamline the image analysis. This code uses a Circular Hough Transform method based on a phase-coding algorithm to detect circles , and measure their radii and centers. For our data, this custom code gives the evolution of the GUV radius in time with a precision of about 0.1 $\mu$m. Due to slow movement of the GUVs, in some cases the observation fields had to be adjusted to follow the GUVs, and the recording was paused. These are indicated by black dashed lines in Fig. S\[figS\_exp\]. In order to define a systematic experimental initial GUV radius, $R_0$ was determined for each GUV as 0.995 times the first measured local minimum GUV radius, in accordance with our numerical results. Furthermore, burst events were identified by drops of GUV radius larger than 0.2 $\mu$m within a 1.5 s interval, and are plotted as solid red triangle. Bursting events that were likely to happen during the video gaps were indicated by plain red triangle (these “likely" bursting events were not taken into account in the data processing for Figs. \[fig5\_1\] and \[fig5\_2\]). **Leak-out quantification.** To quantify the leak-out amount when a membrane pore is formed, giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) were electroformed in 200 mM sucrose, supplemented with 58.4 $\mu$M 2-NBDG (2-(N- (7-Nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) Amino) -2-Deoxyglucose), a fluorescent glucose analog that has an almost identical molecular weight as sucrose. Fluorescence imaging was performed on a deconvolution microscope, equipped with a FITC filter. Time-lapse imaging of the vesicles was performed approximately one minute after exposing the vesicles to either deionized water (hypotonic conditions $n=3$) or glucose (isotonic conditions $n=3$) environment to ensure sedimentation of GUVs to the bottom of the well. All acquisitions were performed using identical settings to facilitate comparison of vesicles submerged in water or equi-osmotic glucose environment. For Fig. \[fig4\](C), the GUVs were detected with a MATLAB (Mathworks, Natick, MA) code adapted from the one described above, where the mean gray intensity inside and outside of the GUV are measured. For every time frame, the difference between the inner and outer mean intensity $\Delta I(t)$ was computed, and normalized by the intensity difference of the first frame $\Delta I(t_0)$. Bursting events were identified by visual inspection of the videos, and reported by arrows on Fig. \[fig4\](B). In order to highlight the efflux of fluorescent dyes during a GUV bursting event, three frames (before, during and after the event) were extracted form the video of a GUV containing 200 mM sucrose + 58.4 $\mu$M 2-NBDG in hypotonic conditions (Fig. \[fig4\](C)). These images were further processed with ImageJ software to plot Fig. \[fig4\](D). Briefly, the noise was attenuated by successively applying ImageJ built-in routines (background suppression, contrast enhancing, median filter), and ploting the isovalues of gray at 90, 75 and 60 with the pluggin Contour Plotter (http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/plugins/contour-plotter.html). **Burst cycle analysis.** [ The following analysis has been applied for both experimental and numerical data in order to produce Figs. \[fig5\_1\], \[fig5\_2\] and S\[figS\_comparison\]. For a given GUV radius dynamics, a swell-burst cycle was defined between two successive minimum GUV radii that immediately followed a bursting event. Cycle periods were computed as the time between two consecutive minima in vesicular radii. For experimental data, if there was a video gap between two consecutive radius minima, the cycle was not taken into account for the analysis, that is to say, only cycles between two successive solid triangles in Figs. \[fig1\](C) and S\[figS\_exp\] were taken into account. The strain rate was computed as the difference between the maximum and minimum radii within these cycles, divided by the time between these two events. For experimental data, because of the lag between the beginning of the experiments and the beginning of the video recordings, the initial observed cycle number was adjusted between $n=1$ and $n=4$, depending on $R_0$.]{} Model Development and Simulations {#model-development-and-simulations .unnumbered} ================================= Here we derive a theoretical model to describe the swell-burst cycle of a GUV under hypotonic conditions. In line with previous work [@koslov1984; @idiart2004; @popescu2008], the model has three conservation equations, governing the dynamics of the solvent, solute, and membrane pore. **Mass conservation of solvent.