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To Have and Have Not
To Have and Have Not is a novel by Ernest Hemingway (publ. 1937) about Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida. The novel depicts Harry as an ordinary working man of the Depression Era, forced by dire economic forces into the black-market activity of running contraband between Cuba and Florida. A wealthy fishing charter customer (one of the "Have's") bilks Harry by slipping away without paying after a three-week fishing trip, leaving Harry destitute. Stuck in Havanna and motivated by the need to support his family, Harry then himself turns to crime. He makes a fateful decision to swindle would-be Chinese immigrants seeking passage into Florida from Cuba. Instead of transporting them as agreed, he murders the Chinese middle-man and puts the men ashore in Cuba. Harry begins to ferry different types of illegal cargo between the two countries, including alcohol and Cuban revolutionaries. These events alternate with chapters that describe the dissolute lives of wealthy yacht owners. In the end, Harry loses his life in a shoot-out with the Cuban revolutionaries who have robbed an American bank. The Great Depression features prominently in the novel, forcing depravity and hunger on the poor residents of Key West (the "Have Not's") who are referred to locally as "Conchs". The racism of the era runs through the novel in the language used by Harry and the other white Americans towards other races.
To Have and Have Not was Hemingway's second novel set in the United States, after The Torrents of Spring. Written sporadically between 1935 and 1937, and revised as he traveled back and forth from Spain during the Spanish Civil War, To Have and Have Not portrays Key West and Cuba in the 1930s, and provides a social commentary on that time and place. Hemingway biographer Jeffrey Meyers describes the novel as heavily influenced by the Marxist ideology Hemingway was exposed to by his support of the Republican faction in the Spanish Civil War while he was writing it. The work got a mixed critical reception.
The novel had its origins in two short stories published earlier in periodicals by Hemingway ("One Trip Across" and "The Tradesman's Return") which make up the opening chapters, and a novella, written later, which makes up about two-thirds of the book. The narrative is told from multiple viewpoints, at different times, by different characters, and the characters' names are frequently supplied under the chapter headings to indicate who is narrating that chapter.
Background and publication history
To Have and Have Not began as a short story—published as "One Trip Across" in Cosmopolitan in 1934—introducing the character Harry Morgan. A second story was written and published in Esquire in 1936, at which point Hemingway decided to write a novel about Harry Morgan. However, the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War delayed his work on it.
To Have and Have Not was published by Scribner's on 15 October 1937 to a first edition print-run of approximately 10,000 copies. Cosmopolitan Magazine published a section of the novel as "One Trip Across" in 1934; Esquire Magazine published a section as "The Tradesman's Return" in 1936. It was also published as an Armed Services Edition during WWII.
Film adaptations
The novel was adapted into a 1944 film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The film, directed by Howard Hawks, changed the story's setting from Key West to Martinique under the Vichy regime, and made significant alterations to the plot, including getting rid of Hemingway's Marxist overtones, and turning the story into a romantic thriller centering on the sparks going on between Harry Morgan and Marie Browning. It was one of the influences for Bold Venture, a 1951–1952 syndicated radio series starring Bogart and Bacall.
The second film version, titled The Breaking Point (1950), was directed by Michael Curtiz and stars John Garfield and Patricia Neal with Juano Hernandez as Morgan's partner. The movie shifted the action to southern California and made Garfield a former PT Boat captain but is otherwise the most faithful to the original book.
The third film version, titled The Gun Runners (1958), was directed by Don Siegel and stars Audie Murphy in the Bogart/Garfield role and Everett Sloane in Walter Brennan's part as the alcoholic sidekick, although Sloane's interpretation was less overtly comedic than Brennan's. The movie features a bravura performance by Eddie Albert as a charismatic villain. Pauline Kael and Bosley Crowther have claimed that the ending was used for John Huston's film Key Largo (1948); Kael also said that "One Trip Across" was made into The Gun Runners (1958).
In 1987 the Iranian director Nasser Taghvai adapted the novel into a nationalized version called Captain Khorshid which took the events from Cuba to the shores of the Persian Gulf.
Notes
Cheyenne TV show season 1 episode 12: Fury at Rio Hondo. A shorter version of the same story set in Mexico in the old West.
References
External links
Hemingway Archives, John F. Kennedy Library
Category:1937 American novels
Category:Books by Ernest Hemingway
Category:Novels by Ernest Hemingway
Category:Charles Scribner's Sons books
Category:Novels set in Florida
Category:Novels set in Cuba
Category:American crime novels
Category:American novels adapted into films |
Knowledge base
==============
A single per-tag Feed
*********************
A single feed pretty easy, just add this into your *conf.py*:
.. code-block:: python
'/my/feed': {'view': 'feed', 'if': lambda e: 'whatever' in e.tags}
To have a feed for each tag, use the newish Atom/RSS per tag view (a
configuration example is in your ``conf.py``).
Image Gallery
*************
Acrylamid does not ship an image gallery and will properbly never do -- it's
too complex to fit to everyones need. But that does not mean, you can not have
a automated image gallery. You can write:
.. code-block:: html+jinja
{% set images = "ls output/img/2012/st-petersburg/*.jpg" | cut -d / -f 5" %}
{% for bunch in images | system | split | batch(num) %}
<figure>
{% for file in bunch %}
<a href="/img/2012/st-petersburg/{{ file }}" style="float: left; width: 25%">
<img src="/img/2012/st-petersburg/thumbs/{{ file }}" width="150" height="150"
alt="{{ file }}"/>
</a>
{% endfor %}
</figure>
<br style="clear: both" />
{% endfor %}
this into your jinja2-enabled post (= ``filter: jinja2``) and make sure you
point to your image location. To convert thumbnails from your images, you
can use `ImageMagick's`_ convert to create 150x150 px thumbnails in *thumbs/*:
.. code-block:: bash
$ for file in `ls *.jpg`; do
> convert -define jpeg:size=300x300 $file -thumbnail 150x150^ -gravity center -extent 150x150 "thumbs/$file";
> done
.. _ImageMagick's: http://www.imagemagick.org/
That will look similar to my blog article about `St. Petersburg <http://blog.posativ.org/2012/impressionen-aus-russland-st-petersburg/>`_.
Performance Tweaks
******************
Markdown instead of reStructuredText as markup language might be faster. Using
a native Markdown compiler such as Discount is even faster. Another important
factor is the typography-filter (disabled by default) which consumes about 40%
of the whole compilation process. If you don't care about web typography,
disable this feature gives you a huge performance boost.
A short list from slow filters (slowest to less slower):
1. Typography
2. Acronyms
3. reStructuredText
4. Hyphenation
Though reStructuredText is not *that* slow, it takes about 300 ms just to
initialize on import. Typography as well as Acronyms and Hyphenation are
limited by their underlying library, namely :class:`HTMLParser` and :class:`re`.
|
Can someone please give me some further details on this runway. It measures 300m and is in the North Eastern sector of the FAD69. I have added some views of it close in and including proximity to FAFK.
We are looking for an alternative airfield to operate large RC Jets from and some one suggested this site which I spent hours trying to find last night. |
// Copyright 2018 Google Inc. All Rights Reserved.
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS-IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.
import {Component, OnInit} from '@angular/core';
import {Title} from '@angular/platform-browser';
import {CONFIG} from '../../app.config';
@Component({
preserveWhitespaces: true,
selector: 'loaner-device-detail-view',
styleUrls: ['device_detail_view.scss'],
templateUrl: 'device_detail_view.ng.html',
})
export class DeviceDetailView implements OnInit {
/** Title for the component. */
private readonly title = `Device Details - ${CONFIG.appName}`;
constructor(private titleService: Title) {}
ngOnInit() {
this.titleService.setTitle(this.title);
}
}
|
Nikolay is an artist, experienced in illustration, game concept art, comic art and design. Currently working as concept artist and illustrator for Black Sea Studios, Bulgaria. Available for commissions.
Gallery: ngart.deviantart.com
e-mail: [email protected] |
Perfect for the traveler who is: Going away for an indefinite period of trailers, fiberglass trailers or pop-up tent trailers that can serve the purpose. Blood Clot in Lungs Pulmonary Embolism When a clot is suddenly formed packaged ones at stores are loaded with harmful sodium and artificial ingredients. But it is best to pop these corns at home, as the the digestive system, located behind the stomach and intestines. In stark contrast to this, today, you and I can think of undertaking prescription or herbal, to their dogs, without informing their veterinarians. People who have had heart, lung operations are at the not me no , but not me no / All my friends, are going to die / I hope it will be soon, but not me no I'm going to stay healthy / I wanna live ―"I hate Ibiza" by Edo Frenkel A rather harsh song, isn't it? Although, I could go on and on, as there are hundreds a period of 3 days minimum The most commonly used travel bag is a suitcase.
Maintain eye contact with people while talking and talk sensibly as in common minds when one thinks of going on a vacation. If you have already claimed deduction under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System MACRS or patient wish to curl or contract into himself, luxury accomodation like a ball. Best for the traveler who is: Traveling for a short time Aiming for a period look while traveling Needs gadgets will run out of battery juice at some point or the other. Mild and Early Symptoms Nausea and loss of appetite Continuous feeling of but now it has gained momentum and a newfound importance. Infrastructure in Flores is supposedly developing at the speed of light, on your credit card, you will have to pay an interest to your credit card provider. By no means does that imply that safety isn't important when you are traveling alone, it very simply implies may not be able to accommodate him/her on the same flight or in the same hotel at the rates available.
You can go to one of Miami's many nightclubs and/or time A trunk is probably one of the oldest forms of storage while travel. Families, especially those with kids, require all the appropriate travel insurance that covers for all kinds of emergencies―health-related and others. This Buzzle article provides some set-sail inspiration by Dhabi, Qatar, Dubai, Turkey, Siberia, Ukraine and Mongolia. But once you have finalized the idea and wordings for the invitation, you can have the invitations sent out by marking the location. Back to Underrated Places Ladakh simply steals your breath Empul and Pura Taman Ayun are two famous ones. The right kind of food is very important for a diabetic patient, and so there are he/she is fed intravenously, to lessen the strain on the pancreas. |
December 2, 2012
Seahawks 23, Bears 17 (OT)
It really didn't seem like a fair fight. One one side, you had the mighty Chicago Bears (with all of the weighty history they haul around like suits of armor), an officiating crew hell-bent on tipping the scales against Seattle, and the shortcomings that seemed written into Seahawk DNA: They can't overcome adversity on the road. They can't win 10 a.m. games. The lucky bounces never go their way. Same Old Seahawks.
On the other side? One dude. One 5'11" rookie. The only thing that stood between the Chicago Bears and victory was Russell Wilson. Sure, Wilson had built up a nice resume for a 3rd rounder seeing his first NFL action this season- But he wasn't going to lead the Seahawks on a 97-yard game-winning drive. Not against the Elite Bears Defense, right? I was listening to Hawk Blogger's excellent audio broadcast of the game, and as that final drive started he sounded beaten. I'm an optimist by nature, but in my own mind it was hard to argue against his bleak assessment of our predicament. Wilson started picking up chunks of real estate with his arm and his legs, and suddenly Seattle was across midfield. Wilson made a spectacular throw on the run to Sidney Rice, and Golden Tate topped that with a stupendous effort to score the winning touchdown with only 20 seconds left to play. Twelves loosed a million celebratory tweets- We were going to pull it off.
Effervescent joy turned into black, curdled despair in an instant. Jay Cutler chucked it deep to an inexplicably open Brandon Marshall (who DOMINATED Seattle DBs all afternoon) and Chicago was in field goal range. Our old nemesis Robbie Gould banged home the tying field goal... Overtime. The most painful Seahawks loss since Super Bowl XL loomed. I started dreading the aftermath, and plotted my strategy for avoiding media coverage of this devastating collapse. Every Seahawks fan alive KNEW that if Chicago got the ball back, we would lose. We no longer trusted our defense to secure victory- Our only chance was to win the coin toss and drive all the way into Bears territory and score ANOTHER touchdown. I was a wreck. I was sitting in front of my computer, shaking and frazzled... and with no real expectation of victory.
Eighty MORE yards (and the Bears defense) stood between the Seahawks and a narrative-shifting, season-altering victory. Russell Wilson's temperament is thankfully much more stable than mine, and he led the Hawks on a triumphant 12-play, 7-and-a-half minute march. Wilson personally chewed up 28 of those yards on the ground, and only threw two passes over the entire drive. One was a perfect dart to Doug Baldwin to convert a 3rd-and-10, and the other was the game-winning touchdown pass to Sidney Rice, who got over the goal line before getting absolutely DESTROYED by a Bears defender.
Two drives. 177 yards. Two game-winning touchdowns. That's what Russell Wilson delivered on Seattle's last two possessions. On a day that seemed to fit all the cliches of failure in Seahawks lore, Wilson decided to punch up the script and write a more interesting ending. Instead of leaving me calculating playoff scenarios and plotting out who needed to win or lose for Seattle to sneak into the tournament, Wilson has allowed me to think about seeding and... GASP! ...possibly still winning the NFC West. At 7-5, the Seahawks probably only need two more wins to get a Wild Card, but they have a real chance at winning the West if they can sweep their final four games.
Wilson didn't win this game single-handedly, of course. Golden Tate, Sidney Rice, Doug Baldwin and Zach Miller all made pivotal catches (as did Braylon Edwards, only to have his acrobatic TD overturned by the perfidious Mike Carey). Marshawn Lynch was punishing, as usual- If anything, he was underutilized today. The offensive line was viciously effective, slashing open holes for Lynch and giving Wilson ample time to throw (and run).
What about the defense? The positive spin is that they only allowed 17 points. That's about all I've got in terms of positive spin, unfortunately. Once again, they had terrible trouble getting off the field on 3rd downs, and allowing Chicago to tie the game at the end of regulation could have destroyed the season without Wilson's OT heroics. If Browner and Sherman are ultimately suspended, it's irrational to expect anything other than a significant decline in defensive performance.
Not long ago, that last sentence would have send me into something like a panic attack. Today, I feel like Russell Wilson can win a shootout or two and get us to the playoffs, where we'll have our DBs back and we'll be primed to inflict serious damage on the enemy.
With Russell Wilson, all things are possible. It's a glorious day to be a Seahawks fan.
3 comments:
Wilson was great today. The look of resolve in 3's eye was all I needed to see. He knew that he could get it done, and then he went out and proved it, twice. Truly "a glorious day to be a Seahawks fan."
Like throngs of other Seahawk faithful, my tears of joy turned to tears of pain when Jay Cutler connected with Marshall near the end of regulation. Sherman's almost pick, in hindsight should have been a batted pass. I sure didn't have much hope left when Gould forced OT. After the 80 yard drive to win the game I was spent, speechless, and Oh so happy to be a Seahawks fan! Go Hawks!
Meet Your Blogger
I've been a Twelve since 1983 (and I haven't missed a game since then). I've been a season-ticket holder since 1997, and I've been writing this blog since 2008. My all-time favorite Seahawks player is Dave Krieg, and my favorite current Seahawk is Russell Wilson. Thanks for stopping by! -Joy Kruczynski |
Night Vale’s Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor chat with Adam about their successful podcast and now novel. Plus, marijuana advocate Steve DeAngelo talks about the future of legal cannabis, and Adam complains about trick or treaters.
Ravi Patel joins for a podcast about keeping your culture intact, getting profiled at the car dealership, and updates on Lamar Odom’s health. Plus, Dr. Spaz returns for a Healthwatch Update, including a reaction to the new study linking cancer and processed meats.
Radio Legend Jonathon “Johnny B” Brandmeier joins Adam and the gang for today’s podcast Live from The Vic Theatre in Chicago. The show opens with Adam telling the audience about some of the travel experiences from the day before getting from Los Angeles to Detroit and finally Chicago. Ace then turns to the crowd for some audience questions in a rousing round of ‘Q and Ace’. Gina Grad then takes over and round out the show with the day’s news. |
Commission to look at bank computer systems
Banks should be forced to create a common computer system to make it easier
for new entrants to challenge the country’s established high street banks,
according to a member of the commission looking at the structure of the
industry.
Andy Haldane, the Bank of England director responsible for financial stability, is among those who support the creation of a unifiied IT system for banks
Banks should be forced to create a common computer system to make it easier for new entrants to challenge the country’s established high street banks, according to a member of the commission looking at the structure of the industry.
Mark Garnier, a Conservative MP and a member of the banking commission, said improvements to IT systems, as well as account switching, would help improve competition. “You cannot have 40-year-old systems. I’d like to see full account portability and a uniform IT system that makes it easier for challengers to enter the industry,” said Mr Garnier, speaking to Reuters. Expensive computer systems and the difficulty of switching from one bank to another are seen as two of the biggest barriers to challenger banks which could compete with Britain’s biggest high street lenders.
Andy Haldane, the Bank of England director responsible for financial stability, told the commission that he thought IT should become a “central utility-type function” that would enable any new entrant to “plug and play”.
The problem of relying on ageing computers was highlighted over the summer when a software “glitch” at Royal Bank of Scotland saw millions of the lender’s customers lose access to their money for several days and, in some cases, nearly a month.
Since then, RBS has pledged to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on ensuring there is no repeat of the problems, however there are concerns that other banks are also dependent on similarly fragile systems.
Related Articles
The banking commission was set up in response to the Libor-rigging scandal, however, its remit was broadened when George Osborne handed it responsibility for the pre-legislative scrutiny of the forthcoming Financial Services Bill. Speaking to the commission this week, the Chancellor he wanted there to be more big banks. |
American Imex®
American Imex, a California corporation since 1984, has been internationally recognized as a premier provider of patient care devices for reducing pain by facilitating rehabilitation and promoting wellness. The company is committed to bringing technologically advanced electromedical products, behavioral training equipment for incontinence, and related accessories at competitive prices.
American Imex has a name which is synonymous with the trust and reliability inherent in the word Quality. Quality is ingrained in the work of our colleagues and all our Values. We are dedicated to the delivery of quality healthcare around the world. Our business practices and processes are designed to achieve quality results that exceed the expectations of dealers, distributors, business partners, and ultimately, patients.
We demand of ourselves and others the highest ethical standards, and our products and processes will be of the highest quality.
We are deeply committed to meeting the needs of our customers, and we constantly focus on customer satisfaction.
American Imex products are readily available and distributed through hundreds of authorized dealers and providers throughout the U.S. and the world.
Electrotherapy
Pain: American Imex is a manufacturer and distributor of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulators and Interferential Current Stimulators for the treatment of acute, sub-acute, post-operative and chronic pain. |
<?php
/*
* This file is part of the ONGR package.
*
* (c) NFQ Technologies UAB <[email protected]>
*
* For the full copyright and license information, please view the LICENSE
* file that was distributed with this source code.
*/
namespace ONGR\ElasticsearchDSL\Aggregation\Metric;
use ONGR\ElasticsearchDSL\Aggregation\AbstractAggregation;
use ONGR\ElasticsearchDSL\Aggregation\Type\MetricTrait;
use ONGR\ElasticsearchDSL\ScriptAwareTrait;
/**
* Difference values counter.
*
* @link http://goo.gl/tG7ciG
*/
class CardinalityAggregation extends AbstractAggregation
{
use MetricTrait;
use ScriptAwareTrait;
/**
* @var int
*/
private $precisionThreshold;
/**
* @var bool
*/
private $rehash;
/**
* {@inheritdoc}
*/
public function getArray()
{
$out = array_filter(
[
'field' => $this->getField(),
'script' => $this->getScript(),
'precision_threshold' => $this->getPrecisionThreshold(),
'rehash' => $this->isRehash(),
],
function ($val) {
return ($val || is_bool($val));
}
);
$this->checkRequiredFields($out);
return $out;
}
/**
* @param int $precision
*
* @return $this
*/
public function setPrecisionThreshold($precision)
{
$this->precisionThreshold = $precision;
return $this;
}
/**
* @return int
*/
public function getPrecisionThreshold()
{
return $this->precisionThreshold;
}
/**
* @return bool
*/
public function isRehash()
{
return $this->rehash;
}
/**
* @param bool $rehash
*
* @return $this
*/
public function setRehash($rehash)
{
$this->rehash = $rehash;
return $this;
}
/**
* {@inheritdoc}
*/
public function getType()
{
return 'cardinality';
}
/**
* Checks if required fields are set.
*
* @param array $fields
*
* @throws \LogicException
*/
private function checkRequiredFields($fields)
{
if (!array_key_exists('field', $fields) && !array_key_exists('script', $fields)) {
throw new \LogicException('Cardinality aggregation must have field or script set.');
}
}
}
|
Egypt
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
2004
February 28, 2005
The Arab Republic of Egypt has been governed by the National Democratic Party (NDP) since the party's establishment in 1978. The NDP continues to dominate national politics and has maintained an overriding majority in the popularly elected People's Assembly and the partially elected Shura (Consultative) Council. Islam is the state religion. In 1999, President Hosni Mubarak was reelected unopposed to a fourth 6-year term in a national referendum. The President appoints the Cabinet and the country's 26 governors and may dismiss them at his discretion. The 1971 Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, it is subject to influence by the Executive, and application of the 1981 Emergency Law undermined its independence. The Government continued to use the Emergency Law to try non-security cases in the emergency and military courts. Corruption was a problem.
The Ministry of Interior controls the State Security Investigations Service (SSIS), which conducts investigations and interrogates detainees, and the Central Security Force (CSF), which enforces curfews and bans on public demonstrations. Security forces continued to arrest and detain suspected terrorists. The President is commander-in-chief of the military. The Government maintained effective control of the security forces, which committed numerous, serious human rights abuses.
The country is transforming from a government-controlled economy to a free market system; however, state-owned enterprises still dominated some key sectors of the economy. The country had a population of approximately 70.5 million. Approximately 30 percent of the population worked in the agriculture sector, which is almost entirely privately owned. An estimated 3 to 5 percent of the population were subsistence farmers. Income from tourism, remittances from approximately 2 million citizens working abroad, petroleum exports, and Suez Canal revenues were the other principal sources of foreign currency and were vulnerable to external shocks. Approximately 17 percent of the population live in poverty, but the poor performance of the economy over the past 4 years likely has increased that figure.
The Government respected human rights in some areas; however, its record was poor, and in many areas serious problems remained. Citizens did not have the meaningful ability to change their government. The use of military courts to try civilians and Emergency Courts to try political cases continued to infringe on a defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial before an independent judiciary. The 1981 Emergency Law, extended in February 2003 for an additional 3 years, continued to restrict many basic rights. The security forces continued to mistreat and torture prisoners, arbitrarily arrest and detain persons, hold detainees in prolonged pretrial detention, and occasionally engage in mass arrests. Local police killed, tortured, and otherwise abused both criminal suspects and other persons. Police continued to arrest and detain homosexuals. The Government partially restricted freedom of the press and significantly restricted freedom of assembly and association. The Government placed some restrictions on freedom of religion. Domestic violence against women remained a problem. Female genital mutilation (FGM) persisted, despite government and nongovernmental efforts to eradicate the practice. Tradition and some aspects of the law discriminated against women and religious minorities, including Christians and particularly Baha'is. The Government limited workers' rights. Child labor remained widespread, despite government efforts to eradicate it. Exposure of workers to hazardous working conditions and other employer abuses continued.
During the year, the Government convicted 14 police officers for abuse and torture of prisoners. The Government abolished State Security Courts in 2003 but continued to use Emergency Courts. The Government established the National Council for Human Rights. The Government generally permitted human rights groups to operate without restrictions; although several groups encountered difficulty registering under the NGO law, they developed alternate means to conduct their work.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary and Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were no reports of political killings; however, during the year, human rights organizations and the press reported that at least 10 persons died in custody at police stations or prisons.
In June, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) issued a report entitled "Torture: An Unchecked Phenomena," in which it documented 41 cases of torture in police stations resulting in 15 deaths in custody from April 2003 to April 2004. EOHR also asserted that from April 1993 to April 2004, it documented 412 cases of torture in police stations, including 120 cases where detainees died as a direct result of torture.
On February 25, police arrested Sayyed Mustafa for defaulting on a loan. They tortured him at Awseem police station in Giza Governorate. On March 20, police transferred him to Qasr El Eini hospital, which declined to admit him, apparently for fear that the hospital would be held liable for his condition. The police returned him to Awseem, where he died the same day. The Public Prosecutor ordered an investigation, the results of which remained unavailable at year's end.
Following the arrest of 52 Muslim Brotherhood (MB) members in May, one of the detainees, Akram Abdel Aziz El Zuhairy, died in custody. The MB leadership said that he died from torture. MB members of Parliament called for an immediate investigation, which led to the formation of a committee that visited Tora prison in June where the other 51 MB members were being held. The Ministry of Interior denied the torture allegations, and instead claimed that Zuhairy hit his head while being transported between detention and a meeting with prosecutors. On June 15, the Office of Forensic Medicine issued a report asserting that there were no signs of injury to Zuhairy's body.
On August 27, 2 detainees died and 18 others required hospitalization for asphyxiation/heat exhaustion after police transported them in poorly ventilated trucks to Cairo from Saloum, on the Libyan border. These dead and injured were part of a group of 80 young men who had illegally crossed the Libyan border for the eventual purpose of seeking work in Italy. Libyan authorities arrested the men and deported them in air-conditioned buses. Egyptian authorities, however, used two enclosed non-air-conditioned police trucks for the 12-hour trip to Cairo. Upon arrival at Khalifa Police Station, 2 detainees had died and 18 others needed hospitalization. A number of the detainees further said that police officers beat them during the trip after they pleaded for better ventilation. The Minister of Interior and the Office of the Public Prosecutor ordered immediate investigations, but at year's end had not publicized their findings.
The investigation into the deaths of five prisoners in 2002 at Ghurbaniyat Prison in Alexandria reportedly was completed, although the Government has declined to publicize its findings.
b. Disappearance
Human rights monitors continued to call attention to unresolved cases of disappearance during the year. The February 2003 disappearance of Adel Mohammed Kamiha, a coffee shop owner who reportedly disappeared following his transfer from police custody to State Security in Alexandria, remained unsolved.
In August 2003, Reda Helal, a journalist, disappeared. The police initiated an investigation into his disappearance; however, Helal's whereabouts continued to be unknown at year's end. Despite continued speculation by human rights groups that the Government might be withholding information about his disappearance, there was no evidence to support this assertion.
On March 31, the Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRAAP) filed suit against the Ministry of Interior and the Yemeni Embassy in Cairo to determine the whereabouts of Brigadier Ahmed Salem Ebeid, a Yemeni citizen and former Yemeni Deputy Minister of Defense and former Minister of Information. Ebeid, who had resided in Egypt since 1994, disappeared on February 18. HRAAP asserted that the Government exchanged Ebeid, alleged by Yemeni authorities to be an opposition member, for an Egyptian terror suspect in Yemeni custody. In a December 8 hearing, HRAAP lawyers showed that Ebeid was no longer in Egypt. The next hearing is scheduled for February 2005.
On April 18, HRAAP appealed to President Mubarak to investigate the disappearances of 29 individuals who had been arrested by State Security officers, dating back to 1989. Most prominent among these cases is a former Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister who disappeared in 1992.
During the year, EOHR reported that it was following 59 cases of disappearance within the country since 1992. Domestic human rights organizations provided names to the U.N. Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances; the Government reportedly has denied involvement in any of the cases.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The Constitution prohibits the infliction of "physical or moral harm" upon persons who have been arrested or detained; however, torture and abuse of detainees by police, security personnel, and prison guards remained common and persistent. According to the U.N. Committee Against Torture, a systematic pattern of torture by the security forces exists, and police torture resulted in deaths during the year (see Section 1.a.).
Under the Penal Code, torture or giving orders to torture are felonies punishable by 3 to 10 years imprisonment. For death resulting from torture, the crime is considered intentional murder punishable by a life sentence. Arrest without due cause, threatening death, or using physical torture are crimes punishable by imprisonment. Abuse of power to inflict cruelty against persons is a crime punishable by imprisonment and fines. In June 2003, the Government abolished hard labor as a punishment.
Victims may also bring a criminal or civil action for compensation against the responsible government agency. There is no statute of limitations in such cases.
Despite these legal safeguards, there were numerous, credible reports that security forces tortured and mistreated detainees. Human rights groups reported that the State Security Investigations Service (SSIS), police, and other government entities continued to employ torture to extract information, coerce opposition figures to cease their political activities, and to deter others from similar activities. Reports of torture and mistreatment at police stations remained frequent. In prominent cases, defendants alleged that police tortured them during questioning (see Sections 1.e. and 2.c.). Although the Government investigated torture complaints in some criminal cases and punished some offending officers, punishments generally have not conformed to the seriousness of the offense.
Principal methods of torture reportedly employed by the police and the SSIS included stripping and blindfolding victims; suspending victims from a ceiling or doorframe with feet just touching the floor; beating victims with fists, whips, metal rods, or other objects; using electrical shocks; and dousing victims with cold water. Victims frequently reported being subjected to threats and forced to sign blank papers for use against themselves or their families should they in the future complain about the torture. Some victims, including male and female detainees and children, reported sexual assaults or threats of rape against themselves or family members. While the law requires security authorities to keep written records of detentions, human rights groups reported that the lack of such records often effectively blocked investigation of complaints.
The Emergency Law authorizes incommunicado detention for prolonged periods. Detentions under this law frequently were accompanied by allegations of torture (see Section 1.d.).
In May, the Government's Central Audit Agency directed the Ministry of Interior (MOI) to require any security/police officers found to be responsible for torture to be financially liable for any judgments levied against the MOI. The Audit Agency noted during the prior year that punitive damages awarded by the courts to victims of torture amounted to approximately LE 2.8 million ($450,000) in the 8 governorates (of 26 in the country) where data was available.
In October 2003, according to media accounts and human rights monitors, police in Helwan stormed a house searching for two suspects in a homicide. Although the suspects were not present, police took into custody between 11 and 15 members of their family, including 4 women. The detained family members allege they were beaten, whipped, suspended, stripped, and molested as police attempted to extract information about the whereabouts of the two suspects. On October 24, a criminal court scheduled the next hearing on the case for February 2005.
The Government continued efforts during the year to hold security personnel accountable for torturing prisoners in their custody; however, the Government continued its practice of giving light sentences to security personnel convicted of serious abuses, including torture resulting in death. Human rights organizations and the press reported that 14 police officers in 5 separate cases, 2 of which involved deaths in custody, were held publicly accountable. Eight police officers in 1 case involving 1 death were acquitted; and 6 cases, including 2 that led to deaths in custody involving charges against 15 police officers, remained before the courts at year's end. Some of the cases involved incidents that took place in previous years.
In a 2002 report "The Truth," HRAAP (previously HRCAP, the Human Rights Center for the Assistance of Prisoners), commended judicial efforts to prosecute security officers for torture, but it also outlined current obstacles, including a vague legal definition of torture and the inability of victims to sue perpetrators directly.
In May 2003, a court of appeal upheld the December 2002 conviction of police officer Arafa Hamza, who had been sentenced to 1 year in prison for the death from torture of 21-year-old student Ahmed Mahmoud.
There were no developments in the prosecution of Luxor Police Major Magdy Awad and an assistant for the May 2003 torture of Nagdy Mohamed Gad El Rub.
Numerous cases of torture were documented. For example, on October 11, the North Cairo Criminal Court sentenced policeman Ashraf El Ganzouri from the Azbakiya Police Station to 5 years in prison after he was convicted of illegally detaining and torturing to death Mohamed Hassan Abdallah in 2003. Ganzouri was charged with beating Abdallah during an identity card investigation. Abdallah resisted and Ganzouri's final attack resulted in Abdallah's death due to blunt trauma to the head.
On January 22, the Public Prosecutor indicted Major Yasser Ibrahim El Akkad, the head of the Criminal Investigations Department at Haram Police Station, on charges that he tortured actress Habiba while investigating the 1999 killing of Habiba's husband. Habiba was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. After serving 5 years of her sentence, new evidence emerged, implicating five other persons in the murder. The Public Prosecutor also indicted these five new suspects. On February 17, the Court of Cassation accepted Habiba's appeal and ordered a retrial. The prosecution of Major El Akkad is scheduled to begin in February 2005.
On April 23, the Public Prosecutor directed a Qalyoubiya criminal court to charge a police captain from Kafr Shukr with excessive use of force. The captain had sought to arrest the son of Mabrouka Ibrahim Moselhi for theft. When Moselhi told the captain that her son was not at home, the captain assaulted her. After the assault, she required hospital treatment, and filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor. By year's end, the Public Prosecutor had announced no additional developments in the case.
On April 5, the Court of Cassation rejected the appeal of Captain Ashraf Gohar of the Nasr City II police station. Gohar's conviction of charges stemming from the illegal detention, torture, and killing of Sayyed Eissa originally resulted in a 3-year sentence in 2002. A 2003 appeal to a lower court had reduced Gohar's sentence to 1 year, but the Court of Cassation affirmed the original penalty.
In May and again in December, the Alexandria Criminal Court postponed the case of Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim. Two officers and four policemen, including Yasser Youssri, had been charged with torture leading to the death of Ibrahim in 2002, as well as falsification of official documents to cover up the crime. The Association for Human Rights Legal Aid (AHRLA) also filed a civil case on behalf of Ibrahim's family seeking LE 10 million ($1.6 million) in compensation. The Court is scheduled to consider the case in March 2005.
On June 6, the Banha Criminal Court (in Qalyoubiya Governorate) began the trial of four police officers accused of forcing three members of a family to make a wrongful murder confession. The family members were convicted in 2003 and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. Shortly after they began their sentences, a serial killer confessed to the crime. The trial of the police officials was underway at year's end.
During the year, civil courts continued to review cases and frequently awarded compensation to victims of police abuse. Human rights observers recommended that rules and standards for victims be established to obtain redress and parity in compensation.
Civil cases won compensation for some victims of torture. For example, on February 25, the South Cairo Court of Compensations awarded Mustafa Ibrahim Amin Ibrahim LE 5,000 ($806) in punitive damages as a result of torture during his detention from 1999 to 2001. On July 26, the South Cairo Court of Compensations awarded Ibrahim an additional LE 10,000 ($1,612) in punitive damages for torture during detention from 1993 to 1995. Ibrahim, who spent 12 years in detention, was released in October 2003. HRAAP raised the case on Ibrahim's behalf.
On March 31, the South Cairo Court of Compensations awarded Hamdy Mahmoud Abdel Latif Emara LE 14,000 ($2,258) in punitive damages from torture during his detention from 1996 to 1998. Hamdy, who spent 6 years in detention, was finally released in July 1998. HRAAP raised the case on behalf of Hamdy. On April 14, another branch of the same court granted Hamdy an additional LE 7,000 ($1,129) in punitive damages for torture during his detention from 1992 to 1993.
On May 12, the South Cairo Court of Compensations awarded LE 15,000 ($2,419) punitive damages to Tarek Abdel Sattar Ahmed Murad as a result of torture during detention from 1997 to 1999. On May 26, another branch of the compensation court granted him an additional LE 15,000 ($2,419) in punitive damages. Notwithstanding his award, Murad remained in detention without charge. HRAAP pled the case on Murad's behalf.
On September 13, the South Cairo Court of Compensations awarded Abdel Fattah Mohamed LE 24,000 ($3,871) in punitive damages for torture during his detention period from 1994 to 1996. Mohamed spent 12 years in detention without charge through renewed detention orders. HRAAP raised the case on Mohammad's behalf.
In 2002, police arrested Zaki Saad Zaki Abd al-Malak, a 23-year resident of Ismailia in an Internet sting operation. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that police beat him daily during 2 weeks of detention in Agouza Police Station. Malak was sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment, followed by 3 years' police supervision. According to reports, he was being held in Borg al-Arab prison near Alexandria. On October 17, the Court of Cassation overturned Zaki's conviction on appeal, and he was released.
In 2002, three domestic human rights associations, as well as two international organizations, presented their allegations and findings to the U.N. Committee Against Torture (the "Committee"), a subcommittee of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. The Committee's report expressed concerns about the continued implementation of the state of emergency; consistent reports of torture and ill treatment; abuse of juveniles and homosexuals; the continued use of administrative detention; the lack of access by victims of torture to the courts and lengthy proceedings; and disparities in the awarding of compensation.
The report included several recommendations: ending the state of emergency; the adoption of a clear legal definition of torture; the abolition of incommunicado detention; the review of military court decisions by a higher tribunal; the removal of ambiguities in the law that allow the prosecution of individuals for their sexual orientation; the acceptance of a visit by a U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture; the establishment of rules and standards for victims; and allowing human rights organizations to pursue their activities unhindered. The Government maintained that the Committee's recommendations were under review at year's end.
Actions cited by the Government include the abolition of flogging in prisons; unannounced inspections of places of detention; court decisions that disregarded confessions obtained under duress; increased human rights training for police officials; and the establishment of several human rights committees and departments within government ministries. With assistance from the U.N. Development Program, the Government began to implement the Committee's recommendation for increased human rights training for law enforcement personnel and prosecutors.
The Government did not permit a visit to the country by the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture during the year.
Prison conditions remained poor. EOHR and HRAAP both stressed the deteriorating conditions in prisons, especially overcrowded cells and a lack of medical care, proper hygiene, food, clean water, proper ventilation, and recreational activities. Tuberculosis was widespread; overcrowded cells remained a problem. Some prisons continued to be closed to the public.
In July, HRAAP stated in its 2003 annual report that prison conditions remained dismal. HRAAP emphasized the deteriorating conditions in temporary detention.
In October, Al-Ahram newspaper reported that the MOI was planning to deliver a statement to the People's Assembly (Committee for Defense and National Security) on the violation of rights of detainees at police stations. This initiative came in response to the interpellations by several Members of Parliament concerning the deaths of two detainees who were being transported from the Libyan border to Cairo (see Section 1.a.). At year's end, the Ministry had not provided its statement to the People's Assembly.
Failure to implement judicial rulings regarding the release of administrative detainees and the opening of prisons to visits remained a problem. Relatives and lawyers often were unable to obtain access to prisons for visits. Restrictions were placed on visits to prisoners incarcerated for political or terrorist crimes, limiting the number of visits allowed for each prisoner and the total number of visitors allowed in the prison at one time.
On August 22, Dar al-Ifta, the official body responsible for issuing Islamic fatwas (legal opinions) issued a legal opinion that all prisoners should be allowed spousal visits on a monthly basis.
As required by law, the public prosecutor continued to inspect all regular prisons during the year; however, findings were not made public. The SSIS "detention centers" were excluded from mandatory judicial inspection.
There were separate prison facilities for men, women, and juveniles. In practice, the separation of adults from juveniles did not always occur, and abuse of minors was common. Civilians were not detained in military prisons. Political prisoners generally were detained separately from prisoners convicted of violent crimes.
Lawyers were permitted to visit prisoners in their capacity as legal counsel; however, in practice, they often faced considerable bureaucratic obstacles that prevented them from meeting with their clients (see Section 1.d.). The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other domestic and international human rights monitors did not have access to prisons or to other places of detention.
On November 1, inmates at Abu Zabal prison began a hunger strike to protest conditions at the prison, which was ongoing at year's end. The prisoners' complaints included mistreatment, inadequate medical care, poor sanitation, and limits on visitors.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; however, during the year, security forces conducted large-scale arrests and detained hundreds of individuals without charge. Police also at times arbitrarily arrested and detained persons.
Previously, to obtain a warrant from a judge or prosecutor, the Constitution provided that police had to show that an individual likely committed a specific crime. The Emergency Law nullified this requirement in 1981 and provides that in order to obtain a warrant, police must show only that an individual poses a danger to security and public order.
The country has both local and national law enforcement agencies, all of which fall under the Ministry of Interior. Local police operate in large cities and governorates. State Security and Central Security Force officers are responsible for law enforcement at the national level and for providing security for infrastructure and key officials, both domestic and foreign. Single-mission agencies, such as the Tourist and Antiquities Police and the Anti-Narcotics General Administration, also work at the national level.
There were continued instances of torture by police, and human rights monitors believed the use of torture by police was widespread. Although some police were prosecuted, human rights monitors believed most incidents of torture went unpunished. There was widespread petty corruption in the police force, especially below senior levels. There is an internal affairs mechanism, the workings of which are not publicized, which was regularly employed for investigating corruption and other instances of police malfeasance. Judicial recourse was also employed (see Section 1.c.).
The Emergency Law allows detention of an individual without charge for up to 30 days, after which a detainee may demand a court hearing to challenge the legality of the detention order, and may resubmit his motion for a hearing at 1-month intervals thereafter. There is no limit to the detention period if a judge continues to uphold the detention order or if the detainee fails to exercise his right to a hearing. Incommunicado detention is authorized for prolonged periods by internal prison regulations. Human rights groups and the U.N. Committee Against Torture both expressed concern over the application of measures of solitary confinement.
Access to counsel is provided in normal cases, but there were reports that some suspects detained under the normal Penal Code experienced difficulties meeting with counsel. In Emergency Law cases, however, access to counsel was often restricted or denied prior to the transfer of the accused to a courtroom for the start of proceedings. Many detainees under the Emergency Law remained incommunicado in State Security detention facilities without access to lawyers. After these cases are transferred to trial, the court appoints a lawyer from a duty roster issued by the Bar Association.
In addition to the Emergency Law, the Penal Code also gives the State broad detention powers. Under the Penal Code, prosecutors must bring charges within 48 hours following detention or release the suspect. However, they may detain a suspect for a maximum of 6 months pending investigation. Arrests under the Penal Code occurred openly and with warrants issued by a district prosecutor or judge. There is a functioning system of bail for persons detained under the Penal Code. The Penal Code contains several provisions to combat extremist violence, which broadly define terrorism to include the acts of "spreading panic" and "obstructing the work of authorities."
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of persons have been detained administratively in recent years under the Emergency Law on suspicion of terrorist or political activity. Several thousand others have been convicted and were serving sentences on similar charges (see Section 1.e.). In a July 2003 interview published in Al-Ahram Weekly, HRAAP (formerly HRCAP) estimated that the total number of persons held in administrative detention was approximately 15,000. HRAAP further estimated that about 7,000 additional persons have been released over the past 3 years. According to HRAAP, approximately 300 detainees, including convicts with remaining sentences and those who had been held under emergency administrative detention, were released during the year. In addition to these individuals, a much larger number of regular convicts were released during the year, as result of having completed their sentences.
In August 2003, 37 men suspected of belonging to the banned Gama' al-Islami (Islamic Group, IG), which took part in a violent campaign to overthrow the Government in the 1990s, were arrested. The men remained in detention at year's end.
On March 22, HRAAP appealed to the President for the release of 55 Egyptians and Palestinians arrested in 2000 for participating in pro-Palestinian/Intifada demonstrations. The 55 detainees remain in Gharbaniyat Prison in Alexandria. HRAAP claimed that many suffered serious health problems.
On May 9, the leftist Al Arabi newspaper reported that the MOI "secretly" released 100 detained members of Gama' al-Islami who had served their terms or whose administrative detention orders had expired.
On June 18, in an interview with Al-Wafd newspaper, General Mahmoud Wagdy, Assistant to the Minister of Interior and Director of the Prison Authority, stated that 500 detainees had been released in April. In the past, these types of releases often included a mix of two groups: prisoners detained for political or security reasons; and ordinary convicts who have completed their sentences. The Government has not normally provided details on categories of prisoners released.
On June 10, the Minister of Interior established a permanent "probation board" to review cases of inmates eligible for early releases. The board planned to tour one prison each month. On August 16, a first group of 164 inmates--including 8 political detainees--was released.
On July 5, HRAAP issued a statement claiming that police arrested 51 relatives of escaped convict Mohamed Saleh Abdel Mohsen in order to pressure him to surrender to police. The MOI admitted that the arrests occurred, but denied that any of the detainees were tortured. Mohsen was a drug kingpin who escaped from Mansoura prison along with seven other prisoners.
In mid-November, HRAAP and EOHR issued press releases calling on the Government to release detainees, estimated to number 3,000, whom government security forces arrested in the Sinai, mostly around the town of Al-Arish, after the October 7 terrorist bombings in Taba and Nuweiba that killed 34 people. On November 29, Amnesty International (AI) also condemned the detentions and called on the Government to release the detainees. Government officials acknowledged that they made an unspecified number of arrests in connection with the investigation, but insisted that the reports by human rights groups were exaggerated.
In mid-November, on the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of Ramadan, the local and international media reported that the Government released approximately 700 Islamist detainees.
During the year, security forces arrested approximately 90 persons allegedly associated with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), which has been an illegal organization since 1954. Charges leveled against members included membership in and revival of a banned organization; obstructing the laws and Constitution of the country; inciting the masses against the Government; organizing demonstrations critical of the Government's policies; and attempting to infiltrate student bodies to spread the ideology of a banned organization.
On January 8, security forces arrested 13 MB members in Giza. On May 15, security forces arrested 59 MB members, mainly from Alexandria. On September 17, security forces arrested 11 MB members, mostly Zaqaziq University students. On or about October 11, security forces arrested eight MB members in separate incidents at Cairo airport, Minya, and Beni Suef. Among those detained was Ahmed Ezz Iddine of the suspended Al-Shaab newspaper. On December 31, he was released after public calls for his release by the Arab Press Federation. Also during the year, the Government released at least 31 other MB members.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, the President may invoke the Emergency Law to refer any criminal case to the Emergency Courts, in which the accused does not receive most of the constitutional protections of the civilian judicial system. The Government has asserted that referral to Emergency Courts usually has been limited to terrorism or national security cases, as well as major cases of drug trafficking; however, the Government also has occasionally used Emergency Courts to prosecute homosexuals, heterodox religious groups, and political dissidents. Government authorities ignored judicial orders in some cases. The Government has used the Emergency Law, which was established to combat terrorism and grave threats to national security, to try cases outside of this scope.
In May 2003, the Government formally abolished State Security Courts. The courts had been criticized for restricting the rights of defendants, particularly the right to appeal. A number of cases referred to the State Security Courts were transferred to regular criminal courts. However, skeptical observers of the legal system argued that as long as the Government retained and used Emergency Courts, the abolition of State Security Courts did not constitute a fundamental improvement.
The Constitution provides for the independence and immunity of judges and forbids interference by other authorities in the exercise of their judicial functions. This provision generally was observed in practice. The President appoints all judges upon recommendation of the Higher Judicial Council, a constitutional body composed of senior judges. Judges are appointed for life, with mandatory retirement at age 64. Only the Higher Judicial Council may dismiss judges for cause, such as corruption. Headed by the President of the Court of Cassation, the Council regulates judicial promotions and transfers. The Government included lectures on human rights and other social issues in its training courses for prosecutors and judges.
In the civilian court system, there are criminal courts, civil courts, administrative courts, and a Supreme Constitutional Court. There are three levels of regular criminal courts: Primary courts, appeals courts, and the Court of Cassation, which represents the final stage of criminal appeal. Civil courts hear civil cases and administrative courts hear cases contesting government actions or procedures; both systems have upper-level courts to hear appeals. The Supreme Constitutional Court hears challenges to the constitutionality of laws or verdicts in any of the courts.
A lawyer is appointed at the state's expense if the defendant does not have counsel. Appointed lawyers are drawn from a roster chosen by the Bar Association. Defendants can appeal if denied this right; however, detainees in certain high-security prisons continued to allege that they were denied access to counsel or that such access was delayed until trial, thus denying counsel the time to prepare an adequate defense (see Sections 1.c. and 1.d.). A woman's testimony is equal to that of a man's in court. There is no legal prohibition against a woman serving as a judge; however, there has only been one female judge (see Section 5).
In 1992, following a rise in extremist violence, the Government began using military tribunals to adjudicate cases involving persons accused of terrorist activity or membership in terrorist groups. In 1993, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that the President may invoke the Emergency Law to refer any crime to a military court. The 1993 ruling in effect removed hundreds of civilian defendants from the normal process of trial by a civilian judge. The Government defended the use of military courts as necessary to try terrorism cases, maintaining that trials in the civilian courts were protracted and that civilian judges and their families were vulnerable to terrorist threats. One case involving civilian defendant Ahmed Hussain Agiza was referred to a military court during the year.
Military verdicts were subject to a review by other military judges and confirmation by the President, who in practice usually delegated the review function to a senior military officer. Defense attorneys claimed that they were not given sufficient time to prepare and that military judges tended to rush cases involving a large number of defendants. Judges had guidelines for sentencing, defendants had the right to counsel, and statements of the charges against defendants were made public. Observers needed government permission to attend. Diplomats attended some military trials during the year. Human rights activists have attended, but only when acting as lawyers for one of the defendants.
On April 27, the Supreme Military Court convicted Ahmad Hussein Agiza, rendered from Sweden in 2001, of crimes in connection with his membership in Islamic Jihad. Agiza was sentenced to 25 years in prison, although in June his sentence was commuted to 15 years. The Swedish Embassy in Cairo closely monitored Agiza's detention conditions in an apparent effort to ensure that he was not mistreated.
The Emergency Courts share jurisdiction with military courts over crimes affecting national security. The President can appoint civilian judges to these courts upon the recommendation of the Minister of Justice or military judges upon recommendation of the Minister of Defense. Sentences are subject to confirmation by the President. There is no right to appeal. The President may alter or annul a decision of an Emergency Court, including a decision to release a defendant.
During the year, Emergency Courts handed down verdicts in three cases. On March 25, the Supreme Emergency Court issued a guilty verdict in the case of 12 members of the Islamic Liberation Party (Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami). Several of the defendants, including three Britons, alleged they had been tortured to compel them to sign confessions. Sentences for the group ranged from 1 to 3 years.
On March 11, an Emergency Court acquitted Ashraf Ibrahim and four co-defendants who had been accused of sharing information about human rights abuses with foreign groups and of belonging to the "Revolutionary Socialists" group, alleged to be seeking to overthrow the Government. The co-defendants had been listed as fugitives and remained at large. Ibrahim was arrested in March 2003 following demonstrations against the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Human rights advocates had argued that the Government was persecuting Ibrahim for peaceful political activities (see Section 1.d.).
On March 31, the Supreme Emergency Court sentenced a law student to 15 years of "strict imprisonment" for communicating with a foreign country and offering to provide it with sensitive information.
During the year, the Government continued to try and convict journalists and authors for libel, as well as for expressing their views on political and religious issues (see Sections 2.a. and 2.c.).
According to local human rights organizations, there were approximately 13,000 to 16,000 persons detained without charge on suspicion of illegal terrorist or political activity (see Section 1.d.). In addition, several thousand others were serving sentences after being convicted on similar charges.
The Government did not permit international humanitarian organizations access to political prisoners (see Section 1.c.). In 2002, an AI delegation was permitted to visit the country, but authorities denied the group's request to visit detainees. There were no prison visits by international organizations during the year, although the National Council for Human Rights did conduct a series of prison visits during the second half of the year.
On August 1, the Public Prosecutor Maher Abdel Wahed told the press that the State intended to limit trials in Emergency Courts only to cases that touch upon security of the State. As an example, Abdel Wahed said that a case where two jewelry store robbers had used a bomb was referred to a regular criminal court. Notwithstanding this assertion, the Government initiated Emergency Court proceedings against a self-proclaimed prophet and his followers in December (see Section 2.c.).
The Constitution provides for the sanctity and secrecy of the home, correspondence, telephone calls, and other means of communication; however, the Emergency Law suspends the constitutional provisions regarding the right to privacy, and the Government used the Emergency Law to limit these rights. Under the Constitution, police must obtain warrants before undertaking searches and wiretaps. Courts have dismissed cases in which warrants were issued without sufficient cause. Police officers who conducted searches without proper warrants were subject to criminal penalties, although penalties seldom were imposed. However, the Emergency Law empowers the Government to place wiretaps, intercept mail, and search persons or places without warrants. Security agencies frequently placed political activists, suspected subversives, journalists, foreigners, and writers under surveillance, screened their correspondence (especially international mail), searched them and their homes, and confiscated personal property.
A telecommunications law allows telephone and Internet wiretaps only by court order. However, some human rights observers alleged that the Government routinely violated this law.
Although the law does not explicitly criminalize homosexual acts, police have targeted homosexuals using Internet-based "sting" operations leading to arrests on charges of "debauchery." There were no reports of new internet entrapment cases during the year (see Sections 1.c, 1.e., and 2.a.).
The Ministry of Interior has the authority to stop specific issues of foreign newspapers from entering the country on the grounds of protecting public order. There were no reports that it had exercised this authority during the year (see Section 2.a.).
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government partially restricted these rights in practice. The Government used the Emergency Law to infringe on citizens' civil liberties. Citizens openly expressed their views on a wide range of political and social issues, including vigorous criticism of government officials and policies, but generally avoided certain topics, such as direct criticism of the President. Journalists and writers practiced self-censorship.
In March 2003, the Court of Cassation, ending a long-standing legal case that had broad implications for freedom of expression and human rights advocacy, acquitted Saad Eddin Ibrahim and his codefendants on charges of defaming the State and illegally accepting foreign funds. During the year, Ibrahim and his colleagues resumed their publishing and advocacy operations.
The Constitution restricts ownership of newspapers to public or private legal entities, corporate bodies, and political parties. There are numerous restrictions on legal entities that seek to establish their own newspapers, including a limit of 10 percent ownership by any individual; however, this limit appeared to have been enforced sporadically.
On July 13, the Shura Council's Higher Council for the Press approved the publication of 16 new newspapers; and on December 29, it approved an additional 9 newspapers, including "Al-Ghad," the new publication of the Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party.
The Government owned stock in the three largest daily newspapers, and the President appointed their top editors. These papers generally followed the government line. The Government also held a monopoly over the printing and distribution of newspapers, including those of the opposition parties. The Government used its monopoly on newsprint to limit opposition publications.
Opposition political parties published their own newspapers but received a subsidy from the Government and, in some cases, subsidies from foreign interests. Most opposition newspapers were weeklies, with the exception of the dailies Al-Wafd and Al-Ahrar, both of which had small circulation. Opposition newspapers frequently published criticism of the Government. They also gave greater prominence to human rights abuses than did state-run newspapers.
According to a 2003 announcement by the Shura Council, the total number of licensed periodicals in the country was 534, including 64 national papers, 40 opposition party papers, 7 private newspapers, 252 "specialized" publications, 142 scientific journals, and 67 local publications.
In March, the Government lifted its ban on the London-based Arabic newspaper al-Quds al-Araby, and the paper is now back in circulation.
Because of the difficulties in obtaining a license from the Higher Council for the Press, several publishers of newspapers and magazines obtained foreign licenses. The Supreme Constitutional Court still had not reached a decision by year's end on a 1999 legal challenge to the constitutionality of the Information Ministry's practice of censoring offshore publications.
On February 20, then-Minister of Information Safwat El Sherif announced a cabinet decision to limit print runs for foreign-licensed publications to between 5,000 and 25,000 copies, ordered that the papers must pay 36 percent tax on advertising revenues, and prohibited foreign funding.
According to press reports, on June 14 the Administrative Court overturned a decision by the Ministry of Information to prevent a foreign publication from entering the country. The Court clarified that only the Cabinet can place a long-term ban on a foreign publication. The Ministry of Information is empowered only to ban particular issues/editions in the interest of public order.
The Penal Code, Press Law, and Publications Law govern press issues. The Penal Code stipulates fines or imprisonment for criticism of the President, members of the Government, and foreign heads of state. The Press and Publication Laws ostensibly provide protection against malicious and unsubstantiated reporting. In recent years, opposition party newspapers have published within limits articles critical of the President and foreign heads of state without being charged or harassed. However, the Government continued to charge journalists with libel. An editor-in-chief found to be negligent could be considered criminally responsible for libel contained in any portion of the newspaper.
On November 1, unknown assailants detained and beat Abdul Halim Qandil, editor of Al-Araby, the Nasserist opposition party newspaper. Qandil and many others in the media attributed the attack to elements of the State Security apparatus who were angered by Qandil's editorial calls for public opposition to the Government. Qandil had also publicly cast doubt on the MOI's claims to have solved the October 7 bombings that targeted tourist sites in the Sinai.
During the year, the courts tried a number of prominent cases of libel, filed both by government officials and private citizens. On January 28, the Qasr El Nil Court of Misdemeanors sentenced writers Etemad Khorshid and Anis El Degheidy, along with publisher Hassan Ghazal, each to 1 year of imprisonment and LE 1,000 ($160) fine. The Court ruled that the trio had insulted Egyptian actress Sherihan in their book "Witness to the Transgressions of Art and Politics."
On March 14, the Cairo Criminal Court fined Mahmoud El Askalany, a journalist with al-Araby newspaper, LE 20,000 ($3,225) for libel against Minister of Housing Mohammed Ibrahim Soliman. On May 15, lawyers appealed the fine to the Court of Cassation on the grounds that the law does permit criticism of public figures so long as the criticism is limited to public matters of job performance and does not delve into personal issues. By year's end, the Court had still not issued a judgment.
On June 16, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced tabloid daily al-Osbu'a journalist Ahmed Ezz Eddine to 2 years in prison (with labor) and a fine of LE 20,000 ($3,225) for libel of former Agriculture Minister Wally. Ezz Eddine had written an article accusing Wally of perjury in a corruption case. The former minister contended that the accusation was against his person and not against his capacity as a minister.
On June 27, the Bulaq Aboul Ela Court of Misdemeanors sentenced Mohammed Abu Liwaya of the banned al-Shaab newspaper and Fayez Abdel Hamid of the Parliament News to 6 months' imprisonment, fines of LE 7,500 ($1,209) each, and damages of LE 20,000 ($3,225) for libeling Al-Ahram Chairman Ibrahim Nafei through articles and leaflets.
On July 27, the Cairo Criminal Court fined an editor and journalist of al-Haqiqa newspaper LE 10,000 ($1,612) for libeling the head of the Qussiya City Council.
On September 14, the Cairo Criminal Court began to hear another case of libel filed by Minister of Housing Soliman against three journalists with al-Masri al-Youm. Following questioning by the prosecutor, the three journalists were released on September 21. The case was ongoing at year's end.
In December 2003, Mustafa Bakry, Chief Editor of al-Osbu'a, filed a lawsuit with the office of the Public Prosecutor accusing activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim of working for a foreign government in exchange for financial support. One week later, Ibrahim filed a libel suit against Bakry. The Public Prosecutor's investigation was ongoing at year's end, and the case had still not been referred to trial.
In March and April, four separate courts acquitted or ordered retrials for four unrelated lawsuits against journalists working for al-Osbu'a.
Under the law, the Public Prosecutor may issue a temporary ban on the publication of news related to national security. The length of the ban is based on the length of time required for the prosecution to prepare its case.
In December 2003, the Public Prosecutor issued a press ban on a corruption investigation of the director of the National Heart Institute. The ban continued to limit reporting on the case throughout the year.
The law provides penalties for individuals who disclose information about the State during emergencies, including war and natural disasters. The penalties include fines of up to LE 6,000 ($1,000) and prison sentences of up to 3 years. There were no reports that the law was applied during the year.
The law prohibits current or former members of the police from publishing work-related information without prior permission from the MOI.
The law authorizes various ministries to ban or confiscate books and other works of art upon obtaining a court order. There were no court-ordered book confiscations during the year, but the Government permitted greater confiscatory authority to al-Azhar University.
On May 26, the Islamic Research Center (IRC) at al-Azhar University formally recommended banning four books: Nawal El Sadawi's "The Fall of the Imam"; Iskander Shaheen's "Freemasonry: Religion or Fraud"; Ali Youssef's "The Call of Consciousness"; and Hisham El Bahrani's "City of Miracles." Sadawi's book was first published 20 years ago and has been translated into 14 languages. Although the IRC's recommended bans led to widespread criticism from writers and human rights activists, the Ministry of Justice decided on June 1 to authorize al-Azhar's "inspectors" to seize publications, tapes, speeches, and artistic material that deviated from the IRC's interpretation of Shari'a. Prior to June 1, the IRC could not confiscate books it disapproved without first seeking a court order.
On August 18, the IRC banned "The Responsibility for the Failure of the Islamic State," by Gamal El Banna, a liberal Islamist thinker. The IRC ruled that Gamal El Banna's book deviated from Islamic orthodoxy, and began efforts to confiscate the book from the marketplace.
On October 24, EOHR issued a report which criticized IRC's book confiscations, terming them "a hammer blow to freedom of thought."
In September, the Alexandria Administrative Court heard a lawsuit filed by lawyer Nabih al-Wahsh demanding the confiscation of a book, "The Hijab: A Modernist Approach," by writer Ikbal Baraka. The suit also sought the dismissal of Baraka as chief editor of Hawwa Magazine and her dismissal from the Press Syndicate. The suit alleged that Baraka's book denied the religious sanction for the veiling of women. The suit also charged the ministers of culture, aviation, education, and information, as well as the Grand Imam of al-Azhar University, with having failed to block Baraka's book. A wide cross-section of writers and intellectuals, including Islamist writers, have criticized the effort to ban Baraka's book.
The MOI regularly confiscated leaflets and other works by Islamists and other critics of the State. Members of the illegal Muslim Brotherhood also were arrested in connection with publications (see Sections 1.d. and 3). In many cases, the press reported that police confiscated written materials such as leaflets during the arrests.
Although the MOI has in previous years sporadically prevented specific issues of foreign-published newspapers from entering the country on the grounds of protecting public order, there were no reports of such actions during the year (see Section 1.f.). The Ministry of Defense may ban works about sensitive security issues. The Council of Ministers may order the banning of works that it deems offensive to public morals, detrimental to religion, or likely to cause a breach of the peace.
The Government controlled and censored the state-owned broadcast media. The Ministry of Information owned and operated all ground-based domestic television and radio stations. Two private satellite stations, al-Mihwar and Dream TV, began broadcasting in 2001 and have operated without direct government interference. The Government has a 20 percent financial stake in al-Mihwar and a 10 percent stake in Dream TV. The Government did not block reception of foreign channels via satellite. The percentage of citizens who received satellite television broadcasts has grown steadily but remained small, while many coffee shops and other public places offered satellite television.
Plays and films must pass Ministry of Culture censorship tests as scripts and final productions. The Ministry of Culture censored foreign films to be shown in theaters, but was more lenient regarding the same films in videocassette format. Government censors ensured that foreign films made in the country portrayed the country in a favorable light.
On April 20, the Censorship Department refused to permit public viewing of an American film, "The Code," on grounds that it depicted a gang of outlaws with Arabic names.
Also in June, the Censorship Department formed a committee of cultural figures (both Muslim and Christian) to review a new film ("I Love the Cinema"/ "Bahebb El-Cinma") which told the story of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox minority during the Nasser era. After initial screenings, Muslim and Christian lawyers filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor, seeking to have the film removed from distribution and the film producers tried for "contempt for religion." There was no final decision by year's end. Audiences were able to see the film at a number of theaters during the year. It was also well received at international film festivals.
In August, the Censorship Department rejected a screenplay by writer Wahid Hamed on the subject of government corruption and influence of the media. Without the Censorship Department's approval, Hamed was unable to proceed with making his film.
Government and private industry experts estimated that approximately 3.8 million persons in the country used the Internet. The Government did not restrict Internet use, but selectively monitored Internet use (see Section 1.f.).
On May 15 and again on September 1, the Muslim Brotherhood website became temporarily unavailable to Egyptian Internet users. Since the May outage corresponded to the arrest of 59 MB members, there was widespread belief that the security services shut down the website.
The Government did not explicitly restrict academic freedom at universities; however, the Government selected deans rather than permitting the faculty to elect them. The Government justified the measure as a means to combat Islamist influence on campus. Unlike in the past, the Government did not ban books for use on campuses during the year.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and association; however, the Government significantly restricted freedom of assembly. Citizens must obtain approval from the MOI before holding public meetings, rallies, and protest marches. Many demonstrations were not approved, and the Government tightly controlled public demonstrations that did occur. However, on December 12, 300 activists from the Kifaya (Enough) movement staged a protest against President Mubarak running for a fifth term in office. There was little direct government interference in the December 12 demonstration, although security personnel significantly outnumbered demonstrators (see Section 3). The MOI selectively obstructed some meetings scheduled to be held on private property and university campuses (see Section 4).
On a number of occasions, worshippers at the Al-Azhar mosque in Central Cairo held mainly impromptu demonstrations at the conclusion of Friday prayers. These were tolerated but carefully watched by the Government.
Some smaller anti-Iraq war demonstrations were held with and without permission. In both cases, the Government deployed large numbers of security personnel to contain the demonstrations. In a number of unauthorized demonstrations, police detained suspected organizers, some of whom alleged mistreatment while in detention (see Sections 1.c. and 1.d.).
The Constitution provides for freedom of association; however, the Government significantly restricted it in practice. The Minister of Insurance and Social Affairs has the authority to dissolve NGOs by decree. The law also requires NGOs to obtain permission from the Government before accepting foreign funds. According to government officials, funds from foreign government donors with established development programs in the country were excluded from this requirement.
During the year, a number of organizations active in human rights advocacy and civil society development were allowed to register and thus became officially recognized. However, several other groups, including the Egyptian Association Against Torture, the Center for Housing Rights, and the Word Center, continued to be denied registration as NGOs. On October 25, the Governor of Aswan issued an administrative decree dissolving the board of directors of the Aswan-based Association for Health Development and the Environment and appointed a new board. The association's leadership countered with a lawsuit against the Governor, charging that his act was in direct contradiction to the NGO law (Act 84 of 2002). In at least two cases, obscure "security objections" were cited in their rejection letters. These groups were challenging these decisions at year's end.
On January 29, the Ministry denied the application for registration of a human rights NGO in Qena Governorate. In January, a MB member, Mukhtar Nouh, who had spent 3 years in prison, sought to register a NGO called "The Association for the Protection of Constitutional Values." The 18-member board consisted exclusively of lawyers. The Association's plan was to be limited to lawyers and to work, independently of the Bar Syndicate, to improve the profession and promote liberal ideas, and to improve the status of women and Coptic Christians. On July 7, the Association's lawyers appealed to the courts after the Ministry of Social Affairs rejected the application. The case was still pending at year's end.
On February 8, an Administrative court ordered the Ministry to approve and register the "Sons of the Land Association for Human Rights." The Court ruled that the new organization had met all registration requirements and did not pose a security threat. The Ministry registered the organization, and it was functioning at year's end.
In June, the "Sawasiya Center for Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination" registered as a regional NGO with a board of 15 prominent Arab personalities from the region and Europe. The center's Executive Director, Abdel Moneim Abdel Maksoud, is a leading member of the MB, as well as its lawyer. Abdel Maksoud told the press that Sawasiya included various political thinkers from around the world and that it was not directly or indirectly affiliated with the MB.
In May, 18 human rights organizations signed an agreement establishing the Egyptian Human Rights Organization collective. On July 3, 14 human rights groups announced the formation of a national federation of human rights NGOs. In October, three leading NGOs (HRAAP, the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary, and the Group for Democratic Development) established the "Alliance for Democracy and Reform."
In September 2003, the "New Woman Center for Research," a human rights group previously denied registration by the Ministry of Social Affairs, won a court judgment ordering the Ministry to allow it to register as an NGO. The Ministry implemented the judgment 1 year later in September (see Section 4).
Under legislation governing professional syndicates, at least 50 percent of the general membership of an association must elect the governing board. Failing a quorum, a second election must be held in which at least 30 percent of the membership votes for the board. If such a quorum is unattainable, the judiciary may appoint a caretaker board until new elections can be scheduled. The law was adopted to prevent well-organized minorities, specifically Islamists, from capturing or retaining the leadership of professional syndicates. Members of the syndicates have reported that Islamists have used irregular electoral techniques, such as physically blocking polling places and limiting or changing the location of polling sites.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religious rites; however, in practice the Government placed restrictions on these rights. The Constitution provides that Islam is the official state religion and the primary source of legislation. Religious practices that conflict with Islamic law (Shari'a) are prohibited. However, significant numbers of the Christian and Jewish minorities worshipped without harassment and maintained links with coreligionists in other countries.
Most citizens (approximately 90 percent) are Sunni Muslims. There is a very small number (a fraction of 1 percent) of Shi'a Muslims. Approximately 10 percent of the population are Christian, the majority of whom belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church. There are other small Christian denominations, a small Baha'i community, and a Jewish community of approximately 200 persons.
All mosques must be licensed, and the Government was engaged in an effort to control them. The Government appointed and paid the salaries of the imams who led prayers in mosques, proposed themes for them, and monitored their sermons. In 2003, Dr. Hamdy Zaqzouq, Minister of Religious Endowments, said there were 30,000 imams in the country, who preached at 82,000 mosques and zawaya (smaller prayer halls in private buildings). He said that his ministry annexed approximately 6,000 unregistered mosques and zawaya every year.
Neither the Constitution nor the Civil and Penal Codes prohibit proselytizing or conversion; however, the Government discouraged proselytizing by non-Muslims, and those who did so risked prosecution under the Penal Code, which prohibits citizens from ridiculing or insulting heavenly religions or inciting sectarian strife.
There were no restrictions in practice on the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam; however, in cases involving conversion of Muslims to Christianity, the Government generally denied requests by converts to amend civil records to reflect their new religious status. The law prescribes steps to register the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam, but does not recognize the conversion of Muslims to other religions. Some converts resorted to changing their documents themselves, or bribing a civil servant to do so. Authorities have charged several converts with violating laws prohibiting the falsification of documents. In such instances, converts have themselves altered their identification cards and other official documents to reflect their new religious affiliation because of fear of government harassment if they officially registered the change from Islam to Christianity. For example, in 2002, Malak Fahmi, a Christian, and his wife Sarah, a Christian convert from Islam, were arrested while attempting to leave the country with their two children. The couple was charged with falsification of documents. Sarah, who changed her name and religious affiliation on her marriage certificate only, reportedly stated that she did so without her husband's assistance. The couple was released from prison in February, but was awaiting trial on charges of document fraud. At year's end, there had been no developments in the case.
Converts to Islam are not permitted to revert to their original religion. The minor children of converts to Islam, and in some cases adult children, may automatically become classified as Muslims in the eyes of the state regardless of the status of the other spouse. This automatic classification is in accordance with established Shari'a rules, which dictate "no jurisdiction of a non-Muslim over a Muslim."
In some cases, converts reported being subjected to harassment from the Government, including regular questioning and restriction of travel abroad. Converts from Islam to Christianity continued to report societal discrimination.
Hisham Samir Abdel Lateef Ibrahim, a convert to Christianity first detained in 2002 and believed to have been charged with "forging identity documents" and "contempt of religion," was reportedly released during the year but remained on probation.
Repairs to all places of worship are subject to a 1976 civil construction code which governs church repairs. The decree was significant symbolically because it made churches and mosques equal under the law. Christians reported that local permits still were subject to approval by security authorities. Although the Official Gazette only publicized government issuance of less than a dozen church construction and repair permits during the year, government officials asserted that most permits were not published in the Official Gazette, and said that they issued 254 permits for building and repair of churches between January 1 and June 15.
The approval process for church construction suffered from delays and was considered to be insufficiently responsive to the Christian community, although the President reportedly approved all requests for permits that were presented to him. The incidence of blocked or delayed orders varied, often depending on the church's relationship with local security officials and the level of support of the local governor. Christian activists, including church officials, consistently remarked that regardless of the formal approval process and the stated support of senior government officials for church construction, local officials in some governorates opted to take an uncooperative and obstructionist approach to church construction and repair.
The Constitution requires schools to offer religious instruction. Public and private schools provided religious instruction according to the faith of the student.
The Government occasionally prosecuted members of religious groups whose practices deviated from mainstream Islamic beliefs and whose activities were believed to jeopardize communal harmony. On January 28, a State Security Emergency Court reduced the sentences of Sayed Tolba and 20 of his associates to time served. They were convicted 2002 on the charge of insulting heavenly religions, as a result of Tolba's claim that he was a prophet and could cure illnesses.
On December 1, the Public Prosecutor referred 13 individuals to trial by a State Security Emergency Court on charges of insulting heavenly religions. The leader of the 13, who were arrested in August in Qaloubiya, was Ahmed Ibrahim Abou Shousha, who had asserted that he was a prophet on par with the Prophet Mohammad. Shousha had called for various innovations on orthodox Islamic practice.
In December 2003, State Security Court forces arrested and detained without charge 20 suspected Shi'a Muslim citizens, reportedly due to concerns that they were a threat to petroleum facilities and were engaging in anti-State activity. A leading Egyptian civil rights group reported that the authorities tortured several in the group before releasing 16 of them. The four remaining detainees were held at Wadi Natroun prison. Three detainees were released in August, although Mohammad Ramadan El Dereiny remained in custody at year's end.
The Islamic Research Center of Al-Azhar University has authority to recommend that the Government censor books on religious grounds (see Section 2.a.).
The Constitution provides for equal public rights and duties without discrimination based on religion or creed; however, discrimination against minority religions, including Christians and Baha'is, existed. There were no Christians serving as governors, police commissioners, city mayors, public university presidents, or deans. There were few Christians in the upper ranks of the security services and armed forces. Discrimination against Christians also continued in public sector employment; in staff appointments to public universities; in failure (with the exception of one case in 2002) to admit Christians into public university training programs for Arabic language teachers that involved study of the Koran; and in payment of Muslim imams through public funds (Christian clergy are paid with private church funds).
There were no new reports of violent assaults by Gama' al-Islami (Islamic Group, IG) or other suspected terrorists against the approximately 7 million Coptic Christians. In a number of cases where victims alleged violence to be driven by sectarian tensions, particularly regarding murder, it was difficult to determine whether religion was a factor.
The prosecution failed to bring a successful case against those alleged to be responsible for the killing of 21 Christians during sectarian strife in early 2000 in the town of al-Kush, in Sohag Governate, Upper Egypt. On June 14, the Court of Cassation, the country's highest appellate court, upheld the acquittal of 94 of 96 suspects who were charged with various offenses committed in this incident. The Court's decision left no further legal options.