** Mass conservation of the solvent (water) within the vesicle is governed by the flux through the membrane ($j_w$), and the leak-out through the pore. For a spherical GUV, the general form of the mass conservation equation for the solvent is $$\label{eq:sol_mass_cons1} \frac{d}{dt}\left( \frac{4}{3}\pi R^3 \rho_s \right) = j_w - \pi r^2 \rho_s v_L \;,$$ where $R$ and $r$ are the radius of the vesicle and the pore respectively, $\rho_s$ is the mass density of the solvent, and $v_L$ is the leak-out velocity of the solvent. The osmotic flux is influenced by the permeability of the membrane to the solvent ($P$), the osmotic pressure ($\Delta p_{osm}$), and the Laplace pressure ($\Delta p_L$). A phenomenological expression for the osmotic flux is [@koslov1984; @popescu2008] $$\label{eq:jw} j_w = \frac{P \nu_s \rho_s}{k_B T N_A} A \left( \Delta p_{osm} - \Delta p_L \right) \;,$$ where $\nu_s$ is the solvent molar volume, and the membrane area is defined as $A = 4\pi R^2 - \pi r^2$. The two pressures involved in Eq. \[eq:jw\] are defined as $$\left\{ \begin{array}{l} \Delta p_{osm} = k_B T N_A \Delta c \\ \Delta p_L = \dfrac{2\sigma}{R} \end{array}\right. \;.$$ The Laplace pressure originates from the surface tension in the membrane $\sigma$, which we assume to be proportional to the membrane strain $$\label{eq:sigma_linear} \sigma = \kappa_\text{eff} \frac{A-A_0}{A_0} = \kappa_\text{eff} \epsilon \;.$$ Here $\kappa_\text{eff}$ is the effective area extension modulus (combining the effects of membrane unfolding and elastic deformation), and $A_0 = 4\pi R_0^2$ is the surface of the vesicle in its unstretched state. The leak-out velocity $v_L$ can be analytically approximated at low Reynolds number in order to relate it to the Laplace pressure [@happel1983] $$\label{eq:vl} v_L = \frac{\Delta p_L r}{3\pi\eta_s} \;.$$ Substituting these definitions into Eq. \[eq:sol\_mass\_cons1\], the mass conservation equation for the solvent takes the form of an ordinary differential equation (ODE) for the GUV radius $$\label{eq:sol_mass_cons2} 4\pi R^2\frac{dR}{dt}= \frac{P \nu_s }{k_B T N_A} A \left( k_B T N_A \Delta c - \frac{2\sigma}{R} \right) - \frac{2\sigma }{3\eta_s R} r^3 \;.$$ **Mass conservation of solute.** The permeability of lipid membranes to water is several orders of magnitude larger than for most solutes . Consequently the lipid bilayer is supposed to be semi-permeable, neglecting sucrose transport through the membrane. Thus, variation of solute in the vesicle is exclusively limited to diffusive and convective transport through the pore, such that $$\label{eq:solute_mass_cons1} \frac{d}{dt}\left(\frac{4}{3}\pi R^3 \Delta c \right) = \pi r^2 \left( - D \frac{\Delta c}{R} - v_L\Delta c \right) \;.$$ While the diffusive flux through the pore is usually neglected over the convective efflux of solute, theoretical analysis of long lived pores indicates that the Laplace pressure decreases rapidly after the pore opening, and stays low for most of the pore life time [@brochard-wyart2000]. This suggests that the convective efflux directed by the leak-out velocity may not always be the dominant solute transport mechanism, as confirmed by our numerical and experimental results (see main text Fig. \[fig4\]). Expanding Eq. \[eq:solute\_mass\_cons1\] we obtain an ODE for the concentration difference in solute $$\label{eq:solute_mass_cons2} \frac{4}{3}\pi R^3 \frac{d \Delta c }{dt} = - D\pi r^2 \frac{\Delta c}{R} - \frac{2\sigma }{3\eta_s R} r^3\Delta c - 4\pi R^2\Delta c \frac{d R}{dt} \;.$$ **Pore force balance.** The pore in the lipid bilayer is modeled as an overdamped system, where the pore radius is governed by the following Langevin equation $$\label{eq:pore_energy1} \zeta \frac{d}{dt}\left( 2\pi r \right) = F(r,t) + \xi(t) \;,$$ where $\zeta$ is the membrane drag coefficient (inverse of the mobility), $F(r,t)$ is a conservative force, and $\xi$ is a noise term accounting for independent thermally-induced pore fluctuations. The drag coefficient includes two in-plane contributions $\zeta = \zeta_m + \zeta_s$: one from membrane dissipation, proportional to the membrane viscosity and thickness $\zeta_m=\eta_m h$ [@brochard-wyart2000], and a second from the friction of the solvent with the moving pore – proportional to the solvent viscosity $\zeta_s = C \eta_s r $, where $C=2\pi$ is a geometric coefficient [@ryham2011; @aubin2016]. The conservative force $F(r,t)=-\partial V(r,t)/\partial