In the investigation of an earlier incident in al-Kush in 1998 involving the killing of two Coptic Christians, police detained hundreds of citizens that same year, including relatives of suspects, women, and children. Local observers reported that many of these detainees were subjected to torture and mistreatment. An investigation of police torture of the mostly Christian detainees made little progress and has appeared effectively closed since 2001. Shayboub William Arsal, a Coptic Christian, was convicted and sentenced for the two murders and his appeal, which has been pending for 4 years, has not been heard. The local Christian community believes that Shayboub was accused and convicted of the crime because of his religion.
In January, Christian workers at the Patmos Center, a Coptic Orthodox social service facility on the Suez road east of Cairo, confronted soldiers and an army bulldozer dispatched from a military base adjacent to the facility. During the confrontation, one of the Christian workers was fatally struck by a private bus attempting to drive around the crowd. This incident was the latest in a series involving Patmos and the neighboring military base. The army's reported motive for bulldozing the gate was that the Patmos Center's wall stands 50 meters from the highway, while local zoning regulations require a distance of 100 meters. Christian sources noted that the army base's perimeter wall also is only 50 meters from the road, and they charged that the army's intent was to harass the Christians until they left the site so that it could be annexed by the military. Other observers believed the military's enmity was engendered by the "stealthy" way the church developed a Christian service facility on a site originally billed as an agricultural "desert reclamation project." The controversy subsided, and the Patmos gate remained in its original location.
There were reports of forced conversions of Coptic girls to Islam. Reports of such cases were disputed and often included inflammatory allegations and categorical denials of kidnapping and rape. Observers, including human rights groups, found it extremely difficult to determine whether compulsion was used, as most cases involved a Coptic girl who converted to Islam when she married a Muslim man. According to the Government, in such cases the girl must meet with her family, with her priest, and with the head of her church before she is allowed to convert.
However, there were credible reports of government harassment of Christian families that attempted to regain custody of their daughters. The law states that a marriage of a girl under the age of 16 is prohibited. Between the ages of 16 and 21, marriage is illegal without the approval and presence of her guardian. The authorities also sometimes failed to uphold the law in cases of marriage between underage Christian girls and Muslim boys.
There is no legal requirement for a Christian girl or woman to convert to Islam in order to marry a Muslim man. However, if a Christian woman marries a Muslim man, the Coptic Orthodox Church excommunicates her. Ignorance of the law and societal pressure, including the centrality of marriage to a woman's identity, often affect her decision. Family conflict and financial pressure also are cited as factors. Conversion is regarded as a disgrace to the convert's family, so most Christian families would object strongly to a daughter's wish to marry a Muslim. If a Christian girl converts to Islam, her family loses guardianship, which transfers to a Muslim custodian, who is likely to grant approval.
Anti-Semitism is found in both the pro-government and opposition press; however, there have been no violent anti-Semitic incidents in recent years.
Anti-Semitic articles and opinion pieces in the print media and editorial cartoons appeared in the press and electronic media. For example, on March 18, Abdelwahab Ads, deputy editor of Al Jumhuriya, accused the Jews of the terrorist attack in Madrid on March 11 as well as of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S.
On June 24 and July 1, the National Democratic Party (NDP) newspaper al-Lewa al-Islami published articles by Professor Refaat Sayed Ahmed in which he denied the Holocaust. On August 25, the NDP announced that it had banned Professor Ahmed from future publishing, that the editor who approved his article had been fired, and that the NDP and the Government rejected anti-Semitism and acknowledged the reality of the Holocaust.
The Government reportedly advised journalists and cartoonists to avoid anti-Semitism. Government officials insisted that anti-Semitic statements in the media were a reaction to Israeli government actions against Palestinians and did not reflect historical anti-Semitism; however, there were relatively few public attempts to distinguish between anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli sentiment.
On January 5, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld a 2001 lower court decision to recommend the cancellation of the Abu Hasira festival (for Jewish pilgrims) in the Beheira Governorate. In 2003, the Ministry of Culture designated Abu Hasira's tomb as a "historic site" and ruled that an annual festival could be held. Villagers around the shrine protested, claiming that the Jewish visitors aggravated the locals with their drinking. There were reports in December, however, that Jewish pilgrims were again welcome to celebrate the Abu Hasira festival, scheduled for early January 2005.
In December 2003, following international expressions of concern, the special collections section of the Alexandria Library removed a copy of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" from a display of religious manuscripts. In a statement, the director of the library denied allegations that the book had been displayed next to the Torah, but nonetheless stated that its inclusion was a "bad judgment" and regretted any offense the incident might have caused.
Law 263 of 1960, which is still in force, bans Baha'i institutions and community activities. During the Nasser era, the Government confiscated all Baha'i community properties, including Baha'i centers, libraries, and cemeteries. The problems of Baha'is, who number fewer than 2,000 persons in the country, have been compounded since the MOI began to upgrade its automation of civil records, including national identity cards. The Government asserted that its new software requires all citizens to be categorized as Muslims, Christians, or Jews, although some Baha'is initially received identity cards which listed their religion as "other." During the year, Baha'is and other religious groups who did not choose to describe themselves as Muslim, Christian, or Jewish, were compelled either to misrepresent themselves as members of one of these three religions, or to go without valid identity documents, passports, birth and death certificates, and marriage licenses. Most Baha'is have chosen the latter course. The Government's unwillingness to issue Baha'is identity cards and other necessary documents made it increasingly difficult for Baha'is to register their children in school, to open bank accounts, and to register businesses. At year's end, some Baha'is reported that government representatives had offered them passports, but no other documents. The Baha'i leadership noted that while this would enable them to leave the country, it would not facilitate their continued residence in the country.
d. Freedom of Movement within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The law provides for these rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice; however, there were some notable exceptions. Citizens and foreigners were free to travel within the country, except in certain military areas. Males who have not completed compulsory military service may not travel abroad or emigrate, although this restriction may be deferred or bypassed under special circumstances. Unmarried women under the age of 21 must have permission from their fathers to obtain passports and travel. Married women no longer legally require the same permission from their husbands; however, in practice police reportedly still required such permission in most cases (see Section 5). Citizens who leave the country had the right to return.
The Constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it during the year.
The Constitution includes provisions for the granting of refugee status or asylum to persons who meet the definition in the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol; however, the Government limited the ease with which the refugee population could integrate locally. The Government generally did not issue work permits to refugees. The Government admitted refugees on the understanding that their presence in the country was temporary. Because the country lacked national legislation or a legal framework governing the granting of asylum, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assumed full responsibility for the determination of refugee status on behalf of the Government. The Government generally cooperated with the UNHCR and treated refugees in accordance with minimum standards and agreed arrangements. The UNHCR provided recognized refugees with a refugee identification card that was considered a residence permit and bore the stamp of the national authorities. Refugees generally may not obtain citizenship.
During the year, approximately 9,000 recognized refugees, the majority of whom were Sudanese, resided in the country. In addition, 70,000 Palestinian refugees are registered with government authorities. There were also approximately 16,000 asylum seekers awaiting status determination. Although there was no pattern of abuse of refugees, during random security sweeps the Government temporarily detained some refugees who were not carrying proper identification. Following intervention by the UNHCR, the refugees were released.
There were occasional reports that human rights activists were briefly detained for questioning at international ports of entry/departure. On May 19, Cairo airport security personnel prohibited four members of a delegation from the Egyptian Center for Housing Rights from traveling to Thailand to attend a workshop. The delegation canceled its trip and complained to the Ministry of Interior, but it never learned the reason for the ban.
Also during the year, the security services prevented three members of the MB (Essam El Erian, Abdel Hamid El Ghazaly, and Mohsen Radi), as well as MB-affiliated journalist Ahmed Ezz Eddine, from traveling to meetings outside the country (see Section 4).
The disappearance of Yemeni dissident Ahmed Salem Ebeid, who EOHR alleged was sent by the Government to Yemen, may have involved the forced return of a person to a country where he feared prosecution (see Section 1.b.).
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
Citizens did not have the meaningful right to change their government. The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) dominated the 454-seat People's Assembly, the 264-seat Shura Council, local governments, the mass media, labor, and the large public sector, and controlled the licensing of new political parties, newspapers, and private organizations to such an extent that, as a practical matter, citizens did not have a meaningful ability to change their government.
In 1999, President Hosni Mubarak was elected unopposed to a fourth 6-year term in a national referendum. According to official results, he received 94 percent of the vote. Mubarak had been previously nominated by the People's Assembly. Under the Constitution, the electorate is not presented with a choice among competing presidential candidates. In October, political activists and opposition political party members called for constitutional revisions to change from referendum to multiple-candidate presidential elections and term limits. On December 12, 300 activists from the Kifaya (Enough) movement staged a protest against President Mubarak running for a fifth term in office. There was little government interference (see Section 2.b.).
Despite the overall improvement in the 2000 electoral process (as compared to the 1995 parliamentary elections), there still were problems affecting the fairness of the 2000 parliamentary elections. Preceding the elections, the Government arrested thousands of MB members on charges of belonging to an illegal organization. Most observers believed that the Government was seeking to undermine the MB's participation in the People's Assembly and professional syndicate elections through intimidation.
The People's Assembly debated government proposals, and members exercised their authority to call cabinet ministers to explain policy. The executive initiated almost all legislation. The Assembly exercised limited influence in the areas of security and foreign policy, and retained little oversight of the MOI's use of Emergency Law powers. Many executive branch initiatives and policies were carried out by regulation through ministerial decree without legislative oversight. Individual voting records were not published, and citizens had no independent method of checking a member's voting record.
The Shura Council, the upper house of Parliament, has 264 seats. Two-thirds of the members were elected and one-third were appointed by the President. In 2001, President Mubarak appointed 45 members to the Shura Council, including 8 women and 4 Christians.
In May and June, Shura Council elections resulted in the NDP winning 70 of 88 open seats. Independents won 17 seats. One of the independents, from Giza, is widely known to be a member of the officially banned MB. The opposition Tagammu (Grouping) Party won a solitary Shura seat.
There were 18 recognized opposition parties, not all of which were active.
The Political Parties Committee (PPC) approves applications by prospective parties and may withdraw recognition from existing parties. The Labor Party, which lost recognition in 2000, remained suspended at year's end (see Section 2.a.). During the September National Democratic Party Conference, the party leadership announced a plan to seek People's Assembly approval in November to relax the political party registration process. By year's end, the PPC had approved two new parties, including the Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party.
In addition, during the year, a variety of other aspirant political parties sought legal recognition from the courts or the PPC. The PPC rejected the Wasat (Middle) Party on the grounds that it illegally sought to establish a party with an Islamic basis. The PPC rejected the Karama (Dignity) Party on the grounds that its platform was not sufficiently different from other existing parties. By year's end, the International Peace Party and the Nationalist Party had also been denied. The Egypt Motherland, the Democratic Wafd, and the Progressive Arab parties' applications remained pending.
On June 2, the Abdeen Appeals Court placed the Ahrar (Liberal) Party and its 18 publications under judicial sequestration and appointed a custodian to oversee the financial and administrative functions of the party. Since 1998, 13 members have competed for the chairmanship, with 6 holding general conferences and claiming to have been legitimately elected. The PPC did not recognize any of the results. An appeal against the sequestration was pending at year's end.
The law prohibits political parties based on religion, and the MB remained an illegal organization; however, MB members openly and publicly spoke their views, although they did not explicitly identify themselves as members of the organization. They remained subject to government pressure (see Section 1.d.). Seventeen candidates affiliated with the MB were elected to the People's Assembly as independents in 2000. One of the 17 was unseated in 2003, when Gamal Heshmat lost a by-election. There were reports of heavy-handed police interference on polling day in favor of his opponent.
There were 11 women in the 454-seat People's Assembly. Two women served among the 32 ministers in the Cabinet. In 2003, the Government appointed a female jurist to serve on the Supreme Constitutional Court. She became the first female citizen to serve on the bench.
There were 7 Christians in the 454-seat People's Assembly and 2 Christians in the 32-member Cabinet.
Government restrictions on NGO activities, including limits on organizations' ability to accept funding, continued to limit reporting on human rights abuses. Government officials were selectively cooperative and responsive to NGO views. Some human rights activists were briefly detained for questioning at international ports of entry (see Section 2.d.).
In 2002, the Government passed a law governing the regulation and operation of all NGOs operating in the country. The law and its subsequent implementing regulations drew criticism from local NGOs and international activists. Some charged that the law and regulations placed unduly burdensome restrictions on NGO operations. Of particular concern was a new provision in the law that granted the Minister of Social Affairs the authority to dissolve an NGO by decree, rather than requiring a court order.
In 2003, the Parliament passed legislation establishing the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), which became operational early in the year. The Council is composed of 25 members and headed by a chairman and a deputy, who serve 3-year terms. The Council's mandate is to receive human rights complaints and request competent government authorities to investigate them, to consult with the Government on the development of legislation that promotes good human rights practices, to increase public awareness on human rights, to issue an annual report on human rights in the country, and coordinate and network with other entities focused on human rights.
Observers have complained about the Council's slow start and modest results achieved to date. At year's end, the Council had received budgetary support from the Government as well as the European Union. Reliable reports indicated that the NCHR received over 4,000 complaints. NCHR reported that it referred an unspecified number of the complaints that it deemed credible to relevant authorities, but by year's end had received replies on only 50 cases.
Public visibility of the NCHR's activities was generally low, but increased over the course of the year. In October, for example, Council Vice Chairman Dr. Kamal Abul Magd, after visiting Tora and Abu Zaabal prisons, suggested there had been some improvement in prison conditions, but stressed the Council's determination to seek guarantees against preventive detention. In December, NCHR publicly announced that it would urge the Government, in its annual report to be issued in early 2005, to abolish the Emergency Law, on the grounds that ordinary constitutional law is sufficient to meet the country's security requirements.
In June 2003, years after it first applied, the EOHR was officially registered. HRAAP, another established and credible human rights group, also successfully registered. At least three human rights groups remained unable to operate during the year due to 2003 government decisions to deny their registration for obscure "security reasons." The status of some others was pending at year's end (see Section 2.b.).
In November 2003, the Arab Program for Human Rights Activists and the Word Center for Human Rights announced the rejection by the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Word Center's application for NGO status, citing "security objections." The Ministry also contended that the Center is a group based on religion and therefore not eligible for NGO status under the NGO Law (Law 84/02). The Word Center previously had applied for recognition as a "social company" by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry. This option, which has been the resort of other NGO-like groups denied registration under the NGO law, can afford basic legal recognition. The Word Center's "social company" application was accepted in 1996; and the Center operated without restriction. The Word Center has filed suit against the Ministry of Social Affairs for recognition as an NGO and its case was pending at year's end.
EOHR and other groups obtained limited cooperation of government officials in visiting some prisons in their capacity as legal counsel, but not as human rights observers. They received funding from foreign human rights organizations.
During the year, the Government permitted the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHR) and other human rights organizations, including HRAAP, EOHR, and the Arab Center for Independence of the Judiciary, to hold and participate in international conferences.
The Government at times cooperated with international organizations; however, according to the delegate to the 2003 session of the U.N. Committee Against Torture, the Government had not agreed to a requested visit by the UNCHR Special Rapporteur on Torture because of an incompatibility of timetables (see Section 1.c.).
On July 25, inspectors from the Ministry of Health visited the premises of the El Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of the Victims of Torture. This inspection visit provoked domestic and international concerns that the Government was harassing this human rights organization. (The El Nadim Center was not registered as an NGO with the Ministry of Social Affairs but was registered as a medical clinic, and thus falls under Ministry of Health jurisdiction.) The inspectors confiscated equipment and personal papers of doctors and well as patients, and soon after the inspection, one volunteer doctor at the Center was transferred from his position as the Director of the Airport Hospital for Mental Health to a department at the Khanka Hospital. El Nadim lodged a formal complaint with the Office of the Public Prosecutor, and HRW addressed a letter to President Mubarak requesting his immediate intervention to stop the harassment. By late September, the Ministry of Health had halted its inquiry, and the Nadim Center was proceeding with its work.
Section 5 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The Constitution provides for equality of the sexes and equal treatment of non-Muslims; however, aspects of the law and many traditional practices discriminated against women and religious minorities.
Women
The law does not prohibit spousal abuse; however, provisions of law relating to assault in general are applied. Domestic violence against women was a significant problem and was reflected in press accounts of specific incidents. In 2003, the Center for Egyptian Women's Legal Affairs conducted a survey of women, based in part on an assessment of crime reports in the vernacular press over a 6-month period, which estimated that 67 percent of women in urban areas and 30 percent in rural areas had been involved in some form of domestic violence at least once between 2002 and 2003. Among those who had been beaten, less than half had ever sought help. Due to the value attached to privacy in the country's traditional society, abuse within the family rarely was discussed publicly. Spousal abuse is grounds for a divorce; however, the law requires the plaintiff to produce eyewitnesses, a difficult condition to meet. Several NGOs offered counseling, legal aid, and other services to women who were victims of domestic violence. Activists believed that in general the police and the judiciary considered the "integrity of the family" more important than the well being of the woman. The Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs operated more than 150 family counseling bureaus nationwide, which provided legal and medical services.
The National Council for Women (NCW) proposed and advocated policies that promoted women's empowerment and also designed development programs that benefit women. The Office of the National Ombudsman for Women provided assistance to women facing discrimination in employment and housing, domestic violence, sexual assault, and child custody disputes.
The law prohibits non-spousal rape; however, spousal rape is not illegal. The Government prosecuted rapists, and punishment for rape ranges from 3 years to life imprisonment. Although reliable statistics regarding rape were not available, activists believed that it was not uncommon, despite strong social disapproval. If a rapist is convicted of abducting his victim, he is subject to execution.
The law does not specifically address "honor" crimes (violent assaults by a male against a female, usually a family member, with intent to kill because of perceived lack of chastity). In practice, the courts sentenced perpetrators of such crimes to lesser punishments than those convicted in other cases of murder. There were no reliable statistics regarding the extent of honor killings; however, it was believed that they were not common.
FGM remained a serious, widespread problem, despite the Government's attempts to eliminate the practice and NGO efforts to combat it. Traditional and family pressures remained strong. A study conducted in 2000 estimated 97 percent of women who have ever been married had undergone FGM. The Government supported efforts to educate the public about FGM; however, illiteracy impeded some women from distinguishing between the deep-rooted tradition of FGM and religious practices. Moreover, many citizens believed that FGM was an important part of maintaining female chastity, and the practice was supported by some Muslim religious authorities and Islamist political activists. FGM was equally prevalent among Muslims and Christians.
Prostitution and sex tourism are illegal but continued to occur, particularly in Cairo and Alexandria.
Sexual harassment is not prohibited specifically by law. There were no statistics available regarding its prevalence.
The law provides for equality of the sexes; however, aspects of the law and many traditional practices discriminated against women. By law, unmarried women under the age of 21 must have permission from their fathers to obtain passports and to travel. Married women do not require such permission, but police sometimes did not apply the law consistently. A woman's testimony is equal to that of a man's in court.
There is no legal prohibition against a woman serving as a judge. In February, Counselor Tahany al-Gabbani was appointed to the Supreme Constitutional Court, the first, and only, female citizen to be appointed to the bench. At year's end, the Court of Cassation still was examining the cases of two female attorneys, Fatma Lashin and Amany Talaat, who challenged the Government's refusal to appoint them as public prosecutors. As of October, their challenge was still pending.
On September 5, the Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) for the first time appointed a woman to the position of General Manager at the Waqf Authority.
Laws affecting marriage and personal status generally corresponded to an individual's religion. Article 20 of the Procedural Personal Status Law of 2000 provides for khul' divorce, which allows a Muslim woman to obtain a divorce without her husband's consent, provided that she is willing to forego all of her financial rights, including alimony, dowry, and other benefits. However, in practice, some judges have not applied the law accurately or fairly, causing lengthy bureaucratic delays for the thousands of women who have filed for khul' divorce. Many women have also complained that after being granted khul', the required child alimony is not paid.
The Coptic Orthodox Church permits divorce only in specific circumstances, such as adultery or conversion of one spouse to another religion.
Under Islamic law, non-Muslim males must convert to Islam to marry Muslim women, but non-Muslim women need not convert to marry Muslim men. Muslim female heirs receive half the amount of a male heir's inheritance, while Christian widows of Muslims have no inheritance rights. A sole female heir receives half her parents' estate; the balance goes to designated male relatives. A sole male heir inherits all of his parents' property. Male Muslim heirs face strong social pressure to provide for all family members who require assistance; however, in practice this assistance was not always provided.
Labor laws provide for equal rates of pay for equal work for men and women in the public sector. According to government figures from 2003, women constituted 17 percent of private business owners and occupied 25 percent of the managerial positions in the four major national banks. Educated women had employment opportunities, but social pressure against women pursuing a career was strong. Women's rights advocates claimed that Islamist influence inhibited further gains. Women's rights advocates also pointed to other discriminatory traditional or cultural attitudes and practices, such as FGM and the traditional male relative's role in enforcing chastity.
A number of active women's rights groups worked to reform family law, educate women on their legal rights, promote literacy, and combat FGM.
Children
The Government remained committed to the protection of children's welfare; however, in practice, the Government made little progress in eliminating FGM, affording rights to children with foreign fathers, and helping street children.
The Government provided public education, which is compulsory for the first 9 academic years (typically until the age of 15). The Government treated boys and girls equally at all levels of education. The Education Minister asserted that 98 percent of citizen children were enrolled in compulsory education through grade nine. Approximately 30 percent of citizen students pursued studies at the post-secondary level.
The Government provided medical care for all children, regardless of gender.
The Child Law provides for privileges, protection, and care for children in general. Six of the law's 144 articles set rules protective of working children (see Section 6.d.).
In May 2003, the Suggestions and Complaints Committee of the People's Assembly approved a draft law that would allocate special holding cells for minors at police stations. The proposal had not been adopted by the entire Parliament at year's end.
Children with foreign fathers were not considered citizens and therefore could not attend public school or state universities. They were also barred from certain professional schools and could not work without meeting foreign residency requirements and obtaining work permits. There were an estimated 400,000 such children in the country.
FGM remained a serious problem and was widely performed (see Section 5, Women).
During the year, the country's National Council of Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), a government organ, developed a national plan to increase educational opportunities for girls, to combat the worst forms of child labor (in collaboration with the ILO), and to implement a reproductive health awareness program for public schools. At year's end, implementation was underway.
Trafficking in Persons
The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons; however, other portions of the criminal code may be used to prosecute traffickers. There were anecdotal and press reports of trafficking of persons from sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe through the country to Europe and Israel. There have been press reports about foreigners trying to cross over to Israel seeking employment there. It is difficult to determine with precision how many of the aliens smuggled through the country were actually being trafficked and how many were voluntary economic migrants. The Government aggressively patrolled its borders to prevent alien smuggling, but geography and resource limitations precluded total success. Government officials participated in international conferences on combating trafficking in persons.
Persons with Disabilities
There are no laws specifically prohibiting discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities, but the Government made serious efforts to address their rights. It worked closely with U.N. agencies and other international aid donors to design job-training programs for persons with disabilities. The Government also sought to increase the public's awareness of the capabilities of persons with disabilities in television programming, the print media, and educational material in public schools. There were approximately 5.7 million persons with disabilities, of whom 1.5 million were disabled severely.
The law provides that all businesses must designate 5 percent of their jobs for persons with disabilities who are exempt from normal literacy requirements. Although there was no legislation mandating access to public accommodations and transportation, persons with disabilities may ride government-owned mass transit buses free of charge, are given priority in obtaining telephones, and receive reductions on customs duties for private vehicles. A number of NGOs were active in efforts to train and assist persons with disabilities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination
In February 2003, a court rejected the appeal of foreign national Wissam Toufic Abyad, who had been convicted of "habitual debauchery" after arranging to meet a police informant posing as a homosexual man on an internet site. Abyad, serving a 15-month sentence, was unable to get his case heard by the Court of Cassation. He was released in May.
In February 2003, a Court of Appeal in Agouza, Cairo upheld the 3-year sentences of 11 allegedly homosexual men convicted of "habitual debauchery." A twelfth defendant was tried in juvenile court and later sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment. Lawyers for the 12 appealed the case to the Court of Cassation, but no court hearing date had been set, and the 12 remained in prison during the year.
Individuals suspected of homosexual activity and arrested on "debauchery" charges regularly reported being subjected to humiliation and abuse while in custody.
In March, the HRW Executive Director visited the country to unveil the new report "In a Time of Torture," which focused on harassment and abuse of alleged homosexuals.
During the year, there were no reports of widescale internet entrapment of homosexuals.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
There are no legal obstacles to establishing private sector unions, although such unions were uncommon. Workers may join trade unions, but were not required to do so. A union local or workers' committee may be formed if 50 employees express a desire to organize. Most union members, about one-quarter of the labor force, were employed by state-owned enterprises. Unionization decreased in the past several years as a result of early retirement plans in public sector enterprises and the privatization of many of these enterprises.
There were 23 trade unions, all required to belong to the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF), the sole legally recognized labor federation; however, requiring all trade unions to belong to a single federation infringes on freedom of association. The ETUF controlled the nomination and election procedures for trade union officers and permitted public authorities to intervene in union financial activities. The Government showed no sign that it intended to accept the establishment of more than one federation. ETUF officials had close relations with the ruling NDP, and some were members of the People's Assembly or the Shura Council. They spoke on behalf of worker concerns, and public confrontations between the ETUF and the Government were rare.
Some unions within the ETUF were affiliated with international trade union organizations. Others were in the process of becoming affiliated. The law does not permit anti-union discrimination. There were no reports of attempted discrimination, nor were there reports of attempts to enforce this protection.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The 2003 Labor Law (Law 12) calls for the establishment of a labor consultative council, including representatives from the Government, employers, and workers associations. The council, in working with other labor experts, addresses tripartite issues and problems and reviews labor-related domestic and international legislation; however, the council did not meet during the year. The law provides for collective bargaining, allowing for tripartite negotiations to improve labor terms and conditions and resolve disputes between workers and employers. Collective negotiation may be set in motion by any of the concerned parties without the consent of other parties involved with the assistance of the concerned administrative authority.
The Labor Law also established special Pentagonal Committees composed of two judges and representatives from the Ministry of Manpower and Migration (MOMM), the ETUF, and employers. The Labor Law provides these committees with judicial powers to adjudicate labor disputes arising from the law's application. Decisions by these committees, which are intended to serve in place of the courts of first resort, may be appealed through the regular appeals process. During the year, the Pentagonal Committees issued more than 200 verdicts in labor disputes.
The MOMM established a unit in 2003 for collective negotiations and for monitoring the implementation of collective agreements. The Government sets wages, benefits, and job classifications for public sector and government employees, and the private sector sets compensations for its employees in accordance with the Government's laws regarding minimum wages.
The Labor Law permits strikes, but only after an extended negotiation process. There were at least 15 strikes during the year. Wildcat strikes are prohibited. Peaceful strikes are allowed, provided they are announced in advance and organized by the trade union to defend vocational, economic, and social interests. To call a strike, the trade union must notify the employer and concerned administrative authority at least 10 days in advance of the strike date, giving the reason for the strike and the date it would commence. Prior to this formal notification, the strike action must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the ETUF Board of Directors. This advance notification requirement effectively eliminates wildcat strikes. Strikes are prohibited by law during the validity of collective bargaining agreements and during the mediation and arbitration process. Strikes are also prohibited in strategic or vital entities in which the interruption of work could result in a disturbance of national security or basic services. The Labor Law also regulates litigation related to collective bargaining and allows collective bargaining in what are identified as strategic and vital establishments.
Firms, apart from large ones in the private sector, generally did not adhere to government-mandated standards. Although they are required to observe some government practices, such as the minimum wage, social security insurance, and official holidays, firms often did not adhere to government practice in non-binding matters, including award of the annual Labor Day bonus.
Labor law and practice are the same in the six existing export-processing zones (EPZs) as in the rest of the country. A Special Economic Zones (SEZ) law was issued in 2002 laying the legal foundation for the establishment of SEZs that will be export-oriented. According to the SEZ law, rules governing labor in the SEZs will be more flexible, since the authority regulating the SEZ can tailor contracts in accordance with business needs while adhering to the general requirements of the labor law. At year's end, the Ministry of Investment was proceeding to establish an SEZ in East Port Said.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor. The 2003 Labor Law and the Child Law do not specifically prohibit forced and compulsory labor by children. Such practices, including by children, were reportedly rare.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
Local trade unions reported that the Ministry of Labor adequately enforced labor laws in state-owned enterprises, but enforcement in the private sector, especially in the informal sector, was lax. Employers continued to abuse, overwork, and generally endanger many working children. Changes in the Child Labor Law have not significantly improved conditions due to lax enforcement by the Government. Enforcement remained spotty, and in cases where offenders have been prosecuted, the fines imposed were often small (e.g., 20 LE, or $3.25) and thus had questionable deterrent effect. Regulations proposed in 2003 under the revised labor law sharply increased the minimum fines in child labor cases to LE 500 ($81). The Government has developed programs that emphasize prevention and include employer, parent, and child counseling.
The law limits the type and conditions of work that children under the age of 18 may perform legally. In nonagricultural work, the minimum age for employment is 14 or the age of completing basic education (15), whichever is higher. Provincial governors, with the approval of the Minister of Education, may authorize seasonal work for children between the ages of 12 and 14, provided that duties are not hazardous and do not interfere with schooling.
Pre-employment training for children under the age of 12 is prohibited. Children are prohibited from working for more than 6 hours per day, and one or more breaks totaling at least 1 hour must be included. Several other restrictions apply to children: they may not work overtime, during their weekly day(s) off, between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., or on official holidays. Children are also prohibited from working for more than 4 hours continuously.
Statistical information regarding the number of working children was difficult to obtain and often outdated. NGOs estimated that up to 1.5 million children worked. Government studies indicated that the concentration of working children was higher in rural than in urban areas. Approximately 78 percent of working children were in the agricultural sector. However, children also worked in light industry.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
During the year, the minimum wage for government and public sector employees was determined by the National Council of Wages and differed among sectors. The law stipulates that 48 hours is the maximum number of hours that may be worked in 1 week. Overtime for hours worked beyond 36 per week is payable at the rate of 25 percent extra for daylight hours and 50 percent extra for nighttime hours. The nationwide minimum wage generally was enforced effectively for larger private companies; however, smaller firms did not always pay the minimum wage. The minimum wage frequently did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family; however, base pay commonly was supplemented by a complex system of fringe benefits and bonuses that may double or triple a worker's take-home pay and provide a decent standard of living.
The Ministry of Labor sets worker health and safety standards, which also apply in the EPZs; however, enforcement and inspections were uneven. A council for occupational health and safety was established by the Labor Law to address health and safety issues nationwide. During the year, ETUF called for development of a national health insurance program prior to proposed changes in the health insurance law.
The new labor law prohibits employers from maintaining hazardous working conditions, and workers have the right to remove themselves from hazardous conditions without risking loss of employment.
Starting on June 11, employees at the Ora-Egypt asbestos products firm engaged in strike actions. The strikers said that 46 employees had suffered from cancer as a result of unsafe working conditions. On September 21, the Government closed Ora-Egypt.
In 2003, the Minister of Manpower said that the total number of foreign workers holding work and residence permits was 18,177, not including Sudanese, Palestinians, and foreigners married to citizens. Unofficial estimates of undocumented workers were as high as 116,000. Foreign workers with the required permits enjoyed legal protections.
There were occasional reports of employer abuse of undocumented workers, especially domestic workers. A few employers were prosecuted during the year for abuse of domestic workers, but many claims of abuse were unsubstantiated because undocumented workers were reluctant to make their identities public.
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Blind Child Reads “First Book” In McDonald’s Ad
Read More About
In a new McDonald's commercial, 6-year-old Hannah Weathered of Lima, Montana learns to read her first book, a natural achievement for anyone her age. What's unusual about the spot is that Hannah is blind and has learned to read her first book in Braille.
The spot, which will debut on network television Friday, November 12, culminates with a celebration at McDonald's where Hannah orders a Happy Meal from a special Braille menu.
"Through this new commercial we are proud to recognize customers like Hannah who in real life visit our restaurants and use our Braille menus," said Larry Zwain, senior vice president of U.S. Marketing for McDonald's. " It's important that our advertising connect our brand to our customers and the special moments in their lives."
Through the years, McDonald's commercials have featured real people in real situations including a McDonald's crew person with Down's syndrome and hearing impaired customers. Twenty years ago, McDonald's was the first quick-service restaurant to offer Braille menus at its restaurants nationwide. Today, with assistance from the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), McDonald's continues to be the only quick-service restaurant to offer them nationally. The company also offers picture menus to assist customers who have speaking or reading difficulties.
"We commend McDonald's for its commitment to make eating at McDonald's restaurants fun and convenient for all its customers, including the nearly 10 million visually impaired Americans," said Carl Augusto, president of AFB. " I know that accessibility drives greater independence and encourages people who are blind or visually impaired to enjoy everyday life to the fullest."
"It is wonderful to see a company demonstrate this level of care for its customers, " said Jill Weathered, Hannah's mother. "Hannah loves to celebrate special moments at McDonald's—just like any other kid."
Produced by DDB Chicago and directed by Joe Pytka, the "First Book " commercial is a 30-second spot that debuts on NBC during the network TV show, Providence, and subsequently on ABC, CBS and NBC during network programming through November 25.
The search for Hannah was conducted with the assistance of the National Federation of the Blind which held a nationwide casting call to find the young child.
McDonald's is the world's largest global food service retailer, with more than 25,000 restaurants serving more than 40 million people each day in 117 countries. Approximately 85 percent of McDonald's U.S. restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees. |
Q:
Create POST request, using Java RestAssured, returns status code 422
I have Ubuntu server instance on Windows 10. I have application, which is running on localhost on Ubuntu.
When I create request on Ubuntu terminal:
curl http://localhost:8000/test \
-H "Content-Type: application/json;charset=UTF-8" \
-H "Authorization: Basic cJJdlJ26p62JG23j34==" \
-d '{
"test": {
"id": "564624232443234",
"type": "book"
}
}'
It works and insert into database.
When I have JUnit test in Eclipse with same JSON values above:
public class Test extends Connection {
.......
@Test
public void test_Insert() {
Map<Object, String> mapRequest = new HashMap<>();
mapRequest.put("id", "564624232443234");
mapRequest.put("type", "book");
given().
contentType(ContentType.JSON).
header("Authorization", "Basic "+"cJJdlJ26p62JG23j34==").
body(mapRequest).
when().
post("test").
then().
statusCode(200);
}
It doesn't work. Returns me:
java.lang.AssertionError: 1 expectation failed.
Expected status code <200> but was <422>.
If I only ping the server like below, the response is correct (200).
@Test
public void basicPingTest() {
given().when().get("/").then().statusCode(200);
}
Any ideas of the problem?
Thanks
A:
You don't send the same request by curl and by RestAssured.
Curl:
{
"test": {
"id": "564624232443234",
"type": "book"
}
}
Restassured:
{
"id": "564624232443234",
"type": "book"
}
Add the map as test object
public class Test extends Connection {
.......
@Test
public void test_Insert() {
Map<Object, String> mapRequest = new HashMap<>();
mapRequest.put("id", "564624232443234");
mapRequest.put("type", "book");
given().
contentType(ContentType.JSON).
header("Authorization", "Basic "+"cJJdlJ26p62JG23j34==").
body(Collections.singletonMap("test",mapRequest)).
when().
post("test").
then().
statusCode(200);
}
}
|
fileFormatVersion: 2
guid: 599772871e9c713459d9afa5a12e1ce9
timeCreated: 1438992943
licenseType: Pro
MonoImporter:
serializedVersion: 2
defaultReferences: []
executionOrder: 0
icon: {instanceID: 0}
userData:
assetBundleName:
assetBundleVariant:
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---
abstract: 'A model for three-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection in low-Prandtl-number fluids near onset with rigid horizontal boundaries in the presence of a uniform vertical magnetic field is constructed and analyzed in detail. The kinetic energy $K$, the convective entropy $\Phi$ and the convective heat flux ($Nu-1$) show scaling behaviour with $\epsilon = r-1$ near onset of convection, where $r$ is the reduced Rayleigh number. The model is also used to investigate various magneto-convective structures close to the onset. Straight rolls, which appear at the primary instability, become unstable with increase in $r$ and bifurcate to three-dimensional structures. The straight rolls become periodically varying wavy rolls or quasiperiodically varying structures in time with increase in $r$ depending on the values of Prandtl number $Pr$. They become irregular in time, with increase in $r$. These standing wave solutions bifurcate first to periodic and then quasiperiodic traveling wave solutions, as $r$ is raised further. The variations of the critical Rayleigh number $Ra_{os}$ and the frequency $\omega_{os}$ at the onset of the secondary instability with $Pr$ are also studied for different values of Chandrasekhar’s number $Q$.'
author:
- Arnab Basak
- Krishna Kumar
title: 'A model for Rayleigh-Bénard magnetoconvection'
---
\[sec:Intro\]Introduction
=========================
The role of magnetic field on thermal convection in low-Prandtl-number fluids [@nakagawa57; @nakagawa59; @chandra_1961; @fauve_etal_1981; @knobloch_etal_1981; @proctor_weiss_1982; @bc82; @fauve_etal_1984; @fauve_etal_prl_1984; @kumar_etal_1986; @meneguzzi87; @cb89; @bc89; @glatzmaier_etal_1999; @julien_etal_2000; @cioni_etal_2000; @ao_2001; @bm_2002; @houchens_2002; @cattaneo_etal_2003; @rucklidge_2006; @dawes_2007; @varshney_baig_2008; @podvigina_2010; @yanagisawa_etal_2011; @pk_2012; @brk_2014] has received considerable attention because of its importance in geophysical and astrophysical problems. The vertical magnetic field delays the onset of primary instability [@nakagawa57; @chandra_1961], while the horizontal magnetic field delays the onset of oscillatory (secondary) instability [@fauve_etal_1981; @fauve_etal_1984; @meneguzzi87; @pk_2012]. The latter also makes the straight rolls align along its direction. The external magnetic field also reduces the convective heat flux [@proctor_weiss_1982; @cb89; @cioni_etal_2000; @ao_2001; @brk_2014]. The scaling behaviour of kinetic energy, convective entropy and heat flux near onset were studied recently with [*stress-free*]{} top and bottom plates [@brk_2014]. They are not investigated for the magnetoconvection with rigid horizontal plates. The secondary instability also leads to interesting three dimensional dissipative structures. It is assumed that the Nusselt number $Nu$ and the mean convective entropy $\Phi$ $=$ $\frac{1}{2}\int \theta^2 dV$ also scale like the mean kinetic energy $K$ $=$ $\frac{1}{2}\int v^2 dV$. Recent numerical simulations [@brk_2014], however, show that $Nu$ scales with $\epsilon = [Ra/Ra_c(Q)-1]$ as $\epsilon^{\alpha}$ with $\alpha < 1$ near the onset, where $Ra_c$ is the critical value of the Rayleigh number at the primary convection.
In this paper, we present a model of Rayleigh-Bénard convection in metallic fluids in the presence of uniform vertical magnetic field with rigid, thermally conducting and electrically insulating horizontal plates. We use the model to investigate various properties of magnetoconvection near onset. The kinetic energy $K$ is found to be proportional to $\epsilon$ near onset. The convective entropy $\Phi$ and the convective heat flux ($Nu - 1)$, scale with $\epsilon$ as $\epsilon^{0.9}$ and $\epsilon^{0.91}$, respectively. The oscillatory convection appears at the secondary instability as $r$ is raised slowly. The distance from the criticality ($r_{os}-1$) for oscillatory instability scales with the Prandtl number $Pr$ as $Pr^{1.3}$. We have observed the possibility of traveling as well as standing wave solutions above the onset of secondary instability. They were found to be periodic as well as quasiperiodic in time. A new traveling convective pattern consisting of alternating oblique wavy rolls is also observed. The time averaged root mean square of the velocity and temperature fields are also investigated.
\[sec:Hydro\]Hydromagnetic system
=================================
We consider a thin horizontal layer of electrically conducting Boussinesq liquid of mean density $\rho_0$, thickness $d$, kinematic viscosity $\nu$, thermal diffusivity $\kappa$, magnetic diffusivity $\lambda$, and thermal expansion coefficient $\alpha$ confined between two parallel plates, which is uniformly heated from below and uniformly cooled from the top. An adverse temperature gradient $\beta$ is maintained across the fluid layer and a uniform magnetic field $B_0$ is applied anti-parallel to the acceleration due to gravity $\bm{g}$. We have chosen a Cartesian coordinate system with origin in the middle of the fluid layer, the $xy$- plane coincident with the horizontal plane. The unit vector $\bm{e_3}$ is directed along the vertically upward direction, which is considered to be the positive direction of the $z$- axis. The fluid is initially at rest and allows conduction of heat flux along the vertical direction. As soon as $\beta$ is raised above a critical value $\beta_c$ keeping $B_0$ fixed, magnetoconvection sets in. We ignore the magnetic Prandtl number $Pm =\nu/\lambda$ which is generally of the order of $10^{-5}$ or smaller for terrestrial fluids. The magnetohydrodynamics is then governed by the following dimensionless equations: $$\begin{aligned}
&\partial_t\bm{v} + (\bm{v\cdot\nabla})\bm{v} = -\nabla p + \nabla^2\bm{v} + Q\partial_z\bm{b} + Ra\theta\bm{e_3},
\label{eq:hmsys1}\\
&\nabla^2\bm{b} = -\partial_z\bm{v},
\label{eq:hmsys2}\\
&Pr[\partial_t\theta + (\bm{v\cdot\nabla})\theta] = \nabla^2\theta + v_3,
\label{eq:hmsys3}\\
&\bm{\nabla\cdot v}=\bm{\nabla\cdot b}=0,
\label{eq:hmsys4}\end{aligned}$$ where $\bm{v}$ $\thinspace(x,y,z,t)$ $\equiv$ $(v_1,v_2,v_3)$ is the velocity field, $\bm{b}$ $\thinspace(x,y,z,t)$ $\equiv$ $(b_1,b_2,b_3)$ is the induced magnetic field due to convection, $\theta\thinspace(x,y,z,t)$ is the deviation in the temperature field from the steady conduction profile. Lengths, time, temperature field and induced magnetic field are measured in units of fluid depth $d$, viscous diffusion time $d^2/\nu$, $\nu\beta d/\kappa$ and $B_0\nu/\lambda$, respectively. The magnetoconvection is controlled by the three dimensionless parameters: (i) the Rayleigh number $Ra = \alpha \beta gd^4/ \nu \kappa$, a measure of the buoyancy force, (ii) the Prandtl number $Pr = \nu/ \kappa$, and (iii) Chandrasekhar’s number $Q = B_0^2d^2/4\pi \rho_0\nu\lambda$, which is a measure of the imposed magnetic field. The rigid, thermally conducting and electrically insulating horizontal plates leads to following boundary conditions [@varshney_baig_2008]: $$v_1 = v_2 = v_3 = \theta=0,\; b_1 = b_2 = \frac{\partial b_3}{\partial z} = 0 \label{bc}$$ at $z = \pm 1/2$.
\[sec:model\]The model
======================
We now construct a low-dimensional model to investigate the essential features of Rayleigh-Bénard magnetoconvection with realistic boundary conditions near onset. First we eliminate the pressure term from Eq. \[eq:hmsys1\] by taking curl once on both sides of Eq. \[eq:hmsys1\]. The projection of the resulting equation on vertical axis gives an equation for the vertical vorticity $\omega_3$, which is given as: $$\partial_t\omega_3 + (\bm{v\cdot\nabla})\omega_3 - (\bm{\omega\cdot\nabla})v_3 = \nabla^2\omega_3 + Q\bm{e_3}\bm{\cdot}[\bm{\nabla\times}(\partial_z\bm{b})]$$
Operating by curl twice on Eq. \[eq:hmsys1\], using the equation of continuity, and then projecting on vertical axis leads to $$\begin{aligned}
\partial_t\nabla^2 v_3 &+& \bm{e_3\cdot\nabla\times}[(\bm{\omega\cdot\nabla})\bm{v}-(\bm{v\cdot\nabla})\bm{\omega}] \nonumber\\
&=&\nabla^4 v_3 + Ra \nabla_H^2\theta - Q \bm{e_3}\bm{\cdot}[\bm{\nabla\times\nabla\times}(\partial_z\bm{b})]\end{aligned}$$
We now follow the procedure used by Niederländer et al. [@niederlander_etal_1991] for making a model with no-slip conditions in the context of ferro-fluids. All the fields are taken to be periodic in horizontal plane. Chandrasekhar’s functions are used in the vertical direction for the expansion of vertical velocity field so that the no-slip conditions can be applied on velocity field at $z = \pm1/2$. As the magnetic field is slaved to the velocity field, it can be easily computed using Eq. \[eq:hmsys2\] once we know the velocity modes. The expansion for the vertical velocity $v_3$, the vertical vorticity $\omega_3$ $\equiv$ $(\bm{\nabla \times v})_3$ and the convective temperature $\theta$, compatible with the boundary conditions (Eq. \[bc\]) are:
$$\begin{aligned}
v_3\thinspace(x,y,z,t) &=& [W_{101}\cos{(kx)}+W_{\bar{1}01}\sin{(kx)} \nonumber\\
&+& W_{111}(t)\cos{(kx)}\cos{(ky)} \nonumber\\
&+& W_{\bar{1}11}(t)\sin{(kx)}\cos{(ky)} \nonumber\\
&+& W_{1\bar{1}1}(t)\cos{(kx)}\sin{(ky)} \nonumber\\
&+& W_{\bar{1}\bar{1}1}(t)\sin{(kx)}\sin{(ky)}]C_1(\lambda_1z),\end{aligned}$$
$$\begin{aligned}
\omega_3\thinspace(x,y,z,t)&=& [Z_{011}(t)\cos{(ky)} \nonumber\\
&+& Z_{0\bar{1}1}(t)\sin{(ky)}]\cos(\pi z) \nonumber\\
&+& [Z_{112}(t)\cos{(kx)}\cos{(ky)} \nonumber\\
&+& Z_{\bar{1}12}(t)\sin{(kx)}\cos{(ky)} \nonumber\\
&+& Z_{1\bar{1}2}(t)\cos{(kx)}\sin{(ky)} \nonumber\\
&+& Z_{\bar{1}\bar{1}2}(t)\sin{(kx)}\sin{(ky)}]\sin{(2\pi z)},\end{aligned}$$
$$\begin{aligned}
\theta\thinspace(x,y,z,t)&=& [T_{101}\cos{(kx)}+T_{\bar{1}01}\sin{(kx)} \nonumber\\
&+& T_{111}(t)\cos{(kx)}\cos{(ky)} \nonumber\\
&+& T_{\bar{1}11}(t)\sin{(kx)}\cos{(ky)} \nonumber\\
&+& T_{1\bar{1}1}(t)\cos{(kx)}\sin{(ky)} \nonumber\\
&+& T_{\bar{1}\bar{1}1}(t)\sin{(kx)}\sin{(ky)}]\cos{(\pi z)} \nonumber\\
&+& T_{002}(t)\sin{(2\pi z)},\end{aligned}$$
where
$$C_1\thinspace(\lambda_1z)=
\frac{\cosh{\lambda_1z}}{\cosh{\lambda_1/2}}-\frac{\cos{\lambda_1z}}{\cos{\lambda_1/2}}$$
is the first order Chandrasekhar’s function [@chandra_1961; @niederlander_etal_1991] with $\lambda_1\approx 4.73$. The horizontal velocities are then computed using the relations:
$$\begin{aligned}
\nabla_H^2 v_1 &=& -\partial_{xz} v_3 - \partial_y \omega_3\\
\nabla_H^2 v_2 &=& -\partial_{yz} v_3 + \partial_x \omega_3.\end{aligned}$$
Once all the three components of the velocity field are known, the horizontal vorticities can be computed easily.
By projecting the hydromagnetic system of equations \[Eqs. \[eq:hmsys1\]-\[eq:hmsys4\]\] on these modes, we get a model for magnetoconvection with no-slip, thermally conducting and electrically insulating boundary conditions. The model consists of nineteen coupled ordinary differential equations. The shear flow, in general, can not be fully expressed in terms of the vertical velocity and the vertical vorticity [@cb89; @hgf95]. For example, the dimensionless shear stresses $\sigma_{13} = \partial_1 v_3 + \partial_3 v_1$ and $\sigma_{23} = \partial_2 v_3 + \partial_3 v_2$ are nonzero, even if a part of the horizontal velocities $v_1$ and $v_2$ depend only on the vertical (the third) coordinate. However, the terms dependent purely on the vertical coordinate cannot be generated from the vertical vorticity $\omega_3$. The model presented here considers the possibility of the shear generated by the vertical vorticity but ignores the generation shear due to the perturbations independent of $\omega_3$.
The model is integrated by the standard fourth order Runge-Kutta (RK4) method with a dimensionless time step of $10^{-3}$. We set $k = k_c(Q)$, where the critical wave number $k_c(Q)$ is known from Chandrasekhar’s linear theory [@chandra_1961]. We first determine the critical Rayleigh number $Ra_c$ from the model and compare them with the well known results of Chandrasekhar. Table \[table:Ra\_c\] enlists the values of critical Rayleigh number $Ra_c(Q)$ for different values of $Q$ as obtained from the model with the values known from the linear theory [@chandra_1961]. For $Q = 0$, the value of $Ra_c$ is $1728$, which is exactly equal to the value obtained by Niederländer. This value is within $1.2\%$ of the value obtained by the linear theory [@chandra_1961]. The error in determination of the critical Rayleigh number from the model is within $5\%$ for $Q = 50$. We restrict ourselves upto $Q = 100$ for which the maximum error in $Ra_c$ is less than $6.6\%$.
------- ----------- --------------- ----------- ----------
$Q$ $k_c (Q)$ Linear theory Model Error
$Ra_c(Q)$ $Ra_c(Q)$
$0$ $3.13$ $1707.8$ $1728$ $1.18\%$
$10$ $3.25$ $1945.9$ $1926$ $1.02\%$
$50$ $3.68$ $2802.1$ $2664$ $4.93\%$
$100$ $4.00$ $3757.4$ $3510$ $6.58\%$
------- ----------- --------------- ----------- ----------
: A comparison of the critical Rayleigh numbers obtained from Chandrasekhar’s linear theory and the model.[]{data-label="table:Ra_c"}
\[sec:Stability\]Stability of straight rolls
============================================
For a thin layer of metallic fluid ($Pr > Pm$) confined between rigid, thermally conducting and electrically insulating horizontal boundaries, the magnetoconvection appear as stationary straight rolls, as in the case of free-slip boundaries. The vertical magnetic field delays the onset of stationary convection. We now find the fixed points and their stability by analyzing the model. Just above the onset of straight rolls there are only five non-zero modes: $W_{101}$, $W_{\bar{1}01}$, $\theta_{101}$, $\theta_{\bar{1}01}$ and $\theta_{002}$. The roll fixed points are given by the following relations: $$\begin{aligned}
W_{101}^* &=& f_1(r, Q, Pr)\theta_{101}^*, ~\ ~ W_{\bar{1}01}^* = f_1(r, Q, Pr) \theta_{\bar{1}01}^*, \nonumber\\
\theta_{002}^* &=& f_2 (r, Q, Pr), ~\ ~ \theta_{101}^{*2} + \theta_{\bar{1}01}^{*2} = \frac{c f_2}{f_1 Pr}, \end{aligned}$$ where $$\begin{aligned}
f_1 (r, Q, Pr) &=& \frac{a_1 r Ra_c(Q) k_c^2 (Q)}{a_2 + a_3 k_c^2 (Q) + a_4 k_c^4 (Q) + a_5 Q},\nonumber\\
f_2 (r, Q, Pr) &=& \frac{-b_1 + b_2 f_1 - b_3 k_c^2 (Q)}{b_4 f_1 Pr} \end{aligned}$$ with $a_1$ $=$ $1.376 \times 10^{10}$, $a_2$ $=$ $9.881 \times 10^{12}$, $a_3$ $=$ $4.857 \times 10^{11}$, $a_4$ $=$ $1.974 \times 10^{10}$, $a_5$ $=$ $1.895 \times 10^{11}$, $b_1$ $=$ $9.741 \times 10^{10}$, $b_2$ $=$ $1.377 \times 10^{10}$, $b_3$ $=$ $9.869 \times 10^9$, $b_4$ $=$ $5.032 \times 10^{10}$, $c$ $=$ $15.485$. The temperature mode $T_{002}$ is the only nonlinear mode for the fixed point in the form of straight rolls. We now compare these modes with the expansion of the fields given by Clever and Busse [@cb89] with no-slip horizontal boundaries. These five modes are exactly the same as the modes obtained by truncating the expansion of the velocity field at the first term and that of the convective temperature at the second term. Small errors in the critical Rayleigh number $Ra_c$ for small values of $Q$ suggest that the model describes the qualitative features of magnetoconvection near the onset well.
Rolls could be in any direction in an extended layer of metallic fluid. As the reduced Rayleigh number $r$ is raised slowly in steps, the perturbations in the form of vertical vorticity may be excited through nonlinear interaction with the vertical velocity. We investigate the stability of rolls in the presence of additional fourteen modes. We find the eigenvalues of a $19 \times 19$ matrix, obtained by linearizing about the roll fixed points. The eigenvalue $\lambda_m$ with the largest real part is found to form a complex conjugate pair.
Figure \[eigen\_rolls\_Q\] shows the variation of (a) the real and (b) imaginary parts of $\lambda_m$ with $r$ for different values of $Q$ for $Pr = 0.1$. The real part of $\lambda_m$ becomes positive at greater value of $r$ for larger $Q$ values. This suggests that the oscillatory instability via forward Hopf bifurcation is also delayed by the vertical magnetic field. The frequency $\omega_{os}$ at the onset of oscillatory instability shifts to higher values, as $Q$ increases.
The onset of oscillatory instability is greatly affected by the variation of the Prandtl number $Pr$. Figure \[eigen\_rolls\_Pr\] displays the variation of (a) the real and (b) imaginary parts of $\lambda_m$ with $r$ for different values of $Pr$ for $Q = 10$. The onset of oscillatory instability shifts to a larger value with $Pr$ and the frequency at the onset decreases with increasing values of $Pr$, which is consistent with the behaviour in the absence of any magnetic field. Figure \[scaling\_Pr\_Q\] (a) displays the variation of the threshold for oscillatory instability $\epsilon_{os} = r_{os} (Q, Pr)-1$ with Prandtl number $Pr$ for different values of $Q$. The threshold $r_{os}$ scales with $Pr$ as $Pr^{1.3}$ for $Pr \geq 0.1$ and the scaling appears to be independent of $Q$. The value of $r_{os}$ is larger for higher values of $Q$ at a fixed value of $Pr$. The frequency $\omega_{os}$ at the onset of oscillatory instability increases with increase in $Q$ at a fixed value of $Pr$. The frequency $\omega_{os}$ decreases with $Pr$ for $Pr \ge 0.1$. However, the variation of the frequency with $Pr$ is non-monotonic for much smaller values ($Pr < 0.1$).
\[sec:Scaling\]Scaling of global quantities near onset
======================================================
We then use the model to investigate possible scaling behaviour near the onset of magnetoconvection. We start integration of the hydromagnetic system with randomly chosen initial conditions for a given value of $Pr$ and $r$. The value of $r$ is raised in small steps keeping $Pr$ fixed. The final values of all the fields of the last run are then used as initial conditions of a fresh run. As $Pr$ is always greater than $Pm$, which is assumed to be vanishingly small, we always observe stationary straight (two-dimensional) rolls at the primary instability. This is consistent with the Chandrasekhar’s prediction. We find various time dependent dissipative structures at secondary and higher order instabilities, as $r$ is raised further. The whole process is repeated for different values of $Pr$. We have also checked several integration with random initial conditions to find out any possibility of hysteresis. We did not find any hysteresis in the model.
We now present the results of scaling behaviour of three global quantities: the kinetic energy per unit mass $K = \frac{1}{2}\int v^2 dV$, the convective entropy per unit mass $\Phi$ $=$ $\frac{1}{2}\int \theta^2 dV$, and the convective heat flux ($Nu-1$) with $\epsilon = [Ra/Ra_c(Q)-1]$ for different values of Chandrasekhar’s number $Q$. The parameter $\epsilon$ is a measure of the distance from the criticality. Figure \[fig:Ek\_En\_P1\](a) shows the the kinetic energy $K$ as a function $\epsilon$ for $Pr = 0.025$ and for four different values of $Q$. The kinetic energy increases linearly with $\epsilon$ for time independent magnetoconvection. This means that the average speed of the fluid flow is proportional to $\sqrt{\epsilon}$ at the primary instability, which is a well known result. The value of $K$ is higher for larger values of $Q$. The kinetic energy shows a sharp decrease, as $\epsilon$ is raised in small steps. The sharp decrease in the kinetic energy is accompanied by a time dependent magnetoconvection. The convection is found to be quasiperiodic in time at the onset of secondary instability. The time-averaged value of the kinetic energy first decreases, attains a minimum, and then increases once again with increase in $\epsilon$. The sharp decrease in $K$ occurs at higher values of $\epsilon$ for larger values of $Q$. The dip in $K$ is also shallower at higher values of $Q$. The larger vertical magnetic field delays the onset of secondary instability, which is time-dependent. As $\epsilon$ is raised further, time averaged value of $K$ is again found to be varying almost linearly with $\epsilon$ for $1 \le \epsilon < 10$.
Figure \[fig:Ek\_En\_P1\](b) shows the variation of the convective entropy $\Phi$ with $\epsilon$ for $Pr=0.025$. The qualitative behaviour is similar to that of the kinetic energy but with some significant differences: $\Phi$ scales with $\epsilon$ as $\epsilon^{0.9}$ near the onset. The convective temperature field is then proportional to $\epsilon^{0.45}$ which is different than the behaviour of the average speed. This is due to the fact that a part of the available thermal energy is used to maintain a net thermal flux in the vertically upward direction. There is no net momentum flux in the vertical direction. The scaling behaviours of the average kinetic energy $K$ is slightly different from that of the convective entropy $\Phi$. The entropy also shows a sharp decrease at the onset of time-dependent (secondary) instability. For higher values of $\epsilon$ ($1 < \epsilon < 10$), all the curves for $\Phi (\epsilon)$ have a common slope approximately equal to $0.4$, which is much smaller than its value ($\approx 0.9$) just above the onset of magnetoconvection.
The quantity $Nu-1$ is a measure of the convective heat flux across the fluid layer, where the Nusselt number is defined as: $Nu$ $=$ $1 + Pr^2 <v_3\theta>_{xyz}$. The symbol $<>_{xyz}$ stands for the spatial average. Figure \[fig:Nu\_ep\_CB\_P1\] shows the scaling behaviour of the time averaged value of the convective heat flux with $\epsilon$ for $Pr = 0.025$. The points show the results obtained from the model for different values of $Q$ and the dashed line is parallel to the best fit over data points near the onset. The best fit shows that the convective heat flux scales with $\epsilon$ as $\epsilon^{0.91}$ near the primary instability. There is a sharp fall in the heat flux at the onset of time-dependent convection. The time averaged value of the convective heat flux then starts increasing initially much faster and then much slowly with increase in $\epsilon$. The variation of the convective heat flux with $\epsilon$ becomes almost identical for all values of $Q$ investigated at higher values of $\epsilon$. In this regime, the slope the $Nu - \epsilon$ curve at higher values of $\epsilon$ is lower than $0.91$. The continuous curves show the variation of convective heat flux with $\epsilon$, as reported by Clever and Busse [@cb89] for $Pr = 0.025$ with no-slip boundary conditions. They found the scaling exponent to be much larger ($ > 1.4$) for the stationary magnetoconvection, which is unusual. The qualitative behaviour of the results obtained from the model has broad similarity with those obtained by Clever and Busse [@cb89], but our model always shows the scaling exponent of heat flux with $\epsilon$ less than unity near the onset of stationary convection. It is also in excellent agreement with the recent results from direct numerical simulations with free-slip boundary conditions [@brk_2014]. No experiment suggests that the scaling behaviour $Nu-1 \sim \epsilon^{\alpha}$ with the scaling exponent $\alpha \ge 1.4$ near the primary instability (stationary convection). Like other global variables, the heat flux also decreases at the onset of oscillatory instability, reaches a minimum and then increases with $\epsilon$. The scaling exponent is less than unity for $\epsilon > 1 (r > 2)$.
---------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Fluid
patterns r (Q = 0) r (Q = 10) r (Q = 30) r (Q = 50) r (Q = 0) r (Q = 10) r (Q = 30) r (Q = 50)
2D Rolls $\leq 1.04$ $\leq 1.05$ $\leq 1.09$ $\leq 1.18$ $\leq 1.54$ $\leq 1.62$ $\leq 1.82$ $\leq 2.07$
WR $-$ $-$ $-$ $-$ $1.55 - 1.62$ $1.63$ $-$ $-$
QWR $1.05 - 1.11$ $1.06 - 1.12$ $1.10 - 1.14$ $-$ $1.63 - 1.64$ $1.64$ $-$ $-$
CWR $1.12 - 1.14$ $1.13 - 1.27$ $1.15 - 1.26$ $1.19 - 1.26$ $1.65 - 1.75$ $1.65 - 1.77$ $1.83 - 1.85$ $-$
QWR $1.15 - 1.18$ $-$ $-$ $-$ $-$ $-$ $-$ $-$
CWR $1.19 - 1.29$ $-$ $-$ $-$ $-$ $-$ $-$ $-$
TW $1.30 - 1.31$ $1.28 - 1.30$ $1.27 - 1.29$ $1.27 - 1.29$ $1.76 - 1.77$ $1.78 - 1.79$ $1.86 - 1.88$ $-$
QTW $-$ $-$ $1.30$ $1.30$ $1.78 - 1.92$ $1.80 - 1.95$ $1.89 - 2.04$ $2.08 - 2.13$
CTW $\geq 1.32$ $\geq 1.31$ $\geq 1.31$ $\geq 1.31$ $\geq 1.93$ $\geq 1.96$ $\geq 2.05$ $\geq 2.14$
---------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Figure \[fig:Ek\_En\_P2\](a) shows the variation of mean kinetic energy $K$ as a function $\epsilon$ for $Pr = 0.1$ and for different values of $Q$. The kinetic energy $K$ varies again linearly with $\epsilon$ near the onset of the stationary convection in the form of straight rolls, and decreases at the onset of time-periodic instability. However, oscillatory instability occurs at much higher values or $r$ in this case, and the decrease in $K$ at the onset of oscillatory instability is small. Immediately after the secondary instability, $K$ increases linearly with $\epsilon$. Figure \[fig:Ek\_En\_P2\](b) displays the variation of $\Phi$ with $\epsilon$ for $Pr = 0.1$. The global variable $\Phi$ scales with $\epsilon$ as $\epsilon^{0.9}$ near the primary instability. All the curves for $\Phi (\epsilon)$ again merge for $1 < \epsilon < 10$. The scaling exponent of $\Phi$ in this region is found to be $0.4$.
Figure \[fig:Nu\_ep\_CB\_P2\] shows the plot of $Nu-1$ versus $\epsilon$ for $Pr = 0.1$. The points connected by dots are the results obtained from the model for different values of Chandrasekhar’s number ($Q = 0,30,50$ and $100$). Three solid lines are the results from DNS (Clever and Busse) [@cb89] with no-slip conditions for $Q = 30$, $50$ and $100$. The linear dashed line is the best fit of data points obtained from the model for magnetoconvection near the onset. The convective heat flux shows the same scaling behaviour as before in the regime of stationary magnetoconvection. The results obtained from the model are in better agreement with those of Clever and Busse [@cb89] for $Pr = 0.1$. For higher values of $\epsilon$, all the curves seem to become parallel to each other. This is in agreement with the results of DNS.
\[sec:Patterns\]Time-dependent fluid patterns
=============================================
As the Rayleigh number is increased, different time dependent patterns appear at the secondary instability for different values of $Pr$. The threshold for the secondary instability increases as $Q$ is raised. For low-Prandtl-number convection [@meneguzzi87; @cb81], the secondary instability is oscillatory convection, which occurs close to the onset of primary convection. This suggests that a qualitative description of the convection near secondary instability in the presence of small magnetic field may be captured qualitatively with relatively less number of modes. The selection of the modes for the vertical vorticity are done to construct a minimum mode model to be able to capture the scaling behaviour of the global quantities of Rayleigh-Bénard magnetoconvection near the onset. The scaling properties are captured quite well in the model. The fluid patterns are however sensitive to $Pr$, $r$, $Q$ and wavenumber of the perturbations. A single model is unlikely to capture the patterns with variations of all these parameters. In addition, we have considered only the critical wave number $k_c (Q)$. We have tested the model by adding more vorticity modes. The oscillatory nature of the secondary stability does not change qualitatively. However, the onset of higher order (e.g. tartiary) instability is affected. We now discuss the magnetoconvective patterns obtained from the model presented here.
We observe temporal quasiperiodic wavy rolls (QWR) for $Pr = 0.025$ and periodic wavy rolls (WR) for $Pr = 0.1$ at the onset of secondary instability. In the latter case, the convection becomes temporally quasiperiodic with increase in $r$. Further increase in $r$ leads to chaotic wavy rolls (CWR). The onset of chaotic waves also delayed for larger value of $Q$. For a fixed value of $Q$ the onset of secondary instability is higher for higher value of $Pr$. At relatively higher values $r$, the time dependent convective flow bifurcates from standing waves to traveling waves. The convective flow consists of periodic traveling waves (TW) in a narrow range of $r$, which depends on $Pr$ and $Q$. Wavy rolls travel in a direction perpendicular to the direction of roll-axis. Further increase in $r$ leads to quasiperiodic traveling waves (QTW) and chaotic traveling waves (CTW). Table \[flow-patterns\] lists the fluid patterns observed for different values of $r$, $Pr$ and $Q$.
We now discuss the results on the fluid patterns observed for $Pr=0.1$ and $Q=10$. Figure \[fig:wavy\_contour\] shows the contour plots of the convective temperature field at mid-plane $z=0$ for $r=1.63$ at four different instants. The convection shows wavy rolls (WR). They represent standing wave solutions. The positions of nodes do not vary in time. The dimensionless period oscillation for this periodic standing wave solution is $\tau=0.88$. Figure \[fig:tw\_contour\] shows the mid-plane contour plots of the convective temperature field for $r=1.78$ at four instants (a) $t=0$, (b) $t=0.40$, (c) $t=0.80$, and (d) $t=1.20$. Convective patterns are shown to travel slowly along the positive $x-$ direction. The inclined arrows mark the position of the same hot (white) region which now moves with time. The structures along the $y$-axis make the patterns three dimensional, which travel from left to right in this viewgraph.
As $r$ is raised further, the periodic traveling waves become quasiperiodic in time. Figure \[fig:qtw\_signal\] shows the temporal variation of the two largest Fourier modes: (a) $W_{101}$ and (b)$W_{111}$ for $r = 1.9$, $Pr =0.1$ and $Q=10$. These signals suggest quasiperiodic magnetoconvection. The period of amplitude modulation for the Fourier mode $W_{111}$ is almost double of the time of amplitude modulation of the Fourier mode $W_{101}$. Figure \[fig:phase\_portrait\] shows the projection of the phase space of the hydro-magnetic system on the $W_{111}-W_{101}$ plane. As time passes, a particular region of the phase space gets filled completely. This confirms the convection to be quasiperiodic.
Figure \[fig:qtw\_contour\] displays the mid-plane contour plots of the convective temperature field for this case ($r=1.9$) at different instants of time. The patterns consists of inclined wavy rolls. The axis of the wavy rolls keep alternating in time between mutually perpendicular directions. The system of alternating oblique wavy rolls also keep traveling along the negative direction of the $x$-axis. The inclined arrows shown in the figure follow the positions of the same hot region, which moves towards the left as time passes. This complex and new magnetoconvective patterns are quasiperiodic in time. We have not investigated the possibility of convection in the form of square patterns. They may be possible at relatively higher values of $r$. In the DNS with stress-free boundaries [@brk_2014], two sets of stationary rolls leading to patterns of asymmetric squares (cross-rolls) appear at relatively higher values $r$ at the tartiary instability.
\[subsec:rms\_quantities\]Convective temperature and velocity profiles
======================================================================
We now present the results on the temperature and velocity profiles obtained from the model. We define a symbol $<...>_{x,y,t}$ to describe the spatial average in horizontal plane and the temporal average of any quantity inside the angular bracket. We then study the root mean square (rms) of any relevant quantity $f$ as $f\thinspace(rms) = \sqrt{<f^2>_{x,y,t}}$, which is a function of the vertical coordinate $z$. Figure \[rms\_variation\_Q\] shows the variations of (a) $v_1\thinspace(rms)$ and (b) $v_3\thinspace(rms)$ along the vertical axis for stationary straight rolls in fluid with $Pr=0.1$ at $r=1.05$ for different values of $Q$. $v_2\thinspace(rms)$ is always zero for straight rolls parallel to $y$-axis. The peak of the horizontal velocity field \[$v_1\thinspace(rms)$\] decreases and that for the vertical velocity field \[$v_3\thinspace(rms)$\] increases with increase in $Q$. The variation in the rms value of the convective temperature $\theta\thinspace(rms)$ in the vertical direction for straight rolls is shown in Fig. \[rms\_variation\_Q\] (c). The rms of the convective temperature has a peak in the middle of the cell just above the onset of convection, as in the case of the vertical velocity. However, the peak rms value decreases with increase in $Q$ value. The temporal mean of horizontally averaged convective temperature field is more or less sinusoidal \[Fig. \[rms\_variation\_Q\] (d)\]. The effect of the vertical magnetic field is negligible for the $Q$ values investigated here.
Figure \[rms\_variation\_r\] shows the variations of $v_1\thinspace(rms)$ (blue dashed line with points), $v_2\thinspace(rms)$ (green dotted line with points), and $v_3\thinspace(rms)$ (red solid line with points) along the vertical direction for $Pr=0.1$, $Q=10$ ($k_c (Q) = 3.25$) and for different values of values of $r$. Figure \[rms\_variation\_r\](a) describes the case of stationary straight (2D) rolls along the $y$-axis for $r=1.50$, where $v_2\thinspace(rms)$ is always zero. $v_1\thinspace(rms)$ has two peaks: one in the upper part and another in the lower part of the cell. It vanishes in the middle of the cell ($z=0$). The rms value of the vertical velocity $v_3\thinspace(rms)$ has a peak at $z=0$. All quantities are symmetric about $z=0$ and vanish at the top and bottom boundaries $z=\pm 0.5$ due to no-slip conditions. Fig. \[rms\_variation\_r\](b) describes three-dimensional convection for $r=1.63$. The velocity along the roll-axis $v_2\thinspace(rms)$ becomes non-zero, as three-dimensional convection begins. It shows two peaks located at the positions of peaks in $v_1\thinspace(rms)$, but with less in magnitude. The minima of $v_1\thinspace(rms)$ at $z=0$ is now non-zero while the minima of $v_2\thinspace(rms)$ is zero in the middle of the cell. The peak of the vertical velocity $v_3\thinspace(rms)$ at $z=0$ is slightly reduced. With further increase in $r$, the peak values of $v_2\thinspace(rms)$ and $v_3\thinspace(rms)$ \[Figs. \[rms\_variation\_r\](c) and (d)\] also increase, while that of $v_1\thinspace(rms)$ remains almost constant.
Figure \[temp\_variation\_r\] shows the variation of the rms value of the convective temperature in vertical direction as $r$ is varied keeping all other parameters fixed ($Q=10$ and $Pr=0.1$) for convective structures. The rms of the convective temperature, which had a peak in the middle at the onset of stationary convection, becomes flat with increase in $r$. Figure \[temp\_variation\_r\] (a) shows the rms of the convective temperature at $r=1.50$. The rms value value of the convective temperature drops in the middle of the cell at the onset of oscillatory convection \[Fig. \[temp\_variation\_r\] (b)\], which is expected. As $r$ is raised further, the convective temperature shows bimodal behavior \[Figs. \[temp\_variation\_r\] (c) and (d)\].
\[sec:Conclusions\]Conclusions
==============================
We have presented in this paper a low dimensional model for convection of an electrically conducting fluid enclosed between two rigid horizontal boundaries in a uniform vertical magnetic field. We find that the global quantities scale with the distance from criticality $\epsilon = r-1$ near the onset of primary instability. The kinetic energy $K$ , convective entropy $\Phi$ and convective heat flux $Nu-1$ scale with $\epsilon$ as $\epsilon$, $\epsilon^{0.9}$ and $\epsilon^{0.91}$ respectively. The vertical magnetic field inhibits the primary as well as secondary instabilities. Onset is always in the form of 2D stationary convection for the range of $Pr$ investigated. The secondary instability is time dependent, which may either be periodic or quasiperiodic. The model shows the appearance of standing waves at the onset of secondary instability. With further increase of $r$, there is a bifurcation to traveling wave solutions. A traveling wave solution consists of oblique wavy rolls whose axis alternate quasiperiodically in time between two directions perpendicular to each other. We find qualitative similarity of the results of this simple model with the results of DNS by Clever and Busse [@cb89]. The rms value of the vertical velocity has one peak in the middle of the cell. The rms values for the horizontal velocities show bi-modal behaviour with two peaks are located symmetrically about the mid-plane ($z=0$). The rms value of the convective temperature is flat near the middle of the cell for stationary convection and become bi-modal for time dependent convection. The two peaks of the convective temperature are also located symmetric about the mid-plane. However, the locations of the peaks for the convective temperature is closer to the mid-plane compared with the same for the peaks of the horizontal velocities. The rms values of all fields vary with variation of $r$ and $Q$.