r$ arises from the membrane potential $V(r,t)$, which is equal to the sum of the strain energy $V_s$, and the pore energy $V_p$. We assume the membrane strain energy to take a Hookean form $V_s = \kappa_\text{eff} \left(A-A_0\right)^2 /(2 A_0)$, where $\kappa_\text{eff}$ is an effective stretching modulus approximating the combined contributions of membrane unfolding and elastic stretching. The pore energy depends on the edge energy and length as $V_p = 2\pi r \gamma$, where $\gamma$ is the pore line tension, here assumed independent of the pore radius. Using the definition $\sigma = \partial V_s/\partial A$, we can therefore express the force as $$F(r,t) =2\pi\sigma r - 2\pi\gamma \;.$$ The fluctuation term has a zero mean, and a correlation function given by $$\langle \xi(t)\xi(t^\prime) \rangle = 2\zeta k_B T \delta(t-t^\prime) \;,$$ following the dissipation-fluctuation theorem, where $\delta$ is the Dirac delta function. Rearranging Eq. \[eq:pore\_energy1\] with these definitions, we obtain a stochastic differential equation for the pore radius $$\label{eq:pore_energy2} \left(\eta_m h + C \eta_s r\right)\frac{d}{dt}(2\pi r) = 2\pi(\sigma r - \gamma) + \xi(t) \;,$$ with $r\ge0$. The last term in Eq. \[eq:pore\_energy2\] is responsible for thermally driven pore nucleation. **Deterministic model.** In the absence of thermal fluctuations, a critical value for the membrane tension (or strain) has to be defined, and an initial pore has to be set artificially in order for a large pore to open. In that case, Eq. \[eq:pore\_energy2\] is simply $$\label{eq:pore_energy_det} \left(\eta_m h + C \eta_s r\right)\frac{dr}{dt} = \sigma r - \gamma \;.$$ When the pore is closed ($r=0$) and the strain overcomes the predetermined critical value ($\epsilon\ge\epsilon^*$), an initial pore large enough to overcome the nucleation barrier ($r=\gamma/\sigma$) is artificially created. **Numerical implementation.** All numerical computations have been carried out using a custom code in MATLAB (Mathworks, Natick, MA). The stochastic model, composed of Eqs. \[eq:sde\_r\], \[eq:ode\_R\] and \[eq:ode\_c\] was solved using an order-1 Runge-Kutta scheme. Because a pore nucleation event occurs due to a single fluctuation overcoming the energy barrier, the numerical implementation of the noise requires the definition of a fluctuation frequency $f_T$ [(number of fluctuation “kicks” per seconds)]{} that is independent of the time step. For comparison a deterministic model (Eqs. \[eq:sol\_mass\_cons2\], \[eq:solute\_mass\_cons2\], and \[eq:pore\_energy\_det\]) was solved using Euler method. All parameters are shown in Table S\[tab\_parameters\]. All time steps were taken as 0.1 ms, (smaller time steps did not improve the accuracy of the results significantly). For the cycle analysis of the stochastic model, Figs. \[fig5\_1\] and \[fig5\_2\], shows the average and standard deviations of 10 runs with same parameters. Parameter Typical value References --------------------- ----------------------------------------- -------------- $R_0$ 8-20 $\mu$m this work $c_0$ 200 mM this work $d$ 3.5 nm $\rho_s$ 1000 kg m$^{-3}$ $\nu_s$ 18.04$\times$10$^{-6}$ m$^3$ mol$^{-1}$ $P$ 20 $\mu$m/s $T$ 294 K $\gamma$ 5 pN $\kappa_\text{eff}$ 2$\times$10$^{-3}$ N/m this work $\eta_m$ 5 Pa s $\eta_s$ 0.001 Pa s $D$ 5$\times$10$^{-10}$ m$^2$/s $C$ $2\pi$ [@aubin2016] $f_T$ 150 Hz this work Derivation of the analytical relations between cycle period, strain rate, and concentration differential {#derivation-of-the-analytical-relations-between-cycle-period-strain-rate-and-concentration-differential .unnumbered} ======================================================================================================== First, we derive the linear dependence of the strain rate on the concentration difference shown in Fig. \[fig5\_2\](D). For a closed vesicle ($r=0$), the membrane area is $A=4\pi R^2$, and the strain rate is $$\dot{\epsilon} = \frac{d}{dt} \left( \frac{A - A_0}{A_0} \right) = \frac{2R}{R_0}\frac{dR}{dt} \;.$$ This allows us to write Eq. \[eq:sol\_mass\_cons2\] in terms of the strain rate as $$\dot{\epsilon} = \frac{P \nu_s }{k_B T N_A} \frac{A}{2\pi R R_0^2} \left( k_B T N_A \Delta c - \frac{2\sigma}{R} \right)\;.$$ When the osmotic pressure is the dominant process influencing GUV swelling, we can neglect the Laplace pressure and obtain $$\label{eq:eps_dot} \tau \dot{\epsilon} \simeq \frac{2R}{R_0}\frac{\Delta c}{c_0} \;,$$ where $\tau=R_0/(P \nu_s c_0)$. At maximum GUV radius amplitude, $R/R_0$ can be expressed in term of the lytic strain as $R_\text{max}/R_0 = \sqrt{\epsilon^*+1}$, allowing to write Eq. \[eq:eps\_dot\] as $$\label{eq:eps_dot_s} \tau \dot{\epsilon} \simeq 2\sqrt{\epsilon^*+1}\frac{\Delta c}{c_0} \;.