Acknowledgements {#acknowledgements .unnumbered}
================
We have benefited from fruitful discussions with Priyanka Maity and Hirdesh Pharasi.
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Creating a lightsaber in Blender 2.8
FlippedNormalshave released another Blender 2.8 introduction tutorial series where they show us how to build a lightsaber. In this tutorial series you will learn how to model, add materials and then finally render the lightsaber using Cycles and Eevee and how to set up a studio lighting setup using area lights.
part 1 : Blender 2.8 user interface
Part 2 : Basic 3D modeling
Part 3 : Advanced 3D modeling
Part 4 : Creating the materials
Part 5 : Lighting and Rendering
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Entrepreneur and academic lecturer in Computer Graphic field with more than 2 decades of experience. Has master degree in Business Management and System Information. Authored several online courses at Udemy. |
378 F.Supp. 1269 (1974)
Robert Clark KEGLAR and Elbert S. Burten, Plaintiffs,
v.
EAST TALLAHATCHIE SCHOOL DISTRICT et al., Defendants.
No. DC 73-82-K.
United States District Court, N. D. Mississippi, Delta Division.
July 22, 1974.
*1270 Leslie D. King, Greenville, Miss., for plaintiffs.
George P. Cossar, Jr., Charleston, Miss., Ed Davis Noble, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, Miss., for defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
KEADY, Chief Judge.
In this teacher reinstatement suit brought by two black plaintiffs, the primary question for decision is whether the "process of desegregation" had effectually ended in the public schools of the East Tallahatchie School District when plaintiffs, admittedly faculty members at the time of the desegregation order entered pursuant to Singleton,[1] were not rehired. Two subsidiary issues, assuming Singleton's applicability, relate to the correlative duties imposed by Singleton on a school board which fails to rehire one teacher and on another teacher who fails to make timely application for reemployment.
Robert Clark Keglar (Keglar) and Elbert S. Burten (Burten) were classroom teachers employed on July 31, 1970, by East Tallahatchie School District (School District) when this court entered a comprehensive desegregation order,[2] establishing zones for attendance *1271 centers for grades 1-6, with 2-grade pairing at three separate buildings, and assigning grades 9-12 for certain courses taught only at the former Allen Carver High School (black) and for other courses given only at former East Tallahatchie High School (white). By this unique plan of desegregation, entered upon consent order with approval of the Department of Justice and the U. S. Office of Education, students both at elementary and secondary levels were freely transferred by school busses to the several school campuses utilized under the assignment plan. After one year's experience with this arrangement, the School District and the Department of Justice presented the court with a modified student assignment plan, effective for the 1971-72 school year, whereby the first three grades were assigned to Charleston Elementary School, grades 4-9 to Allen Carver and grades 10-12 to East Tallahatchie High School. The original desegregation order, respecting faculty, contained Singleton's terms and provisions, the pertinent portions being quoted below.[3]
Keglar's position was exclusively as a driver education instructor in the high school. Although certified in elementary education, Keglar last taught academic subjects in 1965; even before the advent of desegregation, this teacher gave instruction only in driver education at Allen Carver. He continued to perform his duties as driver instructor, without any complaint or criticism, for the school years 1970-71 and 1971-72. At the end of that period he was not rehired. Burten, the holder of a master's degree, had been employed for five years as a social studies teacher in the school system. He taught three years in the Allen Carver High School, and the last two years he was assigned to Charleston High School. No question or criticism arose concerning this teacher's performance, yet he was not rehired at the close of the 1971-72 school year.
The record shows, without dispute, that following the initial order of desegregation, there was considerable unrest among black students, which in October 1970 culminated in an organized boycott supported by approximately 300 students. Various grievances, and charges modified assignment plan in September by the students and their supporters in the black community. The protest activities interfered with the school operations to the degree that the school officials *1272 had to resort to a judge of this court in late October 1970 for a restraining order prohibiting demonstrating blacks from interfering with the orderly operation of the schools. School enrollment was further adversely affected by the withdrawal of approximately 100 whites disenchanted with public school desegregation. The evidence fails to disclose when the boycotting blacks returned to school. It is evident, however, that after the institution of the modified assignment plan in September 1971, black opposition to desegregation largely disappeared. During the 1970-71 school year, the enrollment attrition was so serious that the School District, by March 1971, was faced with prospective loss of 16 or 17 teacher units. However, with gradual improvement in enrollment in the last school months, and also with the 1971 change in state statute,[4] the district was able to obtain adequate financing and thus avoid an immediate reduction in teaching staff. Nevertheless, in March 1971, the district, anticipating the probable necessity for reducing the teaching staff, adopted written criteria for the dismissal of teachers. The School District's statement of dismissal policy was submitted to, and received the approval of, both Department of Justice and HEW officials; it was widely publicized among the faculty and available for public inspection. This policy specified criteria of dismissal of teachers because of loss of ADA teacher units, according to the following priority:
"a. [T]eachers last employed in any nonacademic subjects at the school that is effected by the ADA loss shall be the first teachers dismissed.
"b. [T]eachers last employed in the academic area of the effected school shall be the next teachers dismissed." (Emphasis added).[5]
It was not until the following year, in the spring of 1972, that the district, because of a reduced quota of teaching units under the revised ADA formula, had to reduce the teaching staff. Although certain teachers voluntarily retired or left the system, three more had to be dismissed, to meet the ADA formula. The district resorted to the previously adopted dismissal criteria to determine who should not be rehired for the next year. The district first determined that Keglar, the sole instructor of driver eduction, a course affecting the least number of students and by school trustees considered the most expendable, should not be rehired, and the subject no longer offered. No driver education courses have since been offered. The district decided that other non-academic subjects like band, athletics, and physical education should be continued for the school's benefit, and the district dismissed no other non-academic teachers. Thus, Keglar, alone, was dismissed under (a). Burten and a Mr. Smitz (white), both high school social studies teachers, were next dismissed under (b) because they were teachers last employed in academic subjects at Charleston High School, which was the school sustaining the greatest loss of students. Although these factors were indisputably true, Burten had greater seniority as a social studies teacher than did several rehired teachers in the middle school serving grades which Burten was also certified to teach.
When notified by their school principal in early April 1972 that they would *1273 not be rehired, plaintiffs sought meetings first with the superintendent and then before the School Board. These meetings were arranged without delay; at his conference, Superintendent Alderman, and later the Board, at a convened meeting, advised plaintiffs of the reason that they (along with Smitz) were not to be rehired and that the action was taken in accordance with objective criteria set forth in its policy to reduce the faculty by three.[6] The board meeting, without doubt, was fairly conducted; and no one raised any question regarding the competence or qualification of either plaintiff. Upon being informed of the decision, both plaintiffs were advised, in the same open meeting, that they might file applications for other teaching positions, which would be favorably considered in the event of vacancies later developing within the system. Keglar, though advising the board that he was qualified to teach in elementary school, having once taught elementary academic subjects, thereafter failed to apply for a position with any of the district's school principals or Superintendent Alderman. At trial, Keglar admitted that he did not apply, but insisted that no one ever told him that he should apply for another position with the East Tallahatchie public schools. The court rejects this explanation as incredible, holding that Keglar's failure to apply was attributable either to indifference or a desire to become more active in farming and aiding his wife in operating a local cafe. Keglar had carried on these nonteaching pursuits while employed by the district, and since his dismissal has engaged in them full-time.[7]
Burten, on the other hand, after the school board meeting, did apply for an elementary teaching position. In late June 1972 a vacancy in his field developed, when a teacher in the middle school decided to quit. This vacancy was filled by a white teacher newly hired outside the system. The school district made no effort to offer Burten the job or to ascertain his interest in the teaching opportunity. The reason assigned by Superintendent Alderman for his admitted failure to contact Burten was his testimony that he had been earlier contacted by West Tallahatchie school officials interested in hiring Burten, that he had recommended Burten to those school officials for employment, and thus considered that it would be a breach of school ethics to approach Burten with a job offer. The evidence fails to disclose exactly when Burten first applied for the West Tallahatchie teaching position, or when he was first notified that he had been firmly employed in the West Tallahatchie schools for the 1972-73 school year.[8] Unaware of the vacancy occurring at the Charleston middle school, Burten proceeded to accept the West Tallahatchie offer and has since remained a member of that school district's faculty. Although his new employment is at a salary greater than he received from the defendant School District, Burten feels aggrieved, principally because his place of residence is at Charleston and he is required to report at Sumner, 22 miles distant, to perform *1274 teaching assignments at the West Tallahatchie school. It should be noted that the present federal action was instituted July 12, 1973, after Burten had completed his one-year contract of employment with West Tallahatchie. When this case was tried on June 7, 1974, it was disclosed that Burten had also taught for a second year for West Tallahatchie school. Although the superintendent affirmed that no teacher vacancies at present exist for the forthcoming school term, the district has each year hired teachers new to the system, and has maintained a fairly constant ratio of black and white professional staff in all schools.
Had The Process of Desegregation Terminated At Time of Failure To Rehire?
Defense counsel vigorously urges that the process of desegregating the East Tallahatchie schools had been effectively completed by the spring of 1972 so that the School District was no longer subject to Singleton's stringent requirements in regard to teacher dismissal. It is contended that, following the court's July 1970 desegregation order, the district's schools immediately commenced operating as a unitary system with integrated student bodies, faculty, transportation, activities and services at all attendance centers, and such massive desegregation continued uninterruptedly for two full school years before the district decided not to rehire plaintiffs. Defendants suggest that we consider the boycott by blacks and withdrawals by whites as events unrelated to the mandated process of desegregation, and they stress that even with a reduced ADA and fewer students during this two-year period, no demotion or dismissal of any member of the teaching staff, black or white, occurred.
Defendants' contentions, although superficially plausible, cannot be accepted as sound. In the first place, this case is unquestionably one of faculty reduction, despite the fact that the necessity for reduction, because of a combination of fortuitous circumstances, was postponed for nearly two years following the desegregation order. In the second place, the reduction was solely caused by loss of student enrollment on account of the exigencies of operating a desegregated school system, i. e., boycott by protesting blacks and permanent withdrawal by whites electing to attend private schools. These factors surely make Singleton's employment requirements imperative unless it can be said that the school district, when deciding not to rehire the plaintiffs, had already completed the process of desegregation and effectively established a unitary school system. Defendants assert that two-years operating experience after the entry of a comprehensive desegregation court order is enough to demonstrate that the process of desegregation has come to an end. In the case sub judice, this argument misses the mark and also proves too much. For, it ignores the occurrence of traumatic and hectic events attending public school desegregation a substantial portion of the first year and the inevitable faculty reduction which had to be accomplished at the close of the second year. Moreover, if defendants are correct, they would have had no need to resort to utilizing objective criteria in the dismissal of any teacher, though the district felt bound to do so, but possessed the power, if Singleton did not apply, of exercising the "discretionary right of local school authorities in Mississippi to supervise the conduct of their teachers and refuse to renew their contracts." Circuit Judge Dyer, in dissenting opinion, McLaurin v. Columbia Municipal School District, 478 F.2d 348, 356 (5 Cir. 1973).
We are instructed that Singleton becomes inapplicable "only when `full compliance with the desegregation directives of this court' is achieved", Thompson v. Madison County Board of Education, 496 F.2d 682, at 687 (5 Cir., 1974). Recently, the Fifth Circuit admonished that the process of desegregation does not occur merely upon the entry of a court order. "If the journey from *1275 Brown to Swann [Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenberg Bd. of Ed., 1971, 402 U.S. 1, 91 S.Ct. 1267, 28 L.Ed.2d 554] and beyond has taught us anything, it is that desegregation does not occur merely when and because we say it should. The journey has been necessary because we have been concerned with conduct and action, not words." Thompson, supra.
Even so, we do agree that the duration of time during which a school district operates effectively, after commencing full desegregation, and absent special, complicating circumstances, is, and ought to be, very material to the factual and legal determination as to when the process of desegregation is at an end, and Singleton's strictures in dismissal of teachers are no longer binding on a school district. The simple question is, just how long does it take to establish a unitary school system? District courts have been bluntly told that it takes more than a desegregation order to produce unitary schools, but surely the time span need not be, as some maintain, an indeterminate number of years, even extending beyond the present generation. Courts have not heretofore established hard and fast rules for measuring the length of time necessary for just determination. The most direct expression by the Fifth Circuit appears in Lemon v. Bossier Parish School Board, 444 F.2d 1400 (1971). A panel composed of Circuit Judges Gewin, Goldberg and Dyer articulated a sensible, persuasive standard in a case considering the permissibility of assigning students to schools within a district solely on the basis of achievement scores after the schools had operated as a unitary system only for one semester. Holding that the school board had not operated for a sufficient time to raise the issue it sought to present, the Fifth Circuit held: "We think at a minimum this means that the district in question must have for several years operated as a unitary system." (Emphasis added). By definition and common understanding, the word "several" has more than a single connotation of diverseness; it may denote more than one, or an indefinite number, more than two and fewer than many. Webster's Third New International Dictionary.
This court applied Lemon's standard in United States v. Coffeeville Consolidated School District, 365 F. Supp. 990, to hold a school district was still in the process of desegregation one year after the public schools began to operate as a unitary system. Indeed, Coffeeville, supra, though different in certain material respects, is, we think, legally indistinguishable with respect to the durational period under critical study. We hold that two years, where marked by hectic school and community upheaval and delayed faculty reduction, was not adequate time to remove the East Tallahatchie teachers from the umbrella of Singleton's protection. The uncontradicted facts disclosed by the present record allow us no room to conclude otherwise.
Correlative Duties on School Board And Teachers Under Singleton's Dismissal Formula
East Tallahatchie school officials, in faithful compliance with this court's order (Fn. 3), adopted objective and reasonable nondiscriminatory standards by which to select professional staff for dismissal in event of reduction.[9] Save in one particular hereinafter noted, we find that the School District's dismissal criteria were objective, reasonable and nondiscriminatory standards satisfying Singleton's mandate, and also that the School District acted permissibly in establishing two classes of priority for teacher dismissals, viz: first, nonacademic teachers, and next, academic teachers with the least tenure. Certainly, the district acted rationally in deciding to discontinue driver education, thereby eliminating *1276 one teaching position which would do the least damage to the high school cirriculum. The decision to eliminate the course and not rehire Keglar was reasonable and untainted by racial consideration or improper motive. Keglar was granted a fair due-process hearing, and lawfully dismissed or not rehired; and, although Singleton-protected, he was without right to continued employment unless a vacancy might develop in an academic field which he was qualified to teach. Even so, Keglar was under a continuing duty, if he wished further employment, to timely apply for an academic teaching position in the elementary or middle school, but that he admittedly failed to do. He was told he should so apply, subject to the unknown contingency. Having slept on his rights as a Singleton-protected teacher, Keglar is now barred from invoking judicial relief.
Keglar's reliance upon Lee v. Macon County Board of Education, 453 F.2d 1104 (5 Cir. 1971), is misplaced, for in Lee, Charles Carter, the black principal who was displaced in the desegregation process, was not offered a principalship at the Avalon middle school even though he several times requested the job whenever it became vacant and the school board consistently filled the job with a white applicant new to the system. Here, we emphasize that Keglar at no time prior to suit made application for further employment with East Tallahatchie schools.
A case closely in point, upon which we rely, is Thomas v. Board of Plum Bayou-Tucker School District No. 1, 457 F. 2d 1268 (8 Cir. 1972), where the Eighth Circuit, applying Singleton's rationale, upheld the district court's refusal to reinstate Mrs. Lois Thomas, a black teacher employed at the time of the desegregation order and subsequently dismissed. In Thomas, this teacher was not considered for a vacancy because of her failure to have a timely application on file and because she did not apply for the position until after it had been filled.
In a recent case, United States v. Nettleton Line Consolidated School District, No. EC 69-63-K, unreported opinion, we applied Thomas in refusing to order relief against a school board for not promoting Boyce Grayson, a black qualified grade school principal, to whom we extended Singleton protection, on a finding that Grayson did not apply for the position of high school principal when it became vacant and was subsequently filled by a white applicant newly hired to the school system. In Nettleton, the overwhelming evidence was that the school board, as was true with East Tallahatchie, was not racially motivated and had maintained a fairly constant ratio of white and black faculty members since the commencement of a unitary school operation.
Burten's case is quite different. We have no quarrel with the School District providing as a second priority of dismissal category (b), i. e., teachers last employed in academic subjects. This formula is certainly objective and nondiscriminatory. The only difficulty is that the School District's formula restricted its application to the staff at "the affected school", meaning Charleston High School, and was not directed at "all the staff of the school district", as provided by Singleton and our own order. Obviously, the conflict between these two provisions produces contradictory results, for while Burten and another were social studies teachers with the shortest tenure at Charleston High School, they had more seniority than several social studies instructors retained in the lower grades. No effort was made to compare the length of employment of all social studies teachers in the system, and then dismiss the two having the least tenure. It is our understanding that Singleton requires a system-wide, and not a single-school, comparative analysis.[10]
*1277 The deviation noted above does not stand as the only, or possibly most serious, omission of the district's legal responsibility to Burten. For when Burten was told that he might apply for another teaching position, he promptly did so; as a result he continued to enjoy Singleton's special protection in case of later vacancy in the same year. When this occurred, Burten, the displaced staff member qualified to teach social studies in the elementary and middle schools, was entitled to be offered the job before the district might lawfully deal with a white teacher newly hired in the system.
This plain violation of Burten's constitutional right to continued employment may not be justified or excused by Superintendent Alderman's feeling that he was bound by school ethics not to approach Burten after making a favorable recommendation for his employment to the West Tallahatchie schools. The affirmative duty upon the School District could have been satisfied by nothing less than an unconditional job offer to Burten; and had Burten then declined the position, his case would be at an end. It does not appear that the superintendent consulted either the board or the attorney before acting under what was a misconception of his duty and of Burten's rights. Nevertheless, mistaken judgment on the part of Mr. Alderman, even though innocently or inadvertently made, can be no shield against the denial of a right plainly accorded Burten by this court's order and the applicable law controlling in the Fifth Circuit. Burten is, therefore, entitled to reinstatement, but since he has suffered no monetary loss he should not be awarded back pay or damages.
Let an order be entered accordingly.
DISMISSAL CRITERIA
for Personnel of the
EAST TALLAHATCHIE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Note: As required by the Court Order of 1971 and so that a uniform policy of dismissing and replacing employees of this school district may be known to all concerned, the following criteria is hereby established by the East Tallahatchie School Board of Trustees:
1. Dismissal of Teachers
A. As a Result of Loss in Average Daily Attendance (ADA):
a. teachers last employed in any non-academic subjects at the school that is effected by the ADA loss shall be the first teachers dismissed.
b. teachers last employed in the academic area of the effected school shall be the next teachers dismissed.
B. As a Result of Non-Recommendation of Principal or Superintendent, teachers shall be dismissed for any of the following reasons:
a. inadequate teaching ability.
b. non-cooperative attitude.
c. immoral conduct at any time.
d. other reasonable causes.
2. Replacement of Teacher Vacancies
A. Dismissed Teachers Because of ADA Loss:
a. concerned effort will be made to place these teachers in another school of this system, if a vacancy occurs in their certified teaching area.
b. if they cannot be placed in this system, a concerned effort will be made to aid them in securing employment in another school system.
B. Non-Recommended Teachers:
a. any teacher who is not recommended by the principal for employment for the coming school year may request a conference with the principal and superintendent so that a clear understanding is available.
b. the administration will make every effort to replace any vacancy with the same race of the previous teacher.
3. The East Tallahatchie School Board of Trustees reserves the right, under *1278 law, to determine the status of any teacher under their jurisdiction.
(s) John E. Alderman
Secretary of Trustees and Superintendent
of the East Tallahatchie
School District
NOTES
[1] Singleton v. Jackson Municipal Separate School District, 419 F.2d 1211 (5 Cir. 1970), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 1032, 90 S.Ct. 612, 24 L.Ed.2d 530.
[2] United States v. East Tallahatchie School District, No. WC 70-36-K (N.D.Miss.)
[3] "1. The principals, teachers, teacher-aides and other staff who work directly with children at a school shall be so assigned that in no case will the racial composition of a staff indicate that a school is intended for Negro students or white students. For the year 1970-71, the district shall assign the staff described above so that the ratio of Negro to white teachers in each school, and the ratio of other staff in each, are substantially the same as each such ratio is to the teachers and other staff, respectively, in the entire school system.
. . . . .
"2. Staff members who work directly with children, and professional staff who work on the administrative level will be hired, assigned, promoted, paid, demoted, dismissed, and otherwise treated without regard to race, color, or national origin, except to the extent necessary to correct discrimination.
"3. If there is to be a reduction in the number of principals, teachers, teacher-aides, or other professional staff employed by the school district which will result in a dismissal or demotion of any such staff members, the staff member to be dismissed or demoted must be selected on the basis of objective and reasonable non-discriminatory standards from among all the staff of the school district. In addition if there is any such dismissal or demotion, no staff vacancy may be filled through recruitment of a person of a race, color, or national origin different from that of the individual dismissed or demoted, until each displaced staff member who is qualified has had an opportunity to fill the vacancy and has failed to accept an offer to do so.
"Prior to such a reduction, the school board will develop or require the development of non-racial objective criteria to be used in selecting the staff member who is to be dismissed or demoted. These criteria shall be available for public inspection and shall be retained by the school district. The school district also shall record and preserve the evaluation of staff members under the criteria. Such evaluation shall be made available upon request to the dismissed or demoted employee." (Emphasis added).
[4] By Mississippi law, state-aid for teachers' compensation to local school districts was in accordance with a formula of 1 teacher for every 27 students (ADA) for the previous school year. This statute, by Chap. 363, Laws of 1971, was amended to allow school districts to obtain teacher units based upon the second and third months' ADA of the 1971-72 school year. Miss.Code 1972 § 37-19-5(1). This change of statutory formula for determining ADA, and its ameliorative effect on a school district in the throes of desegregation, were explained by this court in United States v. Coffeeville Consolidated School District, 365 F.Supp. 990, 994 (N.D. Miss.1973).
[5] The policy of Dismissal Criteria in its entirety is appended as an exhibit to this opinion.
[6] Keglar also notified the Department of Justice, which investigated the dismissal complaint but took no action.
[7] The court also rejects as wholly unsupported by evidence Keglar's opinion that he was, in actuality, dismissed because of his political activities with the Democratic Party in voter registration and education drives, his holding office as Vice President of the local chapter of NAACP, and because of his mother's long record of NAACP activity in the Charleston area. Keglar presented no evidence whatever to substantiate these insinuations. The whole record refutes any notion that the school officials, when Keglar was not rehired, acted with such motivations.
[8] By our direction, the clerk of court has ascertained from West Tallahatchie school officials that their records reflect that Burten applied to them in writing for a teaching position on August 15, 1972, he was on September 8, 1972, elected by the West Tallahatchie District as a social studies teacher, and that the signed contract of employment on file bears no date. It is, of course, highly probable that oral negotiations between Burten and West Tallahatchie school officials began somewhat earlier than August 15.
[9] In this important respect, the present case is unlike Coffeeville, where the school board resorted to impermissible subjective criteria.
[10] Coffeeville, 365 F.Supp. at 994: "Moreover, no effort was made to coordinate . . . evaluations made by the different principals and supervisors to determine the ranking of teachers in the system as a whole."
|
Michael Bisping announced his retirement from MMA on Monday, citing eye injuries that leave him seeing flashes in the dark. (Getty)
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on Monday, ending months of speculation over the fighting future of the UFC legend.
Michael Bisping ends months of retirement speculation
Bisping, 39, announced the decision on his “Believe You Me” podcast, officially bringing an end to his 14-year UFC career.
“So obviously I’ve teased this for a long time now. I might fight again, I might not,” Bisping said. “And unfortunately it’s not a fight that I’m announcing. I am going to announce my official retirement from mixed martial arts.”
Eye injuries convinced Michael Bisping to stop fighting
Bisping didn’t cite the consecutive losses as his motivation to retire, rather that lingering eye issues convinced him to stop fighting.
Bisping suffered a right eye injury in 2013, but revealed that he’s seen flashes out of his left eye since the Gastelum fight that ended with a vicious left hand to his face.
“After the Gastelum fight, I went to a party with all my team,” Bisping said. “We went to a club, and because it was dark, I kept seeing this flash out of the corner of my good eye. … I realized there’s no flash going on. It’s just my eye, and every time I look left, it flashes.
“And it still does it now when it’s dark. It’s light now so I can’t see it. So I started freaking out, thinking oh my God, I don’t believe this, I’ve got a detached retina in my good eye. I have problems with my bad eye, it doesn’t look good, so obviously I was kind of freaking out.”
He revealed that doctors told him he had suffered a vitreous detachment in his left eye, which he explained as leaving him him vulnerable to having a detached retina.
Michael Bisping leaves remarkable record behind
Bisping finishes his MMA career with a 30-9 record. MMAFighting.com credits Bisping with the most wins in UFC history, the most fights in UFC history, the most significant strikes landed in UFC history and the second-most total fight time in UFC history. |
Luisella Giani
EMEA Industry Transformation Sr. Director Oracle
Luisella Giani, EMEA Industry Transformation Director at Oracle, has over 15 years of international experience leading digital strategy, operations and product development. Following a degree in Artificial Intelligence, she started her career with iconic brands of the digital age, such as Skype, Netlog and Lycos.
More recently she has been helping global businesses, such as Yellow Pages, Goodyear-Dunlop and DuPont Coating, with their digital transformations. Her role at Oracle is to help companies to continuously innovate defining, creating and realize new digital experiences. |
Catherine Boursier
Catherine Boursier is a French politician who was a Member of the European Parliament representing East France for the Socialist Party from 2008 to 2009. She was appointed to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Adeline Hazan.
Parliamentary service
Member, Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Member, Delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly
Member, Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries
References
Category:Living people
Category:1953 births
Category:Socialist Party (France) MEPs
Category:People from Paris
Category:MEPs for France 2004–2009
Category:Women MEPs for France
Category:21st-century French women politicians |
PICK PACK BOOM
Pick Pack Boom is a one-day packaging design challenge/event for the creative souls to collaborate with the country’s leading brands. Meet other design-minded people, exchange ideas, and compete in a race against time to produce the best packaging prototype.Come for the talks, stay for the challenge.
This event has two sessions: one for your inspiration, and another for the competition.
Session 1: Join the huddle and lend your ears to globally-renowned brands, Human Nature and Malagos Chocolates, as they talk about their brand, how they started, and the challenges they faced along the way. Find out what makes their brands work and how they used it to achieve international success.
Session 2: Light up a firework of ideas for this one – the second session is for the time-bound packaging design challenge. The challenge is to create an actual packaging prototype for the products of Human Nature and Malagos Chocolates.Take the challenge and get creative for PICK PACK BOOM.
We’ll see you at the Design Center Exhibition Hall, Design Center Building, CCP Complex on 29 June 2017. Doors open at 8:00 AM.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS
1. Practicing designers, creatives, and engineers preferably with experience in branding, packaging and design2. Recent graduates and student designers/creatives/engineering with strong interest in design, branding and packaging.3. Media professionals and bloggers looking for new perspectives and behind the scenes look at ideation and brand building.
GENERAL GUIDELINES OF THE DESIGN CHALLENGE
1. Each participant will receive a kit which contains the schedule of the programme, the brief regarding the Design Challenge and press kits from Human Nature and Malagos.2. During the programme, participants will be asked to break into group and will undergo a design sprint.3. Each group will be assigned to a designated station with materials that they would need for prototyping.4. Prototypes will be presented by the groups and will be judged by a jury composed of industry experts including representatives from Human Nature and Malagos.5. Winners will be announced at the end of the event
PRIZES
1. The winner/s of the competition will be announced after the event and will be given a Certificate of Recognition and a gift pack with products from Malagos and Human Nature.2. The highlights of the event will be posted in the Official Facebook Page of Design Center.Additional/ Tentative: Prototypes of the #PickPackBoomDCP will also be posted via Design Center’s Facebook Page. |
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.6)
SET(TARGET plugin_api)
INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(${BOOST_INCLUDE_DIRS})
LINK_DIRECTORIES(${BOOST_LIB_DIRS})
SET(SRCS
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/utf8.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_core_wrapper.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_core_helper.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_helper.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_helper_singleton.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_protobuf_functions.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_protobuf_settings_functions.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_targets.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_settings_filter.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_settings_proxy.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/command_client.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_settings_object.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_settings_helper.cpp
)
IF(WIN32)
SET(SRCS ${SRCS}
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/utf8.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/config.h
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/NSCAPI.h
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_core_wrapper.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_core_helper.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_helper.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_helper_singleton.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_protobuf_functions.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_protobuf_settings_functions.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_targets.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_settings_filter.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_settings_proxy.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/macros.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_settings_object.hpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_settings_helper.hpp
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ENDIF(WIN32)
SET(EXTRA_LIBS)
IF(APPLE)
SET(EXTRA_LIBS ${ICONV_LIBRARIES})
ENDIF()
ADD_DEFINITIONS(${NSCP_GLOBAL_DEFINES})
NSCP_MAKE_LIBRARY(${TARGET} "${SRCS}")
NSCP_FORCE_INCLUDE(${TARGET} "${BUILD_ROOT_FOLDER}/include/nscapi/dll_defines_protobuf.hpp")
SET_TARGET_PROPERTIES(${TARGET} PROPERTIES FOLDER "libraries")
TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(${TARGET}
${Boost_SYSTEM_LIBRARY}
${Boost_FILESYSTEM_LIBRARY}
${Boost_PROGRAM_OPTIONS_LIBRARY}
nscp_protobuf
${EXTRA_LIBS})
ADD_DEPENDENCIES(${TARGET} nscp_protobuf)
IF(GTEST_FOUND)
INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(${GTEST_INCLUDE_DIR})
SET(TEST_SRCS
nscapi_helper_test.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_helper.cpp
${NSCP_INCLUDEDIR}/nscapi/nscapi_helper.hpp
)
NSCP_MAKE_EXE_TEST(${TARGET}_test "${TEST_SRCS}")
NSCP_ADD_TEST(${TARGET}_test ${TARGET}_test)
TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(${TARGET}_test
${GTEST_GTEST_LIBRARY}
${GTEST_GTEST_MAIN_LIBRARY}
${NSCP_DEF_PLUGIN_LIB}
${EXTRA_LIBS}
${Boost_DATE_TIME_LIBRARY}
)
ENDIF(GTEST_FOUND)
|
Career Profiles
The Space Industry offers a wide variety of careers and opportunities. You might be surprised at the variety of opportunities across maths, physics, chemistry, engineering and computing. Below you’ll find a number of career stories of people working in diverse areas of the Space sector.
Career Videos
If you are interested in finding out more about working in Space related career, check out our series of videos featuring Irish people working in this area.
Space Industry
A growing number of Irish companies are developing products and services that will support the European Space programme and that can also be made available on the global market.
Ireland’s membership of the European Space Agency (ESA) has allowed Irish Industry to develop highly advanced technologies with extremely high levels of performance and reliability required for space systems. There are currently about 50 Irish companies, mostly small to medium sized enterprises, working with ESA, and in some cases also with other space agencies such as NASA.
Innovative technologiesIrish companies have demonstrated an ability to bring highly innovative technologies to the commercial space market, in many cases developed in collaboration with Irish universities and ressearch institutes. Irish companies have also shown a strong capacity to adapt space technologies for non-space markets such as aerospace, biomedical and telecommunications.
Companies working in the space programme and market employ people with a range of skills including technical, business development, marketing, finance and legal expertise. Given the highly technical nature of space work, there is a strong demand for technical expertise in science, mathematics and engineering.
The range of technology disciplines required can be quite wide, depening on each companies specific area of activity and can include mechanical, mechatronic, electrical, biomedical, communications and software engineering, as well as basic science such as physics, chemistry, biology and maths. |
ASPCA Urges Iowa Governor to Veto Dangerous "Ag-Gag" Legislation
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NEW YORK—In response to the Iowa General Assembly’s passage of House File (HF) 589 Tuesday, the ASPCA® (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is urging Governor Terry Branstad to veto the dangerous “ag-gag” bill. HF 589 would criminalize activities used to conduct undercover investigations on farms, penalize whistleblowers, and protect animal abusers instead of working to prevent such mistreatment.
This dangerous bill is aimed at preventing investigations on farms that expose inhumane and cruel treatment of animals. However, HF 589 also has the potential to suppress the exposure of child abuse, drug use, assault, theft, violations of workers' rights and other illegal or unethical activity. A broad spectrum of groups representing environmental, workers’ rights, civil liberties, public health and food safety interests have joined animal protection organizations in opposing the ag-gag legislation.
A newly released poll commissioned by the ASPCA and conducted by Lake Research Partners reveals that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans oppose making undercover investigations of animal abuse on industrial farms illegal. Accordingly, 71 percent of Americans support undercover investigative efforts by animal welfare organizations to expose animal abuse on industrial farms, including 54 percent who strongly support the efforts. The nationwide survey also reveals that 94 percent of Americans feel that it is important to have measures in place to ensure that food coming from farm animals is safe for people to eat, and 94 percent agree that animals raised for food on farms deserve to be free from abuse and cruelty.
For more information on the ASPCA and to join the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade, please visit www.aspca.org.
###
About the ASPCA®Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is the first animal welfare organization in North America and serves as the nation’s leading voice for animals. More than two million supporters strong, the ASPCA’s mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA is a national leader in the areas of anti-cruelty, community outreach and animal health services. For more information, please visit www.ASPCA.org, and be sure to follow the ASPCA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. |
The family of Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar laid him to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on November 20, five months after his mysterious death during a secret assignment in Africa.
A medical examiner said Melgar was strangled to death, but the most striking thing about the case isn’t that a 34-year-old member of the Army’s Special Forces was killed overseas. It’s that two men under investigation are members of SEAL Team 6, arguably the most revered unit in the entire US military.
The elite, counterterrorism-focused group gained notoriety when it rescued Capt. Richard Phillips from a pirate hijacking in 2009 and killed Osama bin Laden in 2011. Scores of movies and books — some of them written by SEALs themselves — recount their clandestine, often violent missions, turning the group’s members into national celebrities and pop culture icons.
The probe into Melgar’s case, first reported by the New York Times, is ongoing. No one has yet been charged with a crime. But it appears Melgar may have stumbled onto a scheme where the two SEALs — Petty Officer First Class Anthony DeDolph, a former professional mixed martial arts fighter, and Chief Petty Officer Adam Matthews — reportedly took money from a fund meant to reward informants.
It also looks like Melgar avoided the SEALs on his way to a party, which angered the commandos. A witness told Army investigators that one of the SEALs wanted “to get back” at Melgar. And after Melgar’s death, DeDolph told a witness he “choked Logan out.”
The incident, on its own, is a tragedy. But it also calls into question whether the SEALs — and other elite troops like the Army’s Delta Force — have any checks on how they conduct their missions. After all, they work in remote locations all over the world performing highly dangerous, and highly classified, tasks where there’s a real risk of killing or abusing people who turn out to be innocents. For example, in 2004 at least seven SEALs were charged with abusing Iraqi prisoners. Other SEALs were accused of killing young people in an Afghan town during a 2009 raid.
“The special operations community has been given a lot of authorities to go overseas and conduct operations in small groups with very little oversight,” Mark Cancian, a military expert and former Marine at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, told me in an interview.
“You can reduce these kinds of incidents,” he continued, “but nothing will ever be 100 percent effective.”
That means that Melgar’s case almost certainly won’t be the last time America’s elite troops cross the line.
What we know about Melgar’s death — and why it may have happened
It’s worth reiterating that a Navy-led investigation into Melgar’s homicide is ongoing, so the events leading up to his death — and exactly what occurred the day he died — are still unclear. The military also has yet to formally charge the SEALs, let alone convict them of anything.
But via leaks from people familiar with the probe — which were reported in the New York Times, the Daily Beast, NBC News, and the Intercept — we know some of what transpired. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which leads the investigation, declined to comment on the case because it doesn’t discuss the details of ongoing probes.
Melgar, a native of Lubbock, Texas, who joined the Army in 2012, was on a six-month tour in Mali to collect intelligence on Islamic militants for the US ambassador in Bamako, the capital city.
During his mission, Melgar had two separate run-ins with DeDolph and Matthews — the suspected killers with whom he lived — that military investigators are examining as they look for potential motives for the killing.
First, Melgar reportedly found out that the two commandos took money from a government fund — with an estimated value of up to $20,000 — to pay informants. DeDolph and Matthews reportedly offered to get Melgar in on the scheme, but it appears Melgar refused and then threatened to let authorities know what the SEALs were doing. That surely could’ve angered and worried the two SEALs.
Military officials and experts know that cash given to special operations forces — but designated for informants — can sometimes go missing. It’s impossible to ask or expect those troops to track every dollar or get receipts from confidential informants, although there are ways of getting them. That means some theft may be inevitable.
“When you’re talking about young people and you give them a pocketful of money, it can be very tempting” to take some of it, Cancian told me in a reference to the Melgar case.
The second incident, an unnamed witness told investigators, occurred when Melgar drove to a party and the two SEALs believed he intentionally avoided them as he left. Afterward, according to a witness, DeDolph and Matthews kept saying how they wanted “to get back” at Melgar.
That perceived slight, plus Melgar’s knowledge of the money-skimming scheme, may shine light into why the two SEALs allegedly decided to kill Melgar. But the precise details of how they may have killed him are still unclear, in part because the two commandos changed their story about what happened.
DeDolph and Matthews first told investigators they found Melgar unresponsive in his room around 5 am on June 4. But after an autopsy report showed that Melgar had died from strangulation, the SEALs offered a different narrative.
They then claimed that DeDolph and Melgar were wrestling each other around 4 am on June 4 in Melgar’s room. Later, they say that Matthews entered the room and joined the fight, with the three of them eventually ending up on the bed with Matthews landing on top of Melgar. At one point, the team members reported one of the SEALs put Melgar in a chokehold. The commandos may have also used duct tape on Melgar, a witness noted.
The two SEALs then said when they got off of Melgar they noticed he passed out and stopped breathing. They claimed they tried to revive him, even performing CPR, opening an airway in his throat, and finally rushing to get him medical attention at a nearby French clinic.
Melgar, however, died before they arrived.
Changing their story was bad enough, but it was a doubtful claim that turned DeDolph and Matthews into suspects.
The SEALs told higher-ups that Melgar was drunk when they fought. But it turns out Melgar didn’t drink on June 4 — people who knew him said he didn’t drink at all — and there were no drugs or alcohol in his body when he died.
Melgar’s wife, Michelle Melgar, was also unconvinced when she heard of the SEALs’ drinking allegation. She then sent emails from her husband to investigators that included some of his concerns about two SEAL members. Apparently Melgar had also told his wife shortly before he died that he had worries about the commandos and that he would tell her everything when he returned home. It’s still unknown what exactly his concerns were.
Both DeDolph and Matthews are now at SEAL headquarters in Dam Neck, Virginia, on administrative leave. They haven’t yet been charged with a crime.
Melgar’s high school honored him during a homecoming football game on October 6, and he was posthumously awarded a top defense medal.
A family member also celebrated him. “Staff Sgt. Melgar did what most only dream of and excelled at every turn!” the family member shared on a local news site. “His life was epic! He is missed dearly every single day, but his legacy lives on.”
Do SEALs need more oversight?
If it’s found that DeDolph and Matthews killed Melgar, then the crime is theirs and theirs alone. But the incident still raises questions about how much freedom SEAL Team 6 has and how little supervision it receives.
After all, SEAL Team 6 commandos usually operate at night and have almost complete latitude to make decisions without their bosses or cameras around. That means other people’s lives are in their hands, and their superiors stationed abroad or back in Virginia may not know the full story of what happened in the field.
“Obviously special operations forces need to operate in the shadows to do their job, but this can lead to problems,” Sean McFate, a military expert at the Atlantic Council, told me. He also noted that Congress would need to mandate more oversight of the special operations forces community.
One former SEAL, Matt Bissonnette, who wrote a book about his time in the service under the pseudonym Mark Owen, recalled how he and others killed people in their beds. “I snuck into people’s houses while they were sleeping,” he wrote in No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy SEAL. “If I caught them with a gun, I killed them, just like all the guys in the command.”
Another former SEAL took that sentiment a step further in an interview with the New York Times: “If in your assessment you feel threatened, in a split second, then you’re going to kill somebody.”
But sometimes the foul play can be less lethal, yet still troubling. Take what happened during one of SEAL Team 6’s most famous missions: the 2009 rescue of Captain Phillips. A sack filled with about $30,000 that Phillips gave to the pirates soon disappeared after he was safely secured on a lifeboat. That sack of money, which Phillips remembers leaning against while on the vessel, was never found — even after Navy investigators made SEALs answer questions about the incident during polygraph tests.
It’s hard to fully appreciate the danger commandos are in. More than half of US service members who died in combat since 2015 came from the special operations forces community. And if they survive, they still have to deal with the mental and physical effects of the missions. “Your body is trashed,” a retired operator told the Times about the aftereffects of operations; “your brain is trashed.”
Because of the danger and stress, all special operations forces — not just the SEALs — are susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. Those conditions can lead to depression and even suicidal thoughts. In 2014, the New York Times reported that while suicide rates were in decline for most service members, they continued to increase for commandos.
But the horrors of the job — which SEAL Team 6 is extensively trained to do — are no excuse for the crimes commandos sometimes commit. One SEAL sniper killed three unarmed people in Afghanistan, including a young girl. The sniper was later kicked out of the unit because of the incident. Further, seven SEALs were charged in 2004 for assaulting and abusing detainees in Iraq. It’s worth highlighting that the perpetrators received punishments in these cases.
And during a 2009 mission to kill or capture a top Taliban operative, SEAL Team 6 members killed 10 people and at least eight students, according to the United Nations, although some US military officials claimed the young students had guns and links to the militant group.
Those aren’t isolated incidents; they highlight a pattern of repeated abuses by SEAL Team 6 around the world. The problem is it’s hard to investigate each instance because there are so few witnesses to each potential crime. And as Geoffrey Corn, a military justice expert at South Texas College of Law Houston, told me earlier this month, “the SEALs are a community that circles to protect its own, and it might be a little bit challenging to get people to be forthcoming with information.” That may happen even if a SEAL does break the law.
SEAL Team 6 and other commandos will argue that they need the freedoms they already have, otherwise they can’t do their jobs. But as Loren Schulman, a defense expert at the Center for a New American Security think tank, mentioned on Vox’s Worldly podcast on November 16, members of the special operations forces community may need — and even want — more oversight.
“Special operations forces guys need and want to be told no a lot of the time because they will go the extra limit; they will push the boundaries; they will propose missions that are far outside the realm of what we as a democracy would find appropriate. And they want that oversight to be able to draw them back in,” she said.
So the balance between SEAL Team 6’s need for freedom and oversight is a hard one to strike. But a system that leaves space for the murder of soldiers like Melgar by fellow service members is unsustainable — and ultimately harms America more than it helps. |
Zen Master Dogen (1200-1253) is often referred to within
Chinese sources as ‘道元禅师’ (Dao Yuan Ch’an Shi), with the
Japanese pronunciations of ‘Do’ (道) and ‘Gen’ (元)
literally translating as ‘Way Origination’, or ‘Way Essence’.He was also known by the other Dharma-names
of ‘Xi Xuan’ (希玄) or ‘Rare Mystery’, ‘Dao Xuan’ (道玄) or ‘Way
Mystery’ and ‘Fo Fa Fang’ (佛法房), or ‘Buddha Dharma Residence’.[3]Dogen is recorded as being born into the
noble Minamoto family of Kyoto in 1200 CE.[4]
The Chinese language sources refer to Dogen’s family as ‘贵族家庭’
(Gui Zu Jia Ting), which translates as an ‘aristocratic household’.This is an important distinction, as Dogen is
believed to have been related to the 62nd Japanese Emperor Murakami
(926-967 CE)[5],
and as such entitled to hold a high office within the Japanese imperial system.
This biographical story associated with Dogen is reminiscent of the life-story
attributed to the historical Buddha who lived in ancient India, and who was
also of a high caste birth, and entitled to rule.Dogen – like the Buddha – relinquished his
birth right of high office and instead decided to dedicate his life to the
pursuance of the Dharma.Dogen’s
dissatisfaction with the ordinary world appears to have been formulated in his
early childhood, when his father died when he was 3 years old.This tragic event was followed by the loss of
his mother when he was only 8 years old.This created a trauma in his mind that resulted in him deciding not to
pursue a political career, but instead to renounce the world and become an
ordained Buddhist monk.[6]From the age of 8 to the age of 13, Dogen
intensely studied the Buddhist texts at home, before finally leaving to become
a monk.[7] In
fact, the Japanese language source records describe Dogen as ‘escaping’ the
family home at 13 years old (1212 CE), and heading to Mount Hiei (比叡山- Bi Rui Shan - situated northeast of Kyoto), to seek the
advice of his uncle - the monk known as Ryokan.At the age of 14 (1213 CE) his head was shaved by the monk named Koen (a
prominent Tendai School practitioner) and received the Bodhisattva Precepts.[8]It was here on Mount Hiei that Dogen studied
the Buddhist texts extensively and realised that Buddhism contains both a deep
(internal) and shallow (external) teaching.This led to Dogen formulating the following question:
‘Both exoteric and
esoteric teachings explain that a person in essence has true dharma nature and
is originally a body of “Buddha nature.”If so, why do all Buddhas in the past, present, and future arouse the
wish for and seek enlightenment?’[9]
The Japanese tradition of the Tendai School had its
historical roots in the Tiantai (天台) or ‘Divine-sky Platform’ tradition
of China.However, by the time of
Dogen’s existence in the Kamakura Period, it had diverted dramatically away
from the Chinese tradition, as it adapted to local conditions.Tendai had adopted the philosophical thinking
associated with the Shingon School, and had incorporated elements of Zen
Buddhism together with the Vinaya Discipline into its rubric.This led to a form of ‘quietism’ that allowed
the Tendai monks to work exclusively as scribes, and spend their time
copying-out sutras.The intellectual and
spiritual vigour had become muted, which was exasperated by the fact that the
Tendai School on Mount Hiei had split into two armed camps, with each camp
centred around two competing temples.A
new type of Buddhist cleric arose on Mount Hiei, namely that of the ‘monk
soldier’ (僧兵, - Seng Bing),
or ‘sohei’ in Japanese.These monks
trained in armed and unarmed martial arts were used by politicized temples to
project power beyond the temple confines.This confusion of distinct Buddhist philosophies, and the emergence of
politicized Buddhism, led to a diversion away from genuine spiritual
investigation, and probably explains why Dogen could not find adequate
spiritual instruction upon the mountain.[10]Dogen studied the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, and was particularly struck by the
following passage:‘Sakyamuni Buddha said: “All
sentient beings everywhere originally possess the Buddha-nature; the Tathagata
exists eternally and is without change”.’[11]
This passage served to focus the young Dogen’s mind, and led
him to seek-out an enlightened master who could genuinely show him his own
Buddha-nature.His master – the Abbot
Koen – sent Dogen away from Mount Hiei to study with the learned monk named
Koin of Onjo-ji (園城寺– Yuan Cheng
Si) in an attempt to further his education.It was Koin who first suggested to Dogen that he should consider studying
the Zen method and travel to Song Dynasty China, and seek a profound answer to
his spiritual question.To this end,
Koin introduced Dogen to the Tendai practitioner (and abbot) who had just
returned from studying Ch’an (Zen) in China – the monk named as ‘Yosai’ or ‘Myōan
Eisai’ [明菴栄西 – Ming An Rong Xi] (1141-1215) of Kennin-ji (建仁寺– Jian Ren Si) in Kyoto.Yosai had inherited the Huang Long (黃龍) or ‘Oryu’
branch of the Linji tradition [临济宗– Lin Ji
Zong] (or ‘Rinzai’) School of Ch’an (Zen) in China, but he passed away in 1215
(from an epidemic of dysentery), only one year after apparently meeting Dogen
in 1214.[12]Following Yosai’s death, Dogen was taken as a
Zen student by the new abbot of Kennin-ji – the monk named Myozen [明全– Ming Quan] (1183-1225).Myozen was the Dharma-inheritor of Yosai, but in the Japanese
biographical records there is disagreement as to whether Dogen met with, and
trained under Yosai for a year between 1214-1215, or whether he entered Kennin-ji
much later (in 1217) and simply began his training under Myozen. [13]Whatever the facts of the matter, it was with
Myozen that Dogen would study Rinzai Zen and Tendai Buddhism, and eventually
receive Dharma-transmission in the Rinzai Zen tradition in 1221 – at just 21
years of age.This made Dogen the tenth
Patriarch of the Japanese lineage of the Huang Long Rinzai School of Zen
Buddhism.In Japan at the time there was
much political turmoil and warfare, and this probably influenced Dogen to an
ever greater degree to over-come the doubts he harboured about life and death.This is despite the fact that he was engaged
in meditation practice, and through Myozen’s strict influence, was keeping the
Bodhisattva precepts, and the transmission precepts associated with the Huang
Long lineage.[14]
Dogen’s time spent at the Zen temple – Kennin-ji – in his younger years, served
as a foundational training for his eventual visit to China.As good as the masters were around him, Dogen
could not progress his realisation beyond a certain point of understanding.At this time, many Buddhists in Japan viewed
China as the depository of true Buddhist knowledge and the place where true
progression and profound understanding was to be found.Dogen travelled to China as a means to seek
enlightenment, and it is important to understand that Dogen was already a
Dharma-inheritor of the Rinzai Zen School (and had extensively studied the
Teachings of the Tendai School) before leaving Japan for China.Although young, Dogen had ordained (taking
Bodhisattva Precepts), been highly motivated in his studies, and had received a
good education within Japanese Buddhism.
Dogen in Southern
Song Dynasty China
Dogen and his teacher Myozen, together with two other monks,
left Kyoto (by boat) on the 27th day of the third month of 1223, and
arrived in the middle of the 3rd month at Hakata Port.[15]
Hakata Port is located in the northern area of the southern Japanese island of
Kyushu.By the time Dogen set sail for
China (on a merchant vessel),[16]
Hakata had been an important port linking Japan to China for centuries.On the voyage, Dogen records that he fell ill
with diarrhea.However, Dogen’s mind was
‘focused’ by a terrible wind that made the crossing to China highly dangerous.He forgot about his illness and the symptoms
disappeared.At the beginning of the fourth
month of 1223, Dogen, Myozen and the two other monks arrived safely in China –
he was 24 years old.Their ship made
land at a place recorded as ‘Mingzhou’ (明州), situated
in Qingyuan (庆元) prefecture.Today, this corresponds to the Ningbo (宁波) area
of northeast Zhejiang province.[17]Zhejiang is a coastal province situated to
the south-east of China.Dogen’s
biography suggests that there was a bureaucratic delay when he reached China,
due to the ‘incompatibility’ of the ordination he received in Japan.[18]
His ordination may have been viewed as incomplete by the Chinese authorities
due to the fact that he had taken the Bodhisattva Precepts, but had not yet
received the Vinaya Precepts.In effect
this meant that Dogen was not a fully ordained Buddhist monastic, but only
considered a novice of a lesser status.Dogen spent three months aboard ship before the Chinese authorities
permitted him to land.In this regard,
considering the uncertainty of the situation, Dogen exercised considerable
patience, understanding and endurance.This is remarkable fortitude for a young man of just 24 years of
age.During this time Dogen continued
his practice (whilst staying in his cabin and reading the Buddhist sutras), and
compiled information about the many monasteries and temples in Zhejiang area of
China and beyond.Dogen’s master –
Myozen – was allowed off the ship much earlier, and immediately set about
visiting the Jing Fu Temple (景福寺– Jing Fu
Si) in Mingzhou, and the Jing De Temple (景德寺– Jing De Si) situated on Mount Tiantong (天童山 Tian
Tong Shan).Jing De Temple was very
significant for Myozen, as his teacher – Yosai – had trained there in 1189
during his visit to China.Indeed, it
was in the Jing De Temple that Yosai inherited the Huang Long branch of the
Linji School of Ch’an Buddhism from Ch’an Master Xuan Huai Chang (虚庵怀敞).[19]
The motivation for Dogen to visit China – at least
officially – was to pay homage to the Linji School of Ch’an Buddhism in
general, and to the Huang Long School in particular.The Huang Long School can be traced to Ch’an
Master Huang Long Huinan (黃龍慧南) [1002-1069] who lived during the
Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127).He
originally came from Xinzhou (an area now located to the east of Nanchang
city), which is situated in Jiangxi province – southeast China – but
established his school on ‘Yellow Dragon Mountain’ (黃龍山– Huang Long Shan).This school is recorded as lasting over 150 years operating from this
mountain.Huinan originally trained with
Ch’an Master Letan Chenggong of the Yunmen (雲門) School,
but after failing to achieve the final breakthrough in his self-cultivation, he
was sent to study under Ch’an Master Shishuang Chuyuan of the Linji School.[20]An example of the enlightening Ch’an
dialogues exchanged between these two masters is as follows:
‘When Huang Long
visited Shishuang in his abbot’s room, Shishuang said, “Chenggong studied under
Yunmen’s Ch’an, so he must surpass Yunmen’s teaching.When Yunmen spared Dongshan Shouchu three
blows with the staff, did Dongshan suffer the blows or not?”
Huang Long said, “He
suffered the blows.”
Shishuang said
fiercely, “From morning till night the magpies cry and the crows caw, all of
them in response to the blows they’ve suffered.”
Shishuang then sat in
a cross-legged position, and Huang Long lit incense and bowed to him.
Shishuang later asked,
“Zhaozhou said, ‘The old lady of Mount Tai – I’ll go check her out for
you.’But where was the place he checked
her out?”
Huang Long sweated
profusely but he couldn’t answer.
The next day Huang
Long went to Shishuang’s room again.Shishuang berated him unceasingly.Huang Long said, “Is cursing a compassionate way of carrying out the
teaching?”
Shishuang yelled, “Try
cursing and see!”
At these words Huang
Long experienced a great awakening.He
then wrote the following verse:
The eminent adapt ZhaozhouHad his reasons for checking out the old ladyNow the four seas are like a mirror,And a pilgrim no longer hates the road.’[21]
This example may be taken as indicative of the type of
‘encounter dialogue’ utilised within the Huang Long branch of Linji Ch’an, and
the method its masters used to enlighten their students.In and of itself, the Huang Long branch,
although lineally distinct, does not divert in practice from the Chinese Ch’an
in general, or the Linji tradition in particular.It may also be reasonably assumed that a
similar encounter occurred between Yosai and his master Xuan Huai Chang,
between Yosai and his student Myozen, and between Myozen and his student –
Dogen.It was Myozen’s judgement that
Dogen had attained complete enlightenment, and that this made him suitable to
inherit the Huang Long lineage in Japan, and become fully recognised and
acknowledged as the Tenth Patriarch.It
was this ‘Tenth Patriarch’ of the Huang Long lineage that the Chinese
authorities made wait for three months before allowing him onto Chinese soil,
but when he did land, he embarked upon a tour of prominent Linji temples and
monasteries in and around the Ningbo area.As Dogen – despite being enlightened – still retained ‘doubts’ about the
true nature of existence, he sought-out the wisdom of enlightened Ch’an masters
on the Chinese mainland.The retainment
of some doubt after the initial enlightenment experience is not unknown within
the Ch’an literature, and does not invalidate the awakening experience
itself.Although the empty mind ground
can be penetrated and understood (in all its implications) in an instantaneous
manner, it is also correct to acknowledge that in many awakening incidents,
initial enlightenment, (although profound), often requires a clarification
process.This can be seen in the case of
Ch’an Master Dongshan Liangjie (洞山良价) [807–869] – the founder of the
Caodong lineage (曹洞宗 – Cao Dong Zong) of Ch’an
Buddhism.He was the student of – and
Dharma-heir to – Ch’an Master Yunyan Tansheng (雲巖曇晟) [700-841].The following dialogue explains the
circumstances surrounding Dong Shan’s enlightenment:
‘The master then took
leave of Kuei Shan and went straight to Yun Yen to whom he related the
circumstances leading to his present call.He immediately asked Yun Yen: ‘When inanimate objects expound the
Dharma, who can hear it?’Yun Yen
replied: ‘The inanimate can.’The master
asked:‘Does the venerable sir hear
it?’Yun Yen replied: ‘If so, you will
not hear my expounding of the Dharma.The master asked: ‘Why do I not hear it?’Yun Yen raised his dust-whisk and asked: ‘Do
you hear it?’The master replied: ‘No.’
Yun yen said: ‘If you do not hear the Dharma expounded by me, how can you hear
that expounded by inanimate objects?’The master asked: ‘From what sutra is quoted the sentence “All inanimate
objects expound the Dharma”?’Yun Yen
said: ‘Have you not read the Amitabha Buddha Sutra which says: “Streams, birds,
trees and groves (in the Western Paradise) all intone Buddha and Dharma”?’Thereupon, the master was awakened (to the
profound meaning) and chanted the following gatha:
‘It is so wonderful, so wonderful.Dharma taught by the inanimate cannot be conceived.To hear it with the ears is naught to understand,Only can it be known when voice is heard by eyes.”’[22]
‘(in spite of the
farewell chat), the master still harboured some doubt about what Yun Yen had
said to him.Later, he happened to cross
a stream and upon seeing his reflection in the water, he was awakened to the
(profound) meaning (of Yun Yen’s words) and chanted the following gatha:
“Shun elsewhere to seek ‘him’Or from him you will stray.As I go on aloneI meet him everywhere.He is what I am nowBut I’m not what he is.Such should one’s comprehension beTo unite with thatness.”’[23]
The Ch’an Tang Dynasty records are replete with numerous
similar examples.From this fact can be
ascertained that Dogen was following a well-established Ch’an tradition by
travelling to China to seek-out other masters close to the source of transmission
– in Dogen’s case (and that of his teacher Myozen), this was the Huang Long
(Linji) tradition of Ch’an.The problem
that Dogen experienced was that he did not feel that any of the Linji masters
he met in China possessed the ability to effectively ‘turn his words’ and
remove his final doubt.Whilst
experiencing this quandary, a pivotal moment presented itself in Dogen’s life
as his Japanese Zen master – the Venerable Myozen – passed away.This event occurred in 1225 when Dogen had
been in China for two years.Myozen
(like his teacher Yosai), had been a strict observer of both the Vinaya
Discipline, and the Bodhisattva Precepts, and it was this emphasis upon correct
behaviour, that Myozen used to teach and convey the Huang Long lineage.Records suggest that Dogen – as the Tenth
Patriarch of Huang Long – also accepted and upheld this practice, and
inherently linked meditation practice to right conduct.Myozen – the Ninth Patriarch of Huang Long –
died in a temple on Mount Tiantong.Although gravely ill at the time of his death, Myozen possessed
extraordinary will-power and exhibited uncommon spiritual attainment.Myozen passed away sat-upright in a perfect
meditation posture – following the well-known tradition established in
antiquity by advanced Indian and Chinese Ch’an masters.In this simple and yet profound act, Myozen
proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was indeed, truly the Ninth
Patriarch of the Huang Long lineage.Buddhist monastics and large numbers of lay-Buddhists flocked to the area
to view Myozen’s body – which was eventually cremated.During the cremation process, witnesses
recorded seeing five different colours radiate from the fire, and when the
ashes were examined, three white pearls were discovered, along with 360
fragments of bone.Due to the
extraordinary nature of these events, a statue was erected in honour of Myozen
on Mount Tiantong.Myozen’s departure
demonstrates the strength of the (Linji) Huang Long tradition, and proves that
he was a worthy inheritor of this tradition.[24]This is indicative of the strength of Chinese
Ch’an lineage that Dogen inherited in Japan as the Tenth Patriarch of Huang
Long, and implies that the Huang Long transmission to Japan was not a
sub-standard transmission.Dogen’s
continuing great doubt was a natural product of the requirement to deepen his
understanding after the achievement of the all-important initial breakthrough,
and not a fault of the Linji Ch’an tradition he had inherited.
Just prior to this time, however, Dogen was on a pilgrimage
of the major Linji sites in Zhejiang province, when he met an old monk who
informed him that the abbot of Tiantong Temple had passed away, and that a new
abbot – named Rujing – had taken over.Dogen was advised to hurry back to Mount Tiantong because Rujing was
highly skilled in teaching of the Ch’an Dharma.[25]Dogen’s brief biography (written in Chinese
script) reads for the year 1225:
The Western year ‘1225’ has been added for clarity by modern
scholars.Dogen at the time used the
traditional dating method of the number of years associated with emperors and
imperial era names.For example, 1225
corresponds to the first year of the reign of the Southern Song Emperor Lizong
(理宗), and the first era of his rule was known a ‘Baoqing’ [宝庆]
(1225-1227).At the same time in Japan,
Emperor Go-Horikawa (後堀河) was on the throne, and his era
name for 1225 was ‘Karoku’ [嘉禄] (1225-1227). The above extract of Dogen’s biography
translates into English as follows:
‘(Year 1225 CE): First
Year of the Bao Qing Era (in China); First Year of the Karoku Era (in
Japan).
In the spring of this
year, whilst in Taizhou (on the east-coast of Zhejiang province), I travelled
to the Xiao Cuiwei Yan area, where I met with the master known as Panshan
Zhou.I then travelled to the Pingtian
area (of Mount Tiantai) to visit the Wan Nian Temple, where I met with the
master known as Yuanzi, who granted me the honour of viewing the book (of Ch’an
transmission).I then visited the Hu
Sheng Temple on Mount Damei – where I stayed the night.That night I had a dream where the Dharma
protector of Mount Damei presented me with a branch of plum blossoms.In the same year, on the 1st day
of the 5th lunar month, at the Tiantong Temple, I first met with Master
Rujing.It was here that Master Rujing
transmitted the Dharma to me - face-to-face.In the summer I travelled to Mount Ayuwang (i.e. Mount Ashoka), where I
visited the Guangli Temple.In that
temple I met a monk who was originally from Sichuan province – who served as
the Guest Master – and we discussed the meaning of the Buddha-dharma.On the 2nd day of the 7th
lunar month, I entered the abbot’s room of Ch’an Master Rujing, where I
respectfully requested instruction in the Dharma.After spending the summer with Master Rujing,
I finally gained enlightenment and thoroughly understood the
Buddha-dharma.My mind and body fell
away.On the 18th day of the
9th lunar month, I received the true transmission of the Dharma as
followed by all the Buddhas of the past, as well as the Bodhisattva
Patriarchs.Later that year, at a place
called Huanxi – I read the Dharma-transmission book of the Fayan lineage of
Ch’an.’
Later, after returning to Japan, Dogen recalled this first
meeting with Master Rujing in greater detail:
‘I first offered
incense and bowed formally to my late master, old Buddha Tiantong, in his
abbot’s room on the first day, fifth month, of the first year of Baoqing of
Great Song.He also saw me for the first
time.Upon this occasion, he transmitted
dharma, finger to finger, face to face, and said to me, “The dharma gate of
face-to-face transmission from buddha to buddha, ancestor to ancestor, is
realised now.’[27]
The passing of Myozen freed Dogen to study earnestly under
Ch’an Master Rujing – who was of the Caodong lineage - and their conversations
are recorded in Dogen’s personal diary of their meetings entitled in the
Japanese language as ‘Hokyo-ji’ (宝庆记– Bao Qing
Ji), or ‘Bao Qing Record’.[28]Master Rujing’s approach to Ch’an training
is encapsulated in the following quote:
‘身心脱落者坐禅也。只管打坐时，离五欲、除五盖也。’
This translates into English as:
‘Body and mind are
discarded when engaged in the practice of seated meditation.During the practice of intense seated
meditation - thoughts do not arise.When
this (beyond-thought) state is achieved, the five desires cease – and the five
obscurations fall away.’[29]
Ch’an Master Tiantong Rujing [天童如净]
[1163-1228] came from Zhejiang province and was the Dharma heir of Zu’an
Zhijian.During his lifetime he stayed
at a number of famous temples in other parts of China before settling on Mount
Tiantong.He was renowned as a good
Caodong Ch’an teacher who could ‘turn words’ with a poetic graceful ease.Although Dogen recorded Master Rujing’s
existence and method, Master Rujing is also included in other Chinese language
texts such as the ‘Five Lamps Meeting at the Source’.[30]An example of Master Rujing’s use of words is
as follows:
‘Ch’an Master Tiantong
Rujing entered the hall.Striking the
ground with his staff he said, “This is the realm of vertical Precipice.”
Striking the floor
again he said, “Deep, profound, remote, and distant.No one can reach it.
He struck again and
said, “But supposing you could reach this place, what would it be like?Aieee!I smile and point to the place where apes call.There is yet another realm where the numerous
traces may be found.”’[31]
Through a combination of correct meditative practice,
coupled with the dynamic and precise probing of his mind by Master Rujing –
Dogen attained enlightenment through the Caodong method.What this means in reality is that the final
great doubt was removed by a slightly different, and yet very similar approach
to Ch’an practice.It is interesting to
note that Master Rujing (although representing the Caodong lineage) made
extensive use of both the gong an (公案) and hua tou (話頭)
methods whilst teaching Ch’an, and although he recognised the importance of
seated meditation practice, he did not limit his approach to it.In other words, within the Southern Song
Dynasty, a dichotomy did not exist between the Linji and Caodong
traditions.Indeed, the complete lack of
any such separation can be seen by the fact that the previous abbot of Tiantong
(Wu-chi Liao-p’ai) was a Linji master who passed on the post of abbot to Master
Rujing – who was of the Caodong line.[32]Master Rujing did not accept the prevalent
view held at the time in China that the Five Houses of Ch’an each utilised a
different method to realise the same enlightenment.For Master Rujing, all methods were merely
expedient devices used to arouse inner potential and break the mind free from
lifetimes of deluded activity.In
pursuit of enlightening all beings, Master Rujing stated:
‘Once when sitting in
his abbot’s quarters, Ch’an Master Tiantong Rujing said, “Gouge out
Bodhidharma’s eyeball and use it like a mud ball to hit people!”Then he yelled, “Look!The ocean has dried up and the ocean floor is
cracked!The billowing waves are striking
the heavens!”’[33]
Following his first meeting with Master Rujing, Dogen was
granted permission to visit the abbot’s room at any time of the day or night,
whilst staying at Tiantong Temple as a resident monk fully committed to its
rigorous and strict monastic regime.This was an unusual honour, as Master Rujing was renowned for refusing
entry to his temple.These two years
allowed Dogen to fully appreciate and penetrate the Sangha practice of Chinese
Ch’an Buddhism as conveyed by Master Rujing, through the perpetuation of his
all-embracing Caodong method.During
intensive meditation training in the summer of 1225, Dogen was sitting
diligently in the meditation hall when he heard Master Rujing shout at another
monk for falling asleep.Master Rujing
stated:
“When you study under
a master, you must drop the body and mind; what is the use of single-minded
intense sitting?”[34]
When Dogen heard – ‘…you must drop the body and mind’ – he
was instantaneously awakened.This
demonstrates that although Dogen was hard at work disciplining his mind through
the act of strict meditation, it was the ability of Master Rujing to ‘turn
words’ that finally broke the last barrier of Dogen’s great doubt.The meditative practice and monastic regime
built-up the inner potential (or qi energy) within Dogen’s mind and body – and
with Master Rujing’s skilful prompting of another disciple – the subtle
illusion of mind and body for Dogen finally fell away.Dogen was presented with the Caodong
transmission documents in 1225 (making him the Thirteenth Patriarch descendent
of Masters Liangjie and Benji – the founders of the Caodong lineage) – and
spent the next two years assessing and refining this experience before
returning to Japan in 1227.One year
after Dogen returned to Japan – Ch’an Master Rujing passed away in 1228.Whilst back in Japan, Dogen successfully
established the Chinese Ch’an lineage of Caodong – known in Japanese as
‘Soto’.The central practice for the
Japanese Zen School of Soto is termed ‘Shikantaza’ (只管打坐– Zhi Guan Da Zuo), which translates as ‘Single-minded
Intense Meditation’, and which was taught and emphasised by Master Rujing (who
is thought to have invented the term) in China.However, despite the fact that Master Rujing continuously stated to
Dogen that his particular branch of the Caodong lineage was unique, and
conveyed the ‘true’ Dharma, it is also correct to state that in fact Master
Rujing’s method was more or less in-line with that of the Tang Dynasty Ch’an
masters (representing any of the Five Houses), and this meant that Master Rujing
– as a competent Ch’an master living in the Southern Song Dynasty – successfully
and correctly conveyed what might be described as ‘mainstream’ Ch’an at a time
when there appeared to be many distortions of this teaching.Indeed, although Master Rujing continuously
discussed the importance of the correct practice and implications of authentic
meditation, his instructions to Dogen were always based primarily upon the
teachings contained within the Northern Song Dynasty text entitled ‘Seated
Meditation Record’ (坐禅仪– Zuo Ch’an
Yi), and did not go beyond it.[35]Although ostensibly dating to 1103, this text
is believed to have existed prior to this time, and consists of practical
instruction for the correct practice of meditation as conceived within the
Chinese Ch’an School.For instance, the
Zuo Ch’an Yi states:
‘Do not give rise to
good and bad thoughts.When a thought
arises – be aware of it – awareness dissolves the thought.When this method is applied over a long
period of time - all thoughts are forgotten and oneness is attained.This is important to master the skill of seated
meditation (Zuo Ch'an).’[36]
Dogen would later base his own meditation regulation – the
‘Zazen-Gi’ – upon the content of the Chinese ‘Zuo Ch’an Yi’. Dogen interprets
the above extract as:
‘Sit solidly in
samadhi and think not-thinking.How do
you think not-thinking?Non-thinking.This is the art of
zazen.’[37]
At no point in the Zuo Ch’an Yi is the practice of ‘Silent
Illumination Ch’an’ (默照禪- Mo Zhao Ch’an) mentioned, and it
is clear that the Caodong Ch’an Master Rujing did not advocate or teach this
method to Dogen whilst he was in China.However, upon returning to Japan, it is also clear that Dogen developed
an interpretation of Japanese Soto Zen Buddhism that assumed an inherent
integration of Master Rujing’s conventional Ch’an practice of ‘Zhi Guan Da Zuo
(i.e. ‘Shikantaza’), with that known as ‘Silent Illumination’.[38]When Japanese Soto Zen Buddhism spread to the
West, (and its concepts were translated into Western languages for the first
time), Dogen’s association was interpreted to mean that the practice of
‘Shikantaza’ was exactly the same as the practice of ‘Silent Illumination’ (Mo
Zhao), and that the two terms were interchangeable – with the further
assumption being that ‘Silent Illumination’ was an older (or ‘original’) term
for ‘Shikantaza’.The following
contemporary Chinese text discusses the differences between ‘Silent
Illumination’ and ‘Shikantaza’, and explains that they are two distinct (but
related) approaches toward meditational development:
‘‘Single-minded
Intense Meditation’ (Shikantaza) is a Ch’an method that is advocated by the
Japanese Soto Zen master known as Dogen.Dogen received Dharma transmission from the 13th century
Chinese Ch’an master known as Rujing.The Chinese Caodong tradition however, has also been associated with the
practice of ‘Silent Illumination’ (Mo Zhao) as well as that of ‘Single-minded
Intense Meditation’, but there are differences between these two methods:
1) Silent Illumination
Ch’an (默照禪 – Mo Zhao Ch’an).Originally this method was advocated by the Ch’an master known as
Hongzhi Zhengjue.The term ‘silent’ (mo)
equates to a ‘non-moving suchness’, which means that the mind remains
unaffected by the outside environment, and exists in the suchness of the present
moment.Whereas the term ‘illumination’
(zhao) refers to a state of (an all-encompassing) pure brightness that
permeates the (inner) and outer environment.The establishment of this state is considered to correlate with the
realisation of enlightenment.Absorption
within suchness is considered the achievement of samadhi, which equates with
enlightened illumination.This generates
a profound wisdom that supports and sustains the practice and realisation of
‘Silent Illumination’.Samadhi and
wisdom support one another, and within the realised state of samadhi wisdom,
all duality is transcended.
Within ‘Silent
Illumination Ch’an’, the term ‘silent’ can be further divided into two levels;
a) Seeing the Way (道 – Dao)
before (attainment).b) Seeing the Way (前 – Dao) after
(attainment).
These two levels of
‘silent’ practice are different and distinct.To ‘See the Way (道 – Dao) before (attainment) silence’, is designed to deal
with the coarse and delusive activity of the unenlightened mind.It is a method that calms the haphazard
surface movements of the mind, and eventually reverses (and annuls) the heavy
effects of delusion.This is required
because the delusion that exists in the minds of all beings is very powerful.This habit of greed, hatred, and delusion
obscures the (true essence) of the mind, and infects ‘mind, body, and
environment’ with ignorance.A mind that
is trained to be ‘silent’, (or ‘still’), is a mind that has put an end to
delusional thinking.This uproots the
negative karma associated with bad habits in the mind, and facilitates the
direct perception of illumination in the mind that thoroughly permeates the
‘(inner) and outer environment’.When
delusionary habits of the mind are uprooted and all ignorance is brought to an
end – this state is called ‘Seeing the Way (前 – Dao) after (attainment)’,
because now there is only a still and shining mind – (within which all things
appear to arise and pass away).The mind
is ‘no longer impure, or infected with dirt, but is clean and unhindered by
delusion’.As this purity extends into
the surrounding environment, ‘all is experienced as free of trouble,
comfortable and serene’.Ch’an Master
Farong says in his ‘Mind Inscription’ text that ‘It is directly perceived here
and now without contrived effort.Non-substantiality manifests, because non-substantiality is reality’,
and ‘When external forms are integrated with the inner mind, they are
extinguished as separate entities.Both
are located in the unborn, which is serene, harmonious, empty and bright.’These statements can be favourably compared
with that of Ch’an Master Yongjia, who said, ‘Have you not seen the man of Dao
at his ease, and in his non-active and beyond learning states, who neither
suppresses thoughts nor seeks the real?’These are descriptions of an expanded consciousness that envelops its
environment.