$$ Plotting this relationship in Figs. \[fig5\_1\](D) and \[fig5\_2\](D) for a typical lytic strain $\epsilon^*=0.15$, we get a good agreement with the numerical results from the stochastic model. We now derive an approximate relation between the cycle period and the strain rate. During a cycle of period $T_n$, the lytic strain can be written $$\epsilon^* \simeq T_n \dot{\epsilon} \;.$$ Introducing Eq. \[eq:eps\_dot\_s\], we get $$\frac{T_n}{\tau} \simeq \frac{\epsilon^*}{2\sqrt{\epsilon^*+1}} \left( \frac{\Delta c}{c_0}\right)^{-1} \;.$$ Taking $\epsilon^*=0.15$, this relationship fits well the simulation results, as shown in Figs. \[fig5\_1\](C) and \[fig5\_2\](C). It should be noted that, because the Laplace pressure is neglected in the derivation of Eq. \[eq:eps\_dot\_s\], the analytical expression slightly overestimates the strain rate as shown in Figs. \[fig5\_1\](D) and \[fig5\_2\](D). Moreover the cycle period is also overestimated for low solute concentrations due to the constant lytic strain assumed in the analytical expression (Figs. \[fig5\_1\](C) and \[fig5\_2\](C)). Supporting Figures and Movies {#supporting-figures-and-movies .unnumbered} ============================= #### Supporting Movie 1 Membrane nodules appearance after membrane pore reseals. Movie assembled from time-lapse fluorescence microscopy images (frame rate, 2 fps; total duration, 17 s; image size, 82.43 $\mu$m $\times$ 82.43 $\mu$m; scale bar, 10 $\mu$m) obtained for a population of electroformed GUVs consisting of POPC doped with 1$\%$ Rhodamine-B labeled DPPE membrane in a hypotonic solution (Osmotic differential of 200 mM). #### Supporting Movie 2 Multiple swell-burst cycles of GUVs subject to hypotonic stress. Movie assembled from time-lapse fluorescence microscopy images (frame rate, 24 fps; total duration, 77 s; image size, 82.43 $\mu$m $\times$ 82.43 $\mu$m; scale bar, 10 $\mu$m) obtained for a population of electroformed GUVs consisting of POPC doped with 1$\%$ Rhodamine-B labeled DPPE membrane in a hypotonic solution (Osmotic differential of 200 mM). #### Supporting Movie 3 Model results showing multiple swell-burst cycles of a GUV subject to hypotonic stress. GUV radius (top-left panel), pore radius (middle-left panel), and solute differential (bottom-left panel) as a function of time. Right panel is a representation of the numerical GUV in time, where the grey intensity is proportional to the inner sucrose concentration. GUV initial radius is $R_0=14\;\mu$m, initial solute concentration is $c_0=200$ mM. All parameters are shown in Supporting Table S\[tab\_parameters\]. #### Supporting Movie 4 Model results showing a single pore opening dynamics of a GUV subject to hypotonic stress. GUV radius (top-left panel), pore radius (middle-left panel), and solute differential (bottom-left panel) as a function of time. Right panel is a representation of the numerical GUV in time, where the grey intensity is proportional to the inner sucrose concentration. GUV initial radius is $R_0=14\;\mu$m, initial solute concentration is $c_0=200$ mM. All parameters are shown in Supporting Table \[tab\_parameters\]. #### Supporting Movie 5 Solute leakage of a GUV in multiple swell-burst cycles under hypotonic condition. Movie assembled from time-lapse fluorescence microscopy images (frame rate, 24 fps; total duration, 11 s; image size, 119.14 $\mu$m $\times$ 125.58 $\mu$m; scale bar, 20 $\mu$m) obtained for a population of electroformed GUVs consisting of POPC doped with 1$\%$ Rhodamine-B labeled DPPE membrane in a hypotonic solution (Osmotic differential of 200 mM). #### Supporting Movie 6 GUV under isotonic condition. Movie assembled from time-lapse fluorescence microscopy images (frame rate, 24 fps; total duration, 8 s; image size, 101.11 $\mu$m $\times$ 101.11 $\mu$m; scale bar, 10 $\mu$m) obtained for a population of electroformed GUVs consisting of POPC doped with 1$\%$ Rhodamine-B labeled DPPE membrane in a isotonic solution (no osmotic differential). #### Supporting Movie 7 Solute efflux from GUV during one swell-burst cycle. Movie assembled from time-lapse fluorescence microscopy images (frame rate, 12 fps; total duration, 8 s; image size, 164.86 $\mu$m $\times$ 164.86 $\mu$m; scale bar, 20 $\mu$m) obtained for a population of electroformed GUVs consisting of POPC doped with 1$\%$ Rhodamine-B labeled DPPE membrane in a hypotonic solution (Osmotic differential of 200 mM). {width="100.00000%"} {width="50.00000%"} {width="100.00000%"} {width="100.00000%"} {width="100.00000%"} {width="100.00000%"} {width="100.00000%"} {width="100.00000%"} {width="100.00000%"} {width="100.00000%"} {width="60.00000%"}