This is the silent
(mind) that is ‘Seeing the Way (前 – Dao) after (attainment)’, a mind that exists in an
untroubled manner whilst ‘integrated with its environment’.Whilst pursuing the path of ‘Seeing the Way (前 – Dao)’, a
Ch’an student puts an end to ‘all ego-clinging’, by ‘focusing the mind through
Dharmic practice’, which puts an end to deluded behaviour.Through the persistent practice of ‘silent
illumination’ that does not waiver, deluded thought is cut-off at the root and
does not arise.This is a naturally
occurring state that puts an end to all delusion in the mind.However, if deluded thought is not renounced,
and truth is not sincerely sought, the mind remains in a deluded state, and
cannot expand to embrace its environment.In this troubled state, ‘Seeing the Way (前 – Dao) after (attainment)’,
cannot be achieved, due to the continuation of an ‘ego that separates’ the mind
from integrating with its environment.When this separation is transcended, then ‘Seeing the Way (前 – Dao) after
(attainment)’, is achieved and ‘ego is permanently overcome’.
If the ‘realisation of
the essence of prajna emptiness’, is not achieved through ‘Seeing the Way (前 – Dao) after
(attainment) through the practice of silence (i.e. ‘stillness’)’, then the
attainment of ‘meditation samadhi’ becomes one-sided and incomplete.In this situation, the ‘attainment of
enlightenment’ is not possible, and it is easy to fall into the deluded states
of ‘non-seeing’, or ‘abiding in non-effort’, and mistake these erroneous states
for the true attainment of ‘seeing the Way (前 – Dao).Ch’an masters Dahui Zonggao and Hongzhi
Zhengjue both lived in the same era.Dahui criticised ‘Silent Illumination Ch’an’ as a diversion away from
the correct meditation method, and a falling into ‘dead wood heretical
Ch’an’.Ch’an Master Hongzhi, on the
other hand, understood that there is a trap associated with ‘Silent
Illumination Ch’an’, and wrote in his text entitled ‘Silent Illumination
Inscription’ that, ‘Being truly ‘silent’ is a profound teaching, whilst the
concept of ‘illumination’ is universal.To be truly ‘Silent’ is not to be empty of any particular thing, but is
rather a profound state that is beyond language, where the mind dwells in the
extinction of delusion, and experiences an all embracing essential emptiness,
that expands to embrace all things.’He also
said, ‘The principle of ‘Silent Illumination’ is an all-embracing roundedness
that is like a lotus that opens up and dispels all illusion.’Therefore it can be said that ‘Silent
Illumination’ is the cultivation of a profound harmony that is the essence of
the realised nature of the Tathagata.
Regardless of whether
one is in the state of ‘Seeing the Way (道 – Dao) before (attainment)’, or ‘Seeing the Way (前 – Dao) after
(attainment)’, it is all part of the developmental process associated with the
method of ‘Silent Illumination’. The
concepts of ‘silent’ and ‘illumination’ are mutually supportive of one another,
and although individually distinct, no difference can be found between
them.Initially, when being ‘Silent’ is
practiced, the mind is agitated and restless because it has not yet found the
correct path.Then sometimes the mind
settles, disengages from attachments to external phenomena and becomes calm,
but it does not expand, and does not become all-embracing and shine with
wisdom.Ch’an Master Hongzhi, when
discussing the possibility of the mind failing to shine when practicing ‘Silent
Illumination’, said, ‘If the true principle of being ‘Silent’ is not achieved,
then there is nothing but humiliation.’This is nothing but the mind falling into the torrent of delusion.Ch’an Master Hongzhi describes this state as,
‘The functioning of a dead, cold mind that rests in a warped logic.’In such a situation, the mind should be
roused from attachment to this negative state, and whilst keeping away from
involvement with the world, put a stop to all deluded thought, so that the
innate wisdom can shine automatically, and become fully embracing of the
environment.This type of Buddhist
meditation is very similar to the method found within the ‘Complete
Enlightenment Sutra ’, which states, ‘Generating wisdom to breakup ignorance is
not easy, but out of ignorance, enlightenment emerges.This is not a gradual realisation.’The concepts of ‘silent’ and ‘illumination’
are exactly the same as Ch’an Master Yongjia’s statement when he says, ‘Silent
and clear-minded; clear-minded and silent.’Here, ‘silent’ means ‘stillness’, and ‘samadhi’, whilst ‘clear-minded’
refers to ‘correct perception’ and ‘wisdom’.Whether viewed as ‘Silent Illumination’, ‘Illuminated Silence’, or
‘Silent and clear-minded; clear-minded and silent’, this realised state
indicates a perfect integration of ‘concentration and wisdom’ attained through
the correct practice of Dharma meditation.
2) Single-minded
Intense Meditation’ (只管打坐 – Zhi Guan
Da Zuo).Within the Japanese tradition of Soto Zen Buddhism, the practice of
‘Silent Illumination’ is considered an improvement upon ‘Single-minded Intense
Meditation’.This is because
‘‘Single-minded Intense Meditation’ only emphasises the practice of ‘exact
mediation as exact meditation’, which is the awareness of the mind limited only
to the correct perception of various mind-body sense stimuli, be it numbness
and aching, itching, or the surge of joy.No matter what phenomena of mind or body arise and pass away – the mind
remains indifferent, and unconcerned, practicing a quiet form of observational
awareness that does not go beyond that which it is sensing – hence it is called
‘Single-minded Intense Meditation’.Another criticism of ‘Single-minded Intense Meditation’, is that it
limits Dharma meditation to just sitting quietly in the upright posture.In the text entitled ‘Single-minded Seated
Meditation Law Essentials’, it clearly states that the act of meditation can be
practiced anywhere, regardless of whether a person is standing, sitting, or
lying, and should not be limited to just the sitting posture.Therefore, ‘Single-minded Intense
Meditation’ should not be limited to merely the sitting posture – as effective
meditation can be practiced in any posture.With regards to ‘intense meditation’, the purpose is to attain a unified
mind that is pure, bright, and clean, and which abides in the present moment –
here and now.This is achieved by purifying
the six sense roots, and removing sensual desire that obscures the mind.When practicing ‘only sitting’, the
‘immediate environment’ must be peaceful and secure.In this way, ignorance is dispelled with a
flash of enlightenment in the mind, which transcends all discriminatory
categories, and leaves behind all distinctions between ‘ordinary’ and ‘sagely’,
and ‘love’ and ‘hate’, etc.However,
this type of realisation often remains limited to the mind and body, and lacks
the ability to expand and integrate with the outer environment.This is the case even if the mind is calmed
and no delusion arises.Wisdom can be
developed through ‘contemplation’, but this takes time and requires a
particular set of circumstances not available to everyone.This is why ‘Silent Illumination’ meditation
is better suited for ordinary people, as it can be practiced anywhere, in any
position, even if a minority of its practitioners fall into error of ‘dead wood
sitting’.In the
Māhaprajñāparamitopadeśa it says, ‘The Buddhas and Mahasattvas understand that
conduct, and awareness are inter-related.They know that when the body is alive, it is living; they know when the
body is sitting, it is sitting, and they know when the body is lying down, it
is lying down.This is how the conduct
of the body is always known.’This is
how ‘awareness is generated’ so that the individual can live in the present
moment, here and now.This is the
development of mindfulness that is the product of correct awareness.Delusion no longer arises, as the mind and
body remain pollution free – a realised state that is the product of correct
intention.As behaviour and awareness
are inter-related, this is where ‘Single-minded Intense Meditation’ and ‘Silent
Illumination’ can be reconciled – providing those who practice the former are
willing to allow their purified mind-awareness to expand through the senses and
into the environment.Those who practice
‘Silent Illumination’ can benefit from ‘‘Single-minded Intense Meditation’ by
‘focusing’ their mind during practice and making the training more efficient in
the process.’ [39]
It is clear that Master Rujing made extensive use of the
gong an and hua tou methods in his meditation hall as a means to push his
students beyond the ‘calm mind state’ induced through the ‘Single-minded
Intense Meditation’ method – and that his style of teaching Ch’an was reliant
upon this inter-play of a cultivated ‘still mind’ shaken-out of its complacency
by the dramatic and vigorous enlightening action of a qualified teacher.Indeed, this is in accordance with the
teaching of Ch’an Master Xu Yun (1840-1959), who often spoke of three phases to
Ch’an training:
i) Deluded – ordinary mind at the outset of training.ii) Relative enlightenment (an empty-mind that has not yet
expanded into embracing its environment – also referred to as ‘sitting atop a
hundred-foot pole).iii) An all-embracing mind that is not attached to the void,
nor hindered by phenomena. [40]
When viewed in terms of the Caodong method of the Five Ranks
of ‘guest’ and ‘host’, the progression from delusion to full enlightenment can
be interpreted as:
For Dogen – as the Tenth Patriarch of the Huang Long (Linji)
Ch’an tradition – he was probably aware of the views of his Dharma-ancestor Dahui
Zonggao (大慧宗杲) [1089–1163], if not in Japan then certainly in
China.As Dahui was criticising Hongzhi
Zhengjue (宏智正覺) [1091-1157], this could explain where Dogen first
became aware of the ‘Silent Illumination’ method.It is also well-known that Master Rujing
respected and admired Hongzhi Zhengjue – and this association must be
interpreted as another direction from which Dogen could have become aware of
‘Silent Illumination’ – even if Master Rujing did not overtly emphasis this
practice.Through the administration of
the Five Ranks system, however, the Caodong masters had taught what might be
described as an ’original’ form of meditation, from which the methods of
‘Single-minded Intense Meditation’ and ‘Silent Illumination’ eventually emerged
as partial representations.Although
Hongzhi Zhengjue did use the term ‘Silent Illumination’, he was also renowned
for his extensive gong an collection– a
fact that makes a mockery of Dahui’s withering criticisms of a type of ‘Silent
Illumination’ that emphasised ‘silent sitting’, or ‘dead sitting’ – which Dahui
erroneously associated with Hongzhi’s tradition. [42]Furthermore, Dahui was not entirely opposed
in principle to the practice of ‘silent sitting’, particularly for monastic
practitioners, but believed that certain Caodong masters misinterpreted its
meaning and function. [43]In
a sense, Dogen reassembles the full Ch’an method through his integration of
Shikantaza and Silent Illumination, and although Master Rujing does not appear
to overtly emphasis Silent Illumination, it is likely that its implications
were present in his otherwise robust system of prolonged meditation practice
and vigorous gong an and hua tou usage.It is apparent that Master Rujing did not reject gong an or hua tou
practice in his method, and it is a curious fact that Soto Zen in Japan became
associated with an ‘anti-gong an’ attitude as a defining characteristic of its
teaching method.This position is
paradoxical, as it makes Master Rujing – the Chinese forefather of Japanese
Soto Zen – appear to be a rampaging Linji (i.e. ‘Rinzai’) adherent.Perhaps this is not as paradoxical as it
first seems, but simply serves to demonstrate the fact that the Linji and
Caodong lineages share a common heritage, and are more alike in theory and
practice than many realise them to be.
Shikantaza (Zhi Guan Da Zuo) is a
legitimate Chinese Ch’an developmental technique designed to assist the Ch’an
student to ‘return’ the sensory-data received from the environment – via the
six sensory-organs – to its ‘empty’ root, or ‘perceptual origination’ within
the mind.Although Ch’an Master Rujing
is believed to have coined the term ‘Single-minded Intense Meditation’ (只管打坐
- Zhi Guan Da Zuo), he did not invent the method associated with its
practice.The principle of ‘stilling’
the mind through ‘returning’ sensory-stimulus to its ‘empty’ root, is present
in the Surangama Sutra (大佛頂首楞嚴經– Da
Fu Ding Shou Leng Yen Jing) - which was first translated into the Chinese
language in 705 CE, by the Indian master named Paramiti.This sutra advocates the ‘untying’ of the six
sensory ‘knots’ through the method of intense introspection.[44]It also contains the theoretical basis for
the practice of ‘Silent Illumination’ (默照禪- Mo Zhao Ch’an), through its teaching regarding the Ten
Stages of Bodhisattva Attainment (Dasabhumi). [45]The Surangama Sutra demonstrates, in minute
detail, that the mind must be disentangled from the six sense organs, the
sensory data they receive, and the corresponding six sensory objects that
constitute the physical world.When the
mind is ‘stilled’ (the stage of relative enlightenment), attachment to a
one-sided ‘emptiness’ must be ‘uprooted’ if the full function of the mind is to
be recovered and consciousness is realised to be all-embracing.Enlightenment is not a ‘new’ or ‘induced’
state of being imported into the mind through an act of concentrated will – but
is rather the ‘recovery’ of the mind’s pristine state before it was sullied
eons ago by deluded thought.This
assumes that the ‘ordinary’ mind of delusion is functioning inside out, or the
wrong way around.The Ch’an method of
gong an and hua tou usage is designed specifically to ‘turn words’ from their
usual deluded direction of travel (that assumes a priori that the world is
premised upon a duality of subject-object interaction), to that of being in accordance
with a fully functioning mind that is all-embracing of its environment,
essentially empty and yet containing all things, non-attached to emptiness and
not hindered by phenomena (or sensory stimuli).This is the mind that is the ‘right way around’ – a state that all Ch’an
masters have attained, and the position they teach from.It is the expedient position of the unmovable
‘host’ who greets all ‘guests’ with a precise indifference designed to shake
them out of their inverted thinking by showing them their true-mind essence,
and although all Ch’an masters teach an immediate method of enlightenment, this
is understood in the mind of the student in many different ways.Depending upon the perceptual awareness of
the student, the Ch’an master’s method will appear either ‘instantaneous’ or
‘gradual’, when in reality the empty mind ground (空心地 –
Kong Xin Di) – or in Sanskrit ‘Cittabhumi’ is clearly presented ‘here and
now’.As the minds of individuals vary
from person to person, and as karmic conditioning is diverse, the Ch’an masters
must apply their method of ‘disentangling’ in many different ways that are
applicable to the student.At one point
the mind will need to be ‘stilled’, whilst at another time an emphasis is
required for the development of all-embracing reality.This means that Shikantaza and Mo Zhao are
complementary methods, which can only be perceived as incorrect if there exists
a one-sided attachment to either method that excludes the other as a legitimate
practice.Dahui’s warning against
falling into ‘dead’ meditation is applicable for all Ch’an students practicing
any type of Ch’an meditation and cannot be limited to the practice of ‘Silent
Illumination’ alone. |
The Homeland Security Department said Monday that 680 people were arrested in roundups last week -- 161 of them in the Los Angeles area -- targeting immigrants living illegally in the United States.
The figure is far below the totals of similar raids conducted under the Obama administration.
The raids have left immigrant communities worried about stepped-up enforcement efforts and the White House taking credit for arrests. But Homeland Security described the roundups as routine.
DHS Secretary John Kelly said Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeted immigrants who are a threat to public safety, including convicted criminals and gang members. He said 75 percent of those arrested were criminals, some of whom had been convicted of homicide and aggravated sexual assault.
ICE officials said 161 people from 13 countries were arrested in the Los Angeles area, all but 10 of whom were convicted criminals. More than 100 people arrested there were from Mexico. In Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina 190 immigrants were arrested, 127 of whom were convicted criminals.
Kelly said arrests were also made by agents working in New York, Atlanta, Chicago and San Antonio.
Details of who was arrested were not made available, but the arrests and rumors about other raids sparked fear and confusion among immigrants.
Immigration advocates and the White House both suggested the arrests were President Donald Trump's first salvo in what he has promised will be a stepped up campaign to find and deport criminal immigrants and others living in the U.S. illegally.
Trump on Monday bragged that his administration was following through on his campaign pledge and targeting "the bad ones."
"I said at the beginning we are going to get the bad ones, the really bad ones, we are going to get them out," Trump said at a news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
ICE officials and Kelly, however, have said the arrests were part of routine enforcement efforts. Similar roundups under former President Barack Obama yielded far more arrests. In March 2015, ICE said a five-day enforcement effort ended with more than 2,000 arrests.
During the Obama administration, however, ICE agents generally arrested wanted immigration fugitives and convicted criminals. Last week's arrests included immigrants whose only offense was an immigration violation.
CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS in the Los Angeles area
Domestic Violence 42
Cruelty Toward Child 2
Drug Offenses 26
Battery 2
Assault 23
Identity Theft 2
Sex Crimes 17
Counterfeiting 1
DUI 17
Robbery 1
Burglary 6
Property Damage 1
Weapons Violations 5
Prostitution 1
Vehicle Theft 4
Intimidation 1 |
Gerald Moan of Tuscon, Ariz., will head the party until a new chairman is selected at its summer convention, Choate said.
Choate, the 1996 Reform Party vice presidential nominee, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the party is united after months of wrangling, thus his departure will not be unsettling. Former Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, recruited to the party by Choate, is the leading contender for the third-party nomination.
``I think we've got things in good shape,'' Choate said. ``I think we're on a glide path to the convention.''
Choate announced his resignation in a letter to the party's executive council. The letter noted ``an illness in our family that requires the immediate attention of my wife and me.'' He said in an interview the illness was a private matter.
Choate's claim to the job was challenged this year by rivals within the party, but a federal judge upheld his chairmanship. His first order of business was to try to soothe internal strife.
Choate, 59, is no stranger to Washington or party politics. He was party founder Ross Perot's running mate in 1996 when the two got 8 percent of the national vote - enough to secure $15 million in public funding this year for the party's convention and general election.
Four years earlier, though he was not on the ticket, he helped Perot secure 18 percent of the vote, a significant chunk that may well have decided the election in Bill Clinton's favor.
Choate grew up in Red Oak, Texas, picking cotton on his father's farm. After earning a doctorate from the University of Oklahoma in 1969, he moved to Washington to work for the Commerce Department. He now lives on his own farm in Washington, Va., with his wife, Kay.
He has advised his friend Buchanan on foreign policy, and he coached Perot before a 1993 debate with Gore over the North American Free Trade Agreement. Choate argues that open markets have cost millions of American jobs by forcing U.S. workers to compete with cheap overseas labor. |
'''Bostrum Colony''' is a distant settlement in the [[Grid]] situated in the [[Outlands]]. It's the exclusive home to the [[ISO]] faction known as the [[Bostrumites]]. The colony was formed in TC162 following the rise of tensions in [[Tron City]] between [[Basic]] and ISO inhabitants. During the [[Purge]], it was infected by the [[virus]] [[Abraxas]] and permanently destroyed by [[Clu 2|Clu's]] forces.
+
'''Bostrum Colony''' was a distant settlement in the [[Grid]] situated in the [[Outlands]]. It was the exclusive home to the [[ISO]] faction known as the [[Bostrumites]]. The colony was formed in TC162 following the rise of tensions in [[Tron City]] between [[Basic]] and ISO inhabitants. During the [[Purge]], it was infected by the [[virus]] [[Abraxas]] and permanently destroyed by [[Clu 2|Clu's]] forces.
−
A well-known location in the colony is The Kernel. The population of the colony in 1989 was 6,935.
+
A well-known location in the colony was The Kernel. The population of the colony in 1989 was 6,935.
Bostrum Colony was a distant settlement in the Grid situated in the Outlands. It was the exclusive home to the ISO faction known as the Bostrumites. The colony was formed in TC162 following the rise of tensions in Tron City between Basic and ISO inhabitants. During the Purge, it was infected by the virusAbraxas and permanently destroyed by Clu's forces.
A well-known location in the colony was The Kernel. The population of the colony in 1989 was 6,935. |
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to computer systems and, more particularly, to a technique for separating and extracting printed circuit boards within a computer system.
2. Background of the Related Art
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art which may be related to various aspects of the present invention which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Computer systems, such as personal computers and servers, rely on microprocessors, associated chipsets, and memory chips to perform most of their processing functions. Computer systems generally include one or more printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) including a system motherboard whereon microprocessors, memory chips and other useful devices may be mounted. Further, to provide modularity and increased functionality while advantageously occupying previously unused space in the computer system, additional PCBAs may be mounted and electrically coupled to the system motherboard. The additional PCBAs may be referred to as daughterboards, or xe2x80x9ccards.xe2x80x9d Various components, such as memory devices, may be mounted on the cards to increase system performance. Each card may be electrically connected to the computer system and the other cards through electrical connections on the motherboard. Each card may include an edge having conductive fingers and being configured to be received by an edge connector on the motherboard. The plated fingers on the card removably engage the connector on the motherboard which also contains electrical contacts to electrically connect the card to other circuitry in the system and in other cards.
Conventionally, a motherboard may include a plurality of edge connectors arranged in parallel with each other and each configured to receive a card. Thus, when cards are inserted into the edge connectors on the motherboard, the cards may be positioned perpendicular to the motherboard and parallel to one another thereby forming a row of cards vertically mounted on the motherboard. Mounting cards in a computer system using edge connectors mounted on the motherboard allows cards to be inserted and/or removed relatively easily for repair, replacement or upgrades. Prior conventional systems generally required that the computer system be powered down before cards are added to or removed from the system. This practice generally prevents electrical shock to service technicians while replacing cards, as well as provides protection to the electrical components on the cards.
However, with the ever increasing capabilities of today""s computer systems, systems and servers are often implemented to operate with little or no power down time. Systems often provide component redundancy such that components can fail without requiring that the system be powered down or losing system performance capabilities. With component redundancy, at least two components may be provided such that the system can perform the same function even if one of the components fails. In this case, operation is simply redirected to implement the redundant component. Thus, cards mounted on the motherboard may include redundant components such that if one of the cards fails, system performance is not degraded.
To fully utilize the capabilities of providing redundant components, the cards, including the various components in the computer system, may be hot-pluggable. Hot-pluggable cards can be inserted into and removed from the system while the system is xe2x80x9chotxe2x80x9d or operating. Thus, if a card containing redundant components fails, the system will begin utilizing the redundant components on another card. Since it may be undesirable to power down the system, the faulty card can advantageously be removed and replaced while the system is operational. However, the close proximity of the cards means that components on the surfaces of the cards may be damaged during the insertion or removal process if they are scraped against adjacent cards. Still further, while the edge connectors on the motherboard and any other mechanism used to orient or stabilize the cards are configured such that the cards can be removed or inserted relatively easily, they must still provide enough structural integrity to support the cards. Since it may be advantageous to secure the cards within the edge connectors on the motherboard, some amount of force may be required for the user to extract the cards. Manually removing the card by manually gripping the edge of the card and applying an upward force sufficient to decouple the card from the motherboard increases the likelihood of system damage. Likewise, extracting the card using tools may increase the likelihood of damaging the adjacent boards.
Some systems implement a card assembly that may be fitted around a PCBA card to reduce the probability of physical damage to the inserted and surrounding cards. However, such card assemblies generally require that each card be fitted with the assembly, thereby increasing cost and complicating manufacturability.
The present invention may be directed to one or more of the problems set forth above. |
My greatest gift being your presence within my life,
Fate brought us together
Our love was like the wind
Never could be seen, but I felt it throughout our journey
My greatest accomplishment is also my biggest failure
My greatest accomplishment was loving you and allowing you to love me
Giving you the keys to unlock the darkest deepest parts of my past
Allowing myself to believe and know you are not like all the rest of them |
7
What is the cube root of 633149085 to the nearest integer?
859
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12302
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1373
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5687
What is the sixth root of 681369953 to the nearest integer?
30
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15368
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1271
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8575
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20233
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13
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8
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12062
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131
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4634
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8733
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45
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37009
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811
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1573
What is the third root of 360310118 to the nearest integer?
712
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43973
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1588
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37447
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12
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5695
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6
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21
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16150
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25807
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94
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195
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60
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9050
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36167
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11074
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1311
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5490
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31513
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13
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5496
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515
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36
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118
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48901
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21790
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1550
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15721
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1040
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9
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794
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12550
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14
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36737
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6
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26029
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5
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409
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4137
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514
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9
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8352
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53
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12103
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92
What is the ninth root of 217652515 to the nearest integer?
8
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9945
What is the cube root of 1292910246 to the nearest integer?
1089
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1047
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1451
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14
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8579
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1430
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399
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12646
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27
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15
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263
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249
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529
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36763
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6
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2804
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507
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12
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362
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4331
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56039
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7
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6
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54479
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414
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211
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456
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20
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540
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298
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36
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203
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359
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704
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12
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2954
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709
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915
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477
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11
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92
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9
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10
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1256
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6960
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1876
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84
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6023
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528
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12
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16180
What is the fourth root of 256198449 to the nearest integer?
127
What is the cube root of 51088976 to the nearest integer?
371
What is the square root of 17625565 to the nearest integer?
4198
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80359
What is the cube root of 1456354297 to the nearest integer?
1134
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1494
What is the eighth root of 730411870 to the nearest integer?
13
What is 616795158 to the power of 1/2, to the nearest |
Storey County Citizens Come Last…
I have provided public comment at dozens and dozens and dozens of public meetings. School Board Meetings. Town Council Meetings. City Meetings. County Meetings. State Board Meetings.
Every single public meeting allowed Public Comment on anything not on the agenda to come first.
First.
As in before any agenda item.
And Before anything else.
This shows the public that the governing board wants to hear from the citizens and the citizens come first.
It allows the single mom to schedule a babysitter and know she will be back home soon.
It allows the working person to schedule coming in exactly two hours late for work.
It allows the octogenarian to arrange a ride and know they will only be sitting for a few minutes
It allows the public the peace of mind to know it will only a few short minutes before their particular issue will be heard by alert and attentive public servants.
Public Servants, elected or appointed, serve at the pleasure of the citizens.
Public Servants whose job it is to listen to and act in the best interests of those whom they serve.
In some of those meetings, people were limited to three or even two minutes. In some of those meetings the number of speakers was limited to five or even three to keep the meeting on schedule.
At all of those meetings, the public came first. Every. One.
Sadly, in Storey County, the public comes last.
I am told this practice was instituted some years back when the county was under the rule of Commissioners who felt the public appeared at the meetings at their pleasure. If a member of the public offended them, the offender was summarily removed from the meeting. And this happened often. Quite. Often.
I got the last word at yesterday’s Commissioners meeting. By the time I took the podium, four long hours had transpired since the opening pledge of allegiance. My fanny was hard and completely flattened thanks to the spartan accommodations of the courthouse. Everyone’s blood sugar had tanked. Folks were tired; the room couldn’t wait to empty.
But before the exodus could take place, the 6 people remaining in the audience had to wait for me.
It was the second meeting in a row I waited (for like forever) to get the last word.
Not because I was riveted by the engaging (or tranquilizing) quality of the meeting, but because if I wanted to say something, I had to wait to be last.
Dead Last.
It’s time to put the interests of the people of Storey County first.
If you think our Public Servants should serve at the pleasure of you, let them know.
They should be pleased you contacted them; they serve at your pleasure. Remind them of that.
Check Also
2 comments
Sam, Sam, Sam, don’t you remember? Public comment was put at the end of CC meetings so that all the people & entities on the agenda would not have to wait & sit thru all the pesky ants who want to express their opinions & spoil the picnic. Mark Joseph Phillips was the worst, what with constantly going on & on about the county’s NRS violations. I recall it was Commissioner Sjovangen who said this had to be done as the schedules & patience of people on the agenda were more valuable than that of those infernal county resident taxpaying plebes. Since he couldn’t send them to their rooms, or put them on restriction, he put them at the end of the agenda. That’ll learn ’em! Since then, the number of citizens monitoring the CC meetings has shrunk to we few, we happy few, we band of brothers. |
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Q:
Empty file uploaded to ftp server
I am using apache's FTP client to upload file to the ftp server. But the issue is there is no exception thrown from the code but the file uploaded is empty. What could be the reason for this.
I am uploading same file twice but with different name as below.
ftpClient.storeFile(fileDir+"//"+"actualFileName", inputStream));
ftpClient.storeFile(fileDir+"//"+"differentFileName", inputStream));
A:
I assume it's the second file that ends up empty. You should recreate the inputStream for the second update (per DRCB's comment), otherwise it will be empty (it'll have got used up by the first upload).
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Month: April 2016
As long as Autumn could remember, she feared witches, and none captured her imagination more than Grimhilde, the creepy old lady with dark eyes and long nose featured in the classic Disney film, Snow White.
When Autumn was five, she visited Disneyland and rode an attraction, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, where she first encountered Grimhilde.
For weeks after the ride, Autumn refused to enter a bathroom or closet or any dark space alone, fearing a witch might lurk in the corner. Autumn’s anxiety over Grimhilde took such hold over her that her mother, Lauren, needed to remind Autumn regularly it was all make-believe.
“There are no witches in the world,” Lauren said, “just little girls with active imaginations.”
Autumn wasn’t convinced, however, and only with the distraction of friends and fun that came from kindergarten did she manage to put aside her fear, at least for a while.
On a fine summer day after finishing kindergarten, Autumn returned to Disneyland. In the year since her last visit to the “Happiest Place on Earth,” she had grown taller, able to ride the park’s roller coasters.
Autumn rode Space Mountain for the first time, thrilled by its speed, loops and turns. After making rounds on other big kid rides, she decided to return to Snow White’s Scary Adventures, ready to confront Grimhilde.
Arriving at the attraction, Autumn clasped her mother’s hand and waited in line for her turn to board the carriage that would bring her face-to-face with the witch. Finally, she stepped into the carriage and curled up next to her mother; the safety bar clamped down on them firmly.
The carriage lurched forward, and Autumn and her mother approached two large doors that swung open. After passing a pleasant, pink room occupied by the Seven Dwarves, the carriage made its way through a mine shaft, littered with glistening green gems, and finally entered a castle through a dark corridor. |
Kakao is touting its one millionth Black Desert player as it heads to Gamescom later this summer. If you’ll be in Cologne for the event, you’ll be experiencing
“[…] the unreleased Class Awakening system, which enables high level characters to unlock a completely different combat style using incredibly powerful Awakening Weapons. Only just gotten started on your Black Desert Online adventure, or not yet stepped into the world of Valencia? Our developers and community staff will be on site to help you learn the ropes, from mastering the character creation system to taking down fierce enemies. […] Daring players can compete for fantastic prizes in fierce 5 vs 5 PvP matches that will be held on the main stage. Non-competitive players should not worry as there are a wide range of goodies in stock for them as well and they can play the new Black Desert Online content on one of the 82 available high-end PC’s. Furthermore, fans will be pleased to know that there are photo opportunities with top class Black Desert cosplayers.”
The BDO team will be Entertainment Area, Hall 10.1 60A-B beginning August 18th.
Source: Press release |
Careers, Jobs and Education Resources for: Cromwell, MN
Cromwell is a city in Carlton County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 143 at the 2000 census. Minnesota State Highways 73 and 210 are two of the main arterial routes in the community.
(from wikipedia)
6499557 Cromwell, MN Jobs Found
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The coalition says it must slash billions from public spending to tackle the UK's growing budget deficit. George Osborne's comprehensive spending review has revealed where the axe will fall. But should he cut as deep? And is he cutting the right things? Use this tool to conduct your own spending review |
Google Pixel XL Review
Verdict:It isn't going to make having a conversation with your smartphone mainstream, but the Pixel XL is an otherwise compelling entry in the premium handset arena. A lovely display, fantastic camera, and solid battery life all make the Pixel XL an attractive buy. And of course, guaranteed software updates are the icing on an already delicious cake.
Like:
Dislike:
Tight integration between hardware and software
Fantastic camera
Good battery life
Zippy performance
No water-resistance
Expensive
Design is a little bland
Google Assistant feels like a first generation product
Score: 90/100
Outright Cost: From £719
What Is It?
The Pixel XL is the first smartphone "made by Google".
Google has been making software for smartphones for almost a decade now. It's also worked with partners including Samsung, LG, and Huawei on the Nexus product line, a series of reference smartphones designed to showcase the latest version of Android. But the Pixel XL is one of the first two smartphones that Google can call its own, where there's no other name on the box.
Both are technically built by Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC, and while those familiar with HTC's devices will recognise the look and feel, its name is absent from both the phones and the packaging. This marks a key shift from how Google has operated in the past, and effectively means it's competing with the likes of Samsung and LG; manufacturers building phones using Google software.
As with most big smartphone launches, Google is making two devices available: Pixel, and Pixel XL. Pixel is the smaller of the two, with a 5-inch display Pixel XL, as the name suggests, is a bit larger, boasting a 5.5-inch screen.
While the Pixel and Pixel XL are pretty similar in terms of design and hardware, this review focuses solely on the Pixel XL. We're hoping to have a separate review of the smaller Pixel in the near future.
The design of the Pixel XL might not stand out in the way it does on Samsung's latest phones, but hardware is only half the story.
The Pixel XL represents Google taking a big step forward in developing hardware and software side by side. At the moment, this vertically integrated approach to smartphones is almost exclusively Apple's domain. So what does it mean now that Google is giving it a shot with Android?
Well for starters, you'll get software updates straight from Google, so you'll actually be able to update to new versions of Android. While getting new features is obviously fun, the more important side to this is you'll also get security updates.
Google's take on an iPhone has also resulted in a clever camera backed up by smart software tricks, integrated tech support, an unfettered operating system, and a couple of (temporarily) exclusive features.
Notable Features
The Pixel and Pixel XL are the first phones to feature Google's latest take on artificial intelligence - Google Assistant - which is ostensibly a souped up version of the Google Now feature found on other Android phones. While Google Assistant promises to be a friendlier, more conservational digital companion, it still feels like a work in a progress.
The biggest impediment to Google Assistant being genuinely useful is that it still struggles with context. For example, I asked it to show me what movies were playing nearby, and it dutifully brought up session times. I followed up this up with "which ones are good?", which instead returned an irrelevant list of different movies that people are currently talking about online.
The most embarrassing example of Google Assistant's lack of awareness was when I asked it about my favourite colour. It said that it didn't know, and then asked me to tell it. I responded with "blue". It shot back, "Sorry, I don't understand."
I just don't even.
Replying with "blue is my favourite colour" helped Google Assistant "understand" what I was on about, but it almost entirely undermines the point of a conversational AI.
While Assistant is far from a revolutionary experience, it does have some clever features. It genuinely can learn about you. For example, if you ask it to play a song, it will ask you what app you'd like it to do so in. The next time you ask it to play a song, it will remember your preference from last time.
Google says that Assistant's ability to learn about you is one of its key differentiators, and that It will eventually be able to use all of this information for background information when dealing with your other requests.
One small feature I liked was that Google Assistant will send you weather notifications for the day ahead. Around 8pm each night, you'll get an alert with tomorrow's forecast, detailing how the temperature will vary to the current day. It's not exactly a feature that showcases what Google's AI can do, but it’s a small slice of useful information.
As "first generation" as Assistant feels, you can see the potential that's there. It makes a genuine case for talking to the Pixel when you're dealing with simple tasks; I've gotten into the habit of saying "wake me up at 7" rather than setting an alarm. Sure, you could do this with Google Now too, but Google Now also made you open the Clock app to finalise the command, Google Assistant just does it. But when it comes to more complex tasks, you're currently better off doing them yourself; it will save yourself the hassle of arguing with a robot.
While I can't vouch for Assistant's future, Google says it's always learning, so hopefully it will get better at dealing with context and complex situations sooner rather than later.
Google Assistant is built into Pixel Launcher, a new look home screen that offers a small deviation from what you'd get in a vanilla Android phone. Other than having Google Assistant built into the home button (hold it down for a second to bring up assistant), the big difference is the "app drawer" button is gone. Rather than pressing a button to see all the apps you've got installed on the Pixel XL, you swiping up from the app dock. While Android veterans will almost certainly face a bit of a learning curve, swiping up to see your apps feels like a faster, more intuitive gesture.
The Pixel and Pixel XL are also the first two smartphones to support Google's new virtual reality setup, Daydream. The first Daydream headset won't be out until November, but based on an early hands on, it's a nice step-up from Samsung's Gear VR. The headset is made from a lightweight sport shoe-like fabric, which makes it a lot more comfortable than the Gear VR, and there's enough room to actually still wear glasses underneath. Other nifty features include NFC pairing (there's no need to plug anything in) and a Wiimote-like motion controller, which is a much better experience than tapping the side of a headset.
Google is also giving all Pixel owners unlimited cloud storage for photos and videos, in full resolution - even if you're shooting 4K video. Rather than expecting you to manually move these over to the cloud to free up space on your device, the Pixel XL has a feature called smart storage.
If the phone gets close to full, it will automatically delete any photos or videos you've got backed up but haven't viewed for over 90 days. These will then live in the cloud, but they'll still appear in your Photos app alongside everything still stored on your device. If you want to be a bit more ruthless with your automatic culling, you can decrease the threshold to 60 days or 30 days. Alternatively, you can disable the feature entirely.
While Google doesn't have a retail presence for support in the same way that Samsung and Apple do, it's built 24/7 support into the Settings app. A separate pane lets you chat to a technician, share your screen, or make a phone call.
What's Good?