1. Technical Field The present invention relates to a method and structure for conductively coupling electrical structures to a semiconductor device located under a buried oxide layer. 2. Related Art An electrostatic discharge device (ESD) located within a substrate and above a buried oxide layer is surrounded by thermally insulative material in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structures. For example, the ESD device may be surrounded by the buried oxide layer on the bottom, small trench isolations on the sides, and interlevel dielectric on the top. An electrostatic discharge device must be able to handle large electrical currents that result from static discharge, from a human body or the environment onto an integrated circuit coupled to, or integral with, the substrate. Such large electrical currents generate substantial heat which cannot be effectively dissipated away from the ESD device, because of the surrounding electrically and thermally insulative material. A method and structure is needed for effectively dissipating heat during an electrostatic discharge event on SOI. The present invention provides an electronic structure, comprising: a bulk semiconductor substrate having a semiconductor device, wherein the semiconductor device includes M diffusions, wherein M is at least 2, wherein a first diffusion of the M diffusions is a P+ diffusion, and wherein a second diffusion of the M diffusions is a N+ diffusion; a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure on the bulk semiconductor substrate, wherein the SOI structure includes an insulator layer on the bulk semiconductor substrate and a semiconductor layer on the insulator layer; and M conductive plugs self-aligned with the M diffusions and extending through a portion of the SOI layer such that an end of each conductive plug is in conductive contact with a corresponding diffusion of the M diffusions. The present invention provides a method for forming an electronic structure, comprising the steps of: providing a bulk semiconductor substrate; forming a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure on the bulk semiconductor substrate, wherein the SOI structure includes an insulator layer on the bulk semiconductor substrate and a semiconductor layer on the insulator layer; forming a trench structure through the SOI layer, wherein an end of the trench structure is interfaced with the bulk semiconductor substrate; forming a semiconductor device in the bulk semiconductor substrate by use of the trench structure, wherein the semiconductor device includes M diffusions, wherein M is at least 2, wherein a first diffusion of the M diffusions is a P+ diffusion, and wherein a second diffusion of the M diffusions is a N+ diffusion; and forming M conductive plugs self-aligned with the M diffusions and extending through a portion of the SOI layer such that an end of each conductive plug is in conductive contact with a corresponding diffusion of the M diffusions. The present invention provides a method and structure for effectively dissipating heat during an electrostatic discharge event.

#accident #Tourbus on E 62 st & 5 ave a New York tour bus crash into a tree at Central Park. pic.twitter.com/8LVk6jOsi7 — Kevin Diaz (@Canis_Lupus86) July 21, 2016 [UPDATE BELOW] A tour bus crashed into a tree in Central Park on East 63rd Street and 5th Avenue this afternoon, leaving nine people injured according to the FDNY. Five people with minor injuries were taken to Lenox Hill Hospital, as well as four additional people with more serious but not life threatening injuries. One witness told DNAinfo that the bus "was cut off by a yellow cab and swerved to avoid hitting the vehicle before jumping the curb." The cause of the crash has not been officially determined or disclosed but we will update as we learn more. UPDATE: The NYPD affirmed the witnesses' account of the crash, telling us that tour bus driver was "traveling south along 5th Avenue between 62nd and 63rd Streets and then swerved to avoid a taxi." The location of the taxi is currently unknown. UPDATE 3:55 p.m.: An FDNY spokesman said that the injury count has risen to 13, with three of the injured people refusing medical attention.