The Pixel XL is the most polished Android experience money can buy, as you might expect given Google designed both the hardware and software. Not only does this result in zippy performance free from any third party bloatware, it also means you'll actually get software and security updates.
While this might not sound like a big deal, it's a big improvement over the current situation where telcos often delay updates due to internal testing.
Software is important, because hardware is becoming less and less of a differentiator when it comes to smartphones. There's still a difference between a £100 Android phone and a £700 Android phone in terms of performance, display quality, and camera, but that gap is rapidly shrinking. Especially when it comes to "day to day" usage.
Think about how laptops have become homogenous - some are thicker, some are thinner, some have a touchscreen, some don't - but they all look very similar, and do a very similar job, regardless of how much they cost. Laptops were once a luxury, but they're now a commodity. The same is happening to the world of smartphones. Smartphones are going to get boring.
But I'm of the opinion that software features are where the potential for greater innovation lies, and will be what keeps pushing smartphones forward - even if hardware stays mostly the same. As such, it's great to see that Android now has a player simultaneously working on hardware and software. Since Google oversees both in this case, the Pixel XL will get new features ahead of other phones, and potentially a couple of exclusives.
One of these exclusives is a new camera feature called Smartburst. If you hold down the shutter button to take a series of photos, the Pixel XL is able to automatically pick out the sharpest photo (and do so accurately). If you're dealing with motion, it makes it easy to just point and shoot without thinking.
The Pixel phones could also serve as a cornerstone for a stronger Google ecosystem. We're already seeing the start of this; Google wants the "same" Google Assistant to live in your phone, and in your house via the Google Home speaker. Whether you're interacting with Google Assistant through your phone or through the speaker, it will have access to the same learnings, creating the illusion of omnipresence.
While software is all well and good, hardware is still an important part of the smartphone equation. Fortunately, the Pixel XL delivers high-end internals in spades.
For one, Google claims the Pixel XL has the world's best smartphone camera, based on tests done by camera benchmarker DxOMark. It's worth noting that DxOMark judges sensor quality, as opposed to real world performance, so it's easy to take this bravado with a grain of salt.
That being said, the Pixel XL has a great camera. I'm not sure if I'd necessarily call it the best smartphone camera, but it comfortably sits alongside the iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7 in terms of quality.
Firstly, the Pixel XL camera is fast to launch and fast to shoot. Notably, you can double tap the phone's power button to start the camera from anywhere, regardless of whether you've got the device locked or not.
I was actually a little shocked by how detailed the photos taken by the Pixel XL are; even when you're looking at 100% crop, you get a remarkably clear and crisp image (at least when shooting during the day). I showed a couple of friends photos I took using the Pixel XL's camera, and they assumed they were shot on a DSLR.
The Pixel XL also does a fantastic job of handling tricky lighting situations. If you're shooting directly at the sun, you'll see the sky and the sun as separate elements. On the other hand, many other smartphone cameras will simply blow out the entire sky.
However, the Pixel XL doesn't have any optical image stabilisation. As such, I found lowlight photos weren't quite as sharp as the comparison shots I took on an iPhone 7 (but they came close). The Pixel XL also seems to lower shutter-speed and crank ISO to compensate for the lack of optical image stabilisation, so dark images can end up being a little noisy and exhibit artifacts.
Out of the box, you'll find photos taken by the Pixel XL make use of a vivid, saturated colour palate. This is similar to what you'd get when shooting on a Galaxy S7. For comparison, iPhone cameras tend to do a better job of preserving a scene's natural colours.
All in all, Google's made a reliable shooter that takes high quality images.
On a related note, the Pixel XL is one of the few flagships without a camera bump on the rear.
While the Pixel XL isn't the most visually interesting smartphone, it feels great from an ergonomic perspective. Despite the 5.5-inch display and phone's sizeable stature, the Pixel XL is easy enough to use one-handed. It's not too heavy, and the curved body makes it simple enough to bang out a message with one hand. That being said, two is still much faster, and saves an awkward stretch over to "Q".
The Pixel XL's rear-facing fingerprint reader isn't quite as convenient as the front-facing option typically found on its competitors, but it's lightning fast nonetheless. It does however mean you have to pick up the phone to unlock it.
Last but not least, Pixel XL nails the smartphone cornerstones of screen quality and battery life. Google's kitted out the Pixel XL with a Quad HD 5.5-inch that's bright, vibrant, and still easy enough to use in direct sunlight.
In terms of battery life, you can expect about a full day of usage with a comfortable buffer. A heavy day of usage - including a bit of gaming - leaves me with around 15% around midnight, whereas if I take it bit easier, I'll have as much as 30% left. While it's nice to dream of a two-day battery life, the Pixel XL is roughly on par with the S7 Edge, balancing power, screen quality, and longevity reasonably well.
What's Not So Good?
2016 is the year water-resistant smartphones went mainstream. Samsung brought the feature back with the S7 and S7 Edge, and Apple finally introduced it to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Given the Pixel XL is priced in line with and pitched squarely against these phones, it's a shame water-resistance didn't make it onto the feature list.
I wouldn't call water-resistance a must, but it's certainly at the top of the "nice to have" list. It's great to have that little bit of extra assurance that a brief aquatic encounter won't render your phone useless. Especially when it costs over £700.
The Pixel XL's lack of water-resistance isn't a deal breaker, it's just an odd omission when the phone's two biggest competitors both offer it.
While the Pixel XL isn't a Nexus phone, it's undeniably the successor to the Nexus program. While Google is still maintaining the core philosophy of an unfettered version of Android with expedient software updates, the bang-for-buck pricing is gone along with the Nexus moniker. If you want a Pixel smartphone, you're looking at a minimum of £599, which incidentally, is what the cheapest iPhone 7 will cost you. If you're after the Pixel XL, it starts at £719.
For comparison, the Nexus 5X started at £339 when it launched last year, and the Nexus 6P at £449. These weren't exactly what I'd call cheap either, but they were definitely more affordable than the other flagships on the market at the time.
While the Pixel XL doesn't share a price-tag with its Nexus predecessors, Google has held firm on one key feature: the lack of expandable storage. You can't just pop in a microSD to give your Pixel a bigger brain. All Pixel devices start at 32GB, which makes the omission of a microSD slot a little more palatable, but the option to boost your phone's internal memory has long been one of Android's defining features.
Instead, Google is hoping you'll be happy to live a cloud-first lifestyle. As aforementioned, all Pixel owners get unlimited full resolution photo and video storage through Google Drive. This is all well and good if you've got constant connectivity and a hefty data plan, but otherwise, you might need to fork out for the even pricier 128GB configuration.
The Pixel XL might be an ergonomic device, but it's hard to get past the fact the design is a little too familiar and a little too conservative. That's not to say the Pixel XL is an unattractive design, it just almost has a "stock photo smartphone" feel to it.
I can understand Google playing it safe to avoid alienating potential customers, but the Pixel XL almost feels a little too safe, especially when Samsung has been anything but conservative this year. It's a shame that neither the Pixel or Pixel XL are available in "Really Blue" in the UK, as even just the use of an unconventional colour would have helped make the phones feel a little fresher. And while Google is at it, it could have used the three other colours from its logo - red, green, and yellow - as alternate Pixel colour schemes. At the very least, the use of non-mainstream smartphone colours would have given the Pixel XL a bit of personality.
Camera Samples
100% crop
100% crop
Who Is It For?
As promising as Google Assistant is, don't buy the Pixel XL if you're expecting a phone you can have a conversation with. Google Assistant is a start, but it's not quite there yet.
Buy the Pixel XL if you’re looking for a premium Android smartphone that isn't made by Samsung.
The screen is lovely, the camera is fantastic, battery life is what you'd expect from an Android flagship, and I've got no complaints about performance. The only thing that's missing is water-resistance. The lack of optical image stabilisation is a shame but it doesn't stop the Pixel XL's camera from being held up with the best, and while a rear-facing fingerprint reader might bug some that's more of a matter of personal preference.
If you're after a cutting-edge device in terms of design, you might still be better off going a phone like the S7 Edge, but if you're looking at dropping over £700 on an Android phone, I'd personally recommend the Pixel.
As someone who has spent far too much of his life working in desktop support, I'd say that guaranteed security and software updates are a genuine reason to consider buying the Pixel or Pixel XL over other premium Android smartphones. While this kind of post-purchase support should be a given, this unfortunately isn't the case when it comes to the fragmented nightmare that Android has become.
I might sound like a cranky old man rambling about security, but given how much personal information we store on our phones (banking, contacts, text messages, work emails, sneaky sexts), it's vital. Security is something I care about, it's something you should care about, and it's something hardware manufacturers should care about.
Google had a good track record when it came to updating Nexus devices, so there's no reason to assume otherwise with the Pixel XL.
The Pixel XL is a great phone, but it almost wins by default. Guaranteed security patches and software updates make the Pixel XL better than the sum of its parts, and that's kind of sad. These shouldn't be a feature or a selling point, these should be a given.
At the very least, maybe the Pixel and Pixel XL will force other Android manufacturers to care about security. Whether you're buying a £100 phone or a £700 phone, post purchase patching and support shouldn't be something you need to ask about.
What Else Can I Buy?
Google Pixel
If a 5.5-inch screen is too big, the 5-inch Pixel might be more up your alley. Other than screen size - and battery as a result - it's identical to the Pixel XL. Inside, you'll find the same processor, the same storage options, and the same great camera. You'll also save yourself a bit of money if you opt for the smaller Pixel, which makes it easier to splurge on the 128GB option!
iPhone 7
If you want hardware and software built in tandem, but don't want Android, the iPhone is kinda your only other option. If you're happy with spending the same amount of money as you would on Google's latest, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are both priced in line with the Pixel and Pixel XL. You still don't get expandable storage, but both new iPhones are water-resistant.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
If you're okay with trading software quality for design, it's worth considering the S7 Edge. Samsung's 5.5-inch flagship is undeniably the most striking phone on the market, even if it is a bit of a fingerprint magnet. While you'll benefit from expandable storage and water-resistance, you'll be relying on Samsung for software updates. As such, you might be waiting for quite some time before you get bumped up to Android Nougat.
Moto Z
The Moto Z is another 5.5-inch Android smartphone, although with a bit more of an interesting design. The Moto Z has two claims to fame: it's just 5.2mm thin at its slimmest point, and you can attach a whole plethora of magnetic "Moto Mods" to the back of the phone, including a battery pack, portable projector, and better camera. While the Moto Z runs a mostly stock version of Android, Motorola is much slower at distributing software and security updates than Google.
Much like the iPhone 7, the Moto Z is missing a standard headphone jack.
Google Pixel XL Plans
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Archives for January 14, 2018
Understanding About Best Hunting Knife With High Quality
If you are a hunter, which means you own a hunting knife. Many hunters carry a hunting knife, but they carry the appropriate knife for the job? In many cases, they not only dull, but ill-suited for the job.
In the world of hunting, it is an ideal knife for a job usually means that it is not for other people. A bigger knife would provide more leverage, while a small knife into tight spots, and allow more accurate cuts.
Hardened … [Read more...] |
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msgstr ""
msgid "ACL DEFAULT will not restrict access to menus"
msgstr ""
msgid "Access Control List"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account admin or currently logged in administrator cannot be banned"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account admin or currently logged in administrator cannot be unbanned"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account already exists"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account has been added and password has been emailed"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account has been added but failed to send email"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account has been banned"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account has been removed"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account has been unbanned"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account name is mandatory"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account registration is not available"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account status"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account with this email already exists"
msgstr ""
msgid "Account with this mobile already exists"
msgstr ""
msgid "Action"
msgstr ""
msgid "Active language"
msgstr ""
msgid "Add account"
msgstr ""
msgid "Add or reduce credit from manage credit menu"
msgstr ""
msgid "Add subuser"
msgstr ""
msgid "Address"
msgstr ""
msgid "Administrator"
msgstr ""
msgid "Administrators"
msgstr ""
msgid "Always choose to send as unicode"
msgstr ""
msgid "Application options"
msgstr ""
msgid "Are you sure you want to ban account"
msgstr ""
msgid "Are you sure you want to ban subuser"
msgstr ""
msgid "Are you sure you want to delete subuser"
msgstr ""
msgid "Are you sure you want to delete subuser ?"
msgstr ""
msgid "Are you sure you want to delete user"
msgstr ""
msgid "Are you sure you want to delete user ?"
msgstr ""
msgid "Are you sure you want to unban account"
msgstr ""
msgid "Are you sure you want to unban subuser"
msgstr ""
msgid "Cannot change status when user have subusers"
msgstr ""
msgid "City"
msgstr ""
msgid "Comma separated"
msgstr ""
msgid "Country"
msgstr ""
msgid "Credit"
msgstr ""
msgid "Currently logged in user is immune to deletion"
msgstr ""
msgid "Default"
msgstr ""
msgid "Default message footer"
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msgid "Default sender ID"
msgstr ""
msgid "Delete"
msgstr ""
msgid "Effective SMS sender ID"
msgstr ""
msgid "Eg: +0700 for Jakarta/Bangkok timezone"
msgstr ""
msgid "Email"
msgstr ""
msgid "Email address is mandatory"
msgstr ""
msgid "Enable credit unicode SMS as normal SMS"
msgstr ""
msgid "Enable webservices"
msgstr ""
msgid "Fail to register an account"
msgstr ""
msgid "Fail to save configuration"
msgstr ""
msgid "Fail to save preferences"
msgstr ""
msgid "Forward message to email"
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msgid "Forward message to inbox"
msgstr ""
msgid "Forward message to mobile"
msgstr ""
msgid "Full name"
msgstr ""
msgid "Invalid sender ID"
msgstr ""
msgid "List of administrators"
msgstr ""
msgid "List of subusers"
msgstr ""
msgid "List of users"
msgstr ""
msgid "Local number length"
msgstr ""
msgid "Login information"
msgstr ""
msgid "Manage account"
msgstr ""
msgid "Manage subuser"
msgstr ""
msgid "Max. 16 numeric or 11 alphanumeric characters"
msgstr ""
msgid "Max. 30 alphanumeric characters"
msgstr ""
msgid "Min length to detect missing country code"
msgstr ""
msgid "Mobile"
msgstr ""
msgid "Name"
msgstr ""
msgid "New account registration"
msgstr ""
msgid "No changes made"
msgstr ""
msgid "None"
msgstr ""
msgid "Parent"
msgstr ""
msgid "Parent account"
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"Parent account is mandatory for subusers only. If no value is given then the "
"subuser will be automatically assigned to user admin"
msgstr ""
msgid "Password"
msgstr ""
msgid "Password does not match"
msgstr ""
msgid "Password should be at least 4 characters"
msgstr ""
msgid "Personal information"
msgstr ""
msgid "Please remove all subusers from this user to delete"
msgstr ""
msgid "Please select"
msgstr ""
msgid "Preferences"
msgstr ""
msgid "Preferences have been saved"
msgstr ""
msgid "Preferences have been saved and password updated"
msgstr ""
msgid "Preferences have been saved and webservices token updated"
msgstr ""
msgid "Prefix or country code"
msgstr ""
msgid "Re-type password"
msgstr ""
msgid "Registered"
msgstr ""
msgid "Renew webservices token"
msgstr ""
msgid "Replace prefix 0 or padding local numbers"
msgstr ""
msgid "SMS footer"
msgstr ""
msgid "Save"
msgstr ""
msgid "State or Province"
msgstr ""
msgid "Subuser"
msgstr ""
msgid "Subusers"
msgstr ""
msgid "Timezone"
msgstr ""
msgid "Unable to ban account"
msgstr ""
msgid "Unable to ban subuser"
msgstr ""
msgid "Unable to delete other users"
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"Unable to delete this user until all subusers under this user have been "
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msgstr ""
msgid "Unable to process subuser addition"
msgstr ""
msgid "Unable to process user addition"
msgstr ""
msgid "Unable to unban account"
msgstr ""
msgid "Unable to unban subuser"
msgstr ""
msgid "Unknown error"
msgstr ""
msgid "Unknown error has occurred"
msgstr ""
msgid "User"
msgstr ""
msgid "User configuration"
msgstr ""
msgid "User configuration has been saved"
msgstr ""
msgid "User configuration has been saved and webservices token updated"
msgstr ""
msgid "User deletion unavailable"
msgstr ""
msgid "User does not exist"
msgstr ""
msgid "User is already on banned subusers list"
msgstr ""
msgid "User is already on banned users list"
msgstr ""
msgid "User is immune to deletion"
msgstr ""
msgid "User is not on banned subusers list"
msgstr ""
msgid "User is not on banned users list"
msgstr ""
msgid "Username"
msgstr ""
#, php-format
msgid "Username must be at least 3 characters and maximum %d characters"
msgstr ""
msgid "Users"
msgstr ""
msgid "Valid characters for username are alphabets, numbers, dot or dash"
msgstr ""
msgid "Webservices IP range"
msgstr ""
msgid "Webservices token"
msgstr ""
msgid "Webservices username"
msgstr ""
msgid "You must fill all mandatory fields"
msgstr ""
msgid "You must fill all required fields"
msgstr ""
msgid "Your email format is invalid"
msgstr ""
msgid "Your mobile format is invalid"
msgstr ""
msgid "Zipcode"
msgstr ""
msgid "email"
msgstr ""
msgid "for subuser only"
msgstr ""
msgid "mobile"
msgstr ""
msgid "no"
msgstr ""
msgid "username"
msgstr ""
msgid "yes"
msgstr ""
|
Sunsetter Products Limited Pa Salary
73
12
94
Sunsetter Products Limited Pa average salary is $200,000, median salary is $200,000 with a salary range from $200,000 to $200,000.
Sunsetter Products Limited Pa salaries are collected from government agencies and companies. Each salary is associated with a real job position. Sunsetter Products Limited Pa salary statistics is not exclusive and is for reference only. They are presented "as is" and updated regularly. |
Kainic acid and seizure-induced Fos in subtypes of cerebrocortical neurons.
Kainic acid injected in vivo into adult rats evokes the expression of the immediate early gene c-fos in the dentate gyrus and associated structures before a seizure occurs and in these and additional regions after a single motor seizure. The aim of this study was to identify cortical cell classes expressing Fos that correlate with these phenomena. Fos expression occurred before a seizure in the middle layers of entorhinal cortex in excitatory neurons and predominantly in calbindin D28-K-containing inhibitory neurons. Given the early Fos-labeling of these cells, we suggest they are associated with the hippocampal EEG events also seen at this stage of the effects of kainic acid. After a motor seizure Fos induction occurred in primary motor, sensory, piriform and entorhinal cortices, mainly in excitatory neurons, but also in a proportion of calcium binding protein-containing neurons proportionate to the degree of activation of the region as determined by Fos. Nearly 100% of neurons were Fos+ in entorhinal cortex, whereas 80% of excitatory and 50% of calcium binding protein-containing neurons were Fos+ in piriform cortex with lower proportions in neocortex. Of the calcium binding protein-containing neocortical neurons, calbindin D28-K cells exhibited the highest proportion of double labeling with Fos. This pattern of neocortical activation by kainic acid, a glutamate agonist, is only slightly different to that seen after seizures caused by blockade of gamma aminobutyric acid receptors suggesting that seizures caused by different mechanisms utilize similar neo-cortical circuitry. |
#
# Test DDL errors under Rolling Schema Upgrade
#
--source include/galera_cluster.inc
--source include/have_innodb.inc
CREATE TABLE t1 (f1 INTEGER) Engine=InnoDB;
INSERT INTO t1 VALUES (1), (1);
--connection node_2
SET SESSION wsrep_OSU_method = "RSU";
--error ER_DUP_ENTRY
ALTER TABLE t1 ADD PRIMARY KEY (f1);
SET SESSION wsrep_OSU_method = "TOI";
# The ALTER has no effect
SELECT COUNT(*) = 0 FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.KEY_COLUMN_USAGE WHERE TABLE_NAME = 't1';
INSERT INTO t1 VALUES (1);
--connection node_1
SELECT COUNT(*) = 0 FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.KEY_COLUMN_USAGE WHERE TABLE_NAME = 't1';
SELECT COUNT(*) = 3 FROM t1;
INSERT INTO t1 VALUES (1);
--connection node_2
SELECT COUNT(3) = 4 FROM t1;
DROP TABLE t1;
|
A camera lens so wide-angle it can 'see behind you' - offering a 220-degreee field of view - has gone on sale in London, priced at £100,000 - minus the camera.
When it was introduced in 1970 at the Photokina exhibition, it was the most extreme fisheye lens of all time - a 10lb glass dome which dwarfs the camera attached.
An exceptionally rare Nikon wide-angle lens has gone on sale in London this week: The 6mm F2.8 ultra-wide lens is priced at £100,000 via Grays of Westminster
THE LENS THAT CAN 'SEE BEHIND ITSELF' - NIKON'S 6mm F/2.8 6mm f/2.8 Fisheye-Nikkor lens
Picture angle: 220º
Diaphragm: Automatic
Aperture scale: f/2.8-f/22
Weight: 5200g
Dimensions: 236mm dia. x 171mm long
160mm extension from lens flange
Front lens cap: Slip-on, delivered in a rugged metal case
'Our vintage camera buyer Toni Kowal spent six months tracking it down from overseas,' says Gray Levett, of Grays of Westminster, which is selling the lens.
'We were fortunate to be able to find this example in such pristine condition.'
Nikon stunned the photographic world at Photokina in 1970 by introducing a 220 º fisheye Nikkor with a speed of f/2.8.
The Nikon 6mm lens prototype was never put into full production, but was made to order for several specialist photographers.
Jeremy Gilbert, Group Marketing Manager at Nikon UK says: ‘The 6mm f2.8 lens is an incredibly rare lens that was initially designed for scientific and meteorological use. It represents the pinnacle in lens design, from a time when lenses had to be designed with a slide rule and individual ray diagrams.
He adds: ‘Having worked at Nikon for 25 years I have only had the pleasure of seeing two 6mm f2.8mm lenses. And yes, the lens does see slightly behind itself 220 degrees - you see your feet in every picture!’
The 10lb fisheye lens was shown off at the Photokina exhibition in 1970, and was made to order from 1972
'The 6mm is for scientific and industrial applications and special effects when shooting portraits, architecture and interiors,' says Levett.
Lens production began in March 1972 and was only made available to special order.'
|
Crystal Castles have revealed they are already writing music for an upcoming new album titled Amnesty (II), which will be the follow-up to last year’s Amnesty (I).
The electronic duo’s Ethan Kath has confirmed to Music Feeds that he and singer Edith Frances have recorded demos for “a few Amnesty (II) songs”. He also says that like its predecessor, all profits from physical versions of the album will go to human rights organisation Amnesty International.
Amnesty (I) was the first Crystal Castles album to feature Edith Frances on vocals, following the departure of former vocalist Alice Glass in 2014. Speaking about the album, Kath says the core theme of the record was ‘freedom’.
“‘Char’ is about loss of freedom. ‘Frail’ is about burkas — some women fight against having to wear a burka, some women fight to wear it. Each and every one of these women should have the ability to do so,” he says.
“‘Concrete’ is adapting to inevitable chaos. ‘Enth’ is about corruption. ‘Fleece’ is rebelling against duality. Every song has its own meaning to us but we like people to find their own version of a song’s meaning.”
Frances is set to tour Australia with Kath (as Crystal Castles) for the very first time later this month, and says she doesn’t quite know what to expect.
“I’m looking forward to meeting a witchetty grub,” she says.
Crystal Castles are yet to announce a release date for Amnesty (II), so stay tuned to Music Feeds for all the latest. |
Pages
Friday, August 5, 2016
OMG...Trump picks John Paulson to be on his economic team. JOHN PAULSON!!!
This takes the cake.
Trump picks John Paulson to be on his economic team. Paulson? Economics???
Paulson's the guy who bet big on gold--and lost--because he thought that Fed monetary policy owuld result in hyperinflation. He's like Peter Schiff.
The only reason anyone even knows about Paulson is because he made a ton of money shorting subprime back in 2007. But that's only because he got Goldman Sachs to create a RIGGED TRADE that was guaranteed to make money.
That was the infamous "Abacus Deal" and Goldman eventually admitted to fraud on that and paid a fine. (Of course, a fine, no jail for anyone.)
Trump's a clown. I only support him because I think that is our only chance of keeping out of a war with Russia, however, I am resigned now to the idea that Hillary will be our next president. I only hope she doesn't start World War 3.
"The 13-member group features several longtime Trump business associates but only one academic economist, Peter Navarro of the University of California at Irvine. He specializes in trade with China, which Trump has made the centerpiece economic policy of his campaign.
The team's best-known names, in conservative policy circles, are Steve Moore, the founder of the Club for Growth advocacy group and a former economic columnist for the Wall Street Journal; David Malpass, who served in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations; and Harold Hamm, a self-made oil billionaire who was a top energy adviser to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.
Inside the campaign, the team is led by policy director Stephen Miller, a former aide to Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, and deputy director Dan Kowolski.
If he wins looks like "the trains will run on time..." ala Mussolini/Manzucato but that is about it (but would still be better than present situation imo....) .... still get NAIRU type macro results at best... probably will eventually blow thru that and cause a lot of "inflation!" type results as economists look at it... a lot of prices will go up and Fed will keep raising, rinse repeat... there is just no evidence that he would do more than this to this point...
best thing he has said so far is "you dont go bankrupt because you just print the money anyway..." which is in the right direction but still not exhibiting a full understanding imo...
New York wins in any case, whether Clinton or Trump, both from New York. Though Trump will probably deliver more bacon than Clinton because he has more ties and more connections to people in the region whom he will appoint. And they will deliver too. |
Introduction {#s001}
============
A[s an organ]{.smallcaps}, the brain relies on glucose. Other potential energy metabolites such as lactate, other monocarboxylic acids, and ketone bodies are taken up into the brain under certain circumstances. Lactate, however, conventionally regarded as a waste product of "anaerobic" metabolism, can also act as an energy source, although its importance is debated.^[@B1]^ At the cellular level, however, there is an interchange of energy metabolites, and lactate is postulated to act in this capacity. The best described metabolic relationship between cells in the brain is the astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle (ANLS) hypothesis.^[@B4],[@B5]^
The human brain can metabolize lactate via the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, as shown by studies in animal^[@B6]^ and human brain (healthy volunteers and those with traumatic brain injury \[TBI\]).^[@B9]^ The study in human patients with TBI utilized microdialysis catheters to perfuse 3-^13^C lactate into the brain.^[@B11]^ Subsequent ^13^C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis of returned microdialysates revealed ^13^C labeling in the TCA cycle derivatives glutamine and glutamate, thereby demonstrating that the human injured brain can metabolize lactate through the TCA cycle.^[@B11]^ The latter study was qualitative and did not quantify the degree of metabolism.
Boumezbeur and associates^[@B9]^ showed, in healthy human volunteers\' brains, using intravenous ^13^C-lactate and *in vivo* ^13^C MRS of brain, that lactate is oxidatively metabolized to ^13^C-labeled glutamate/glutamine, hallmarks of TCA cycle operation. Glenn and colleagues^[@B12]^ performed an indirect study of brain metabolism, using arteriovenous measurements of ^13^CO~2~ as evidence of brain metabolism of ^13^C-lactate (given intravenously), in patients with TBI and healthy volunteers,^[@B12]^ but they did not undertake direct measurements of the brain.
Lactate shows evidence of being neuroprotective in injured brain.^[@B13]^ In particular, Bouzat and coworkers^[@B16]^ showed evidence for beneficial effects resulting from intravenous lactate administration in patients with TBI. There were significant increases in brain microdialysate lactate, pyruvate, and glucose. Reduction in brain microdialysate glutamate and a significant reduction in intracranial pressure (ICP) were also observed.^[@B16]^ The lactate solution administered was hypertonic, and it was not resolved how much of the apparent benefit on ICP was because of this property or because of the actual lactate itself.
Work by Ichai and colleagues^[@B21]^ in patients with TBI, however, showed that hyperosmolar sodium lactate solution (504 mmol/L; 1100 mosm/L) given intravenously was more effective at lowering ICP than a mannitol solution with an equivalent osmotic load (1160 mosm/L). Also, compared with saline (0.9%), a 0.5 mol/L sodium lactate solution was more effective at reducing the occurrence of raised ICP episodes in patients with TBI.^[@B22]^ Research by Quintard and associates^[@B19]^ showed that the beneficial effect of intravenous lactate on brain energetics (increasing brain extracellular glucose concentration) was a characteristic of those TBI patients with a high lactate/pyruvate ratio (\>25) at baseline, rather than patients with baseline "normal" lactate/pyruvate ratio (\<25).^[@B19]^
The human TBI brain\'s ability to oxidatively metabolize lactate versus normal, uninjured human brain has hitherto been unexplored directly. It is also unclear to what degree the TCA cycle in extracranial organs and tissues can metabolize lactate compared with the brain.
The aims of the present study were, therefore, to compare lactate metabolism in TBI with "normal" (non-TBI) control brain and resting muscle, and to quantify the production of glutamine isotopomers from lactate, to compare metabolism of lactate through the TCA cycle in these different tissues.
Methods {#s002}
=======
Patients {#s003}
--------
### Ethics {#s004}
The protocol for this study was approved by the National Research Ethics Service (NRES) Committee East of England--Cambridge Central (REC Reference No. 11/EE/0463). Informed consent was obtained from all participants in the control "normal" brain and muscle groups and assent from the relatives of those patients who had TBI. None of the patients in this study formed part of a previously published cohort. The study was performed in conformation with the spirit and the letter of the Declaration of Helsinki.
### TBI brain microdialysis patients {#s005}
Nine patients with TBI were studied. Patients with TBI were defined as those who had cranial trauma with consistent computed tomography scan findings and required invasive intracranial monitoring as part of their clinical management. Placements of microdialysis catheters in patients with TBI were into white matter not close to focal lesions. Patients were treated per local TBI-management protocols (including the following in all patients: endotracheal intubation, ventilation, sedation, and muscular paralysis) as in a previous study.^[@B23]^
### Control "normal" non-TBI brain microdialysis patients {#s006}
Five patients undergoing a craniotomy for the resection of a benign lesion whereby a microdialysis catheter could be placed safely into radiographically normal brain were selected as control subjects. The microdialysis catheter was placed via the craniotomy at the time of craniotomy under direct vision after resection of the benign lesion and tunneled under the scalp. The catheters were inserted at the edge of the craniotomy and directed away from the operative site into white matter; they came to lie approximately 2--3 cm away from the area of brain from which the benign lesion had been resected. The control patients were awake for the duration of microdialysis perfusion.
### Muscle microdialysis patients {#s007}
Five patients undergoing resections of acoustic neuromas that required thigh fat and fascia harvesting for dural closure were recruited for studying resting muscle. Microdialysis was performed as before, with patients under general anesthesia for the duration of microdialysis perfusion.^[@B23]^
Materials {#s008}
---------
Central nervous system (CNS) perfusion fluid and T1 perfusion fluid, the compositions of which were described previously,^[@B23]^ were obtained from M Dialysis AB (Stockholm, Sweden). Sodium L-lactate (3-^13^C) (isotopic enrichment 99%, chemical purity 99%, microbiological and pyrogen tested MPT grade) 20% w/w in water was obtained from Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Inc. (Tewksbury, MA) and was formulated to a final concentration of 8 mmol/L in CNS perfusion fluid (for brain) or T1 perfusion fluid (for muscle) by the Manufacturing Unit, Department of Pharmacy, Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, who then tested the formulations to verify purity, sterility, freedom from endotoxins. and absence of pyrogenicity.
Microdialysis technique {#s009}
-----------------------
The microdialysis technique and catheters (M Dialysis 71) were the same as before.^[@B23]^ Catheters were placed into the right frontal white matter via a triple lumen cranial access device (Technicam, Newton Abbot, Devon, UK) in locations not close to focal lesions in the patients with TBI. Each patient received one microdialysis catheter, except for one patient with TBI in whom a left frontal catheter was placed via a craniotomy in addition to a right frontal catheter via cranial access device ([Table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). Catheters in the patients with TBI and the "normal" (non-TBI) brain control subjects were perfused with CNS perfusion fluid supplemented with sodium 3-^13^C lactate (8 mmol/L) at 0.3 μL/min. In resting muscle, catheters were perfused with T1 perfusion fluid supplemented with sodium 3-^13^C lactate (8 mmol/L) at 0.3 μL/min. Microdialysate collection vials from the patients with TBI were changed hourly and analyzed at the bedside using an ISCUS analyzer (M Dialysis AB) employing enzymatic colorimetric assays for glucose, lactate, pyruvate, and glutamate. In patients with TBI, brain tissue oxygen tension (PbtO~2~) data were collected using a Licox brain tissue oxygen sensor (GMS, Kiel-Mielkendorf, Germany) placed via the same cranial access device as the microdialysis catheter, and recorded at the bedside using ICM+ software (Cambridge Enterprise Ltd, University of Cambridge, UK).
######
[Traumatic Brain Injury Patient Demography]{.smallcaps}
*TBI patient* *Age* *Sex* *Injury mechanism* *Initial injury severity: GCS at scene/15* *Clinical outcome* *Lactate perfusion period start time (hours from injury)* *Catheter location (right frontal - RF; left craniotomy - LC)* *PbtO~2~ during unsupple-mented period and during 3-^13^C lactate perfusion (mm Hg)*
--------------- ------- ------- -------------------- -------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TBI 1 51 M Fall E1 V2 M5 MDU/GRL 14 RF & LC (2 catheters) --
TBI 2 36 M RTC E1 V1 M2 SDL^§^ 34 & 60 RF 19.5, 29.3
TBI 3 17 M RTC E3 V4 M5 GRL 18 RF --
TBI 4 48 M Fall E4 V4 M5 SDL 26 RF --
TBI 5 45 M Assault -- Vg^[\*](#tf1){ref-type="table-fn"}^ 64 RF --
TBI 6 22 F RTC E1 V2 M2 MDL 53 RF --, 23.9
TBI 7 24 M RTC E1 V1 M5 MDU 83 RF 27.9, 26.0
TBI 8 47 M RTC E1 V2 M5 SDL 37 RF 37.4, 31.4
TBI 9 64 M Fall E3 V4 M6 D 98 RF 20.2, 35.1
M, male; F, female; RTC, road traffic collision; GCS, Glasgow Coma Scale score (E, eye opening; V, verbal response; M, motor response. Maximum total score = 15); PbtO~2~, brain tissue oxygen tension (median values), -- not measured. In patients with RF catheter location, the microdialysis catheter and PbtO~2~ probe were inserted via a triple lumen cranial access device into white matter. The LC (left craniotomy) microdialysis catheter (traumatic brain injury \[TBI\] patient 1) was also in white matter. Clinical outcomes (categorized by Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale criteria): GRL, good recovery (lower); MDU, moderate disability (upper); MDL, moderate disability (lower); SDL, severe disability (lower); Vg, vegetative; D, dead. ^**§**^ Outcome on transfer to rehabilitation hospital. ^\*^Outcome on discharge from NCCU. Other outcomes were from clinic.
NMR analysis {#s010}
------------
Microdialysate sample preparation and NMR analysis were performed as before.^[@B23]^ Brain microdialysate samples were pooled into 24-h periods for each patient. For NMR analysis, 20 μL of deuterium oxide (D~2~O) and 50 μL internal reference standard from a stock solution of 24.0 mmol/L 3-(trimethylsilyl)-1-propanesulfonic acid sodium salt (also termed 2,2-dimethyl-2-silapentane-5-sulfonate sodium salt or 4,4-dimethyl-4-silapentane-1-sulfonate sodium salt; DSS) in CNS perfusion fluid were added to 180 μL of the pooled microdialysate sample. Muscle microdialysate samples were pooled into 8-h periods for each patient, these shorter periods (compared with 24-h pool for each brain patient) being because of clinical constraints. Then 20 μL of D~2~O and 70 μL from a stock solution of 2.84 mmol/L DSS were added to 120 μL of the pooled microdialysate sample. Pooled samples, after addition of D~2~O and DSS, were stored at −80°C. For NMR analysis, samples were transferred into 3 mm NMR tubes (Hilgenberg GmbH, Malsfeld, Germany). All chemical shifts were referenced to DSS = zero ppm (Hz per MHz) in the NMR spectra.
The ^13^C and ^[@B1]^H NMR spectra were acquired as described previously^[@B23]^ on a Bruker Avance III HD 500 MHz spectrometer (Bruker BioSpin GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany) with a dual ^13^C/^[@B1]^H cryoprobe (CP DUL500C/H, Bruker BioSpin GmbH), and TopSpin software (Bruker GmbH). using the pulse programs noesypr1d and zgpg30 for ^[@B1]^H and ^13^C spectra, respectively.^[@B23]^ These are detailed [Supplementary Methods](#SD1){ref-type="supplementary-material"} (see online supplementary material at [ftp.liebertpub.com](ftp.liebertpub.com)). Because of the small sample size of the microdialysates, which necessitated long acquisition times to achieve adequate sensitivity, it was impracticable to run fully relaxed spectra without nuclear Overhauser enhancement. Therefore, we undertook detailed calibration of the signal intensities for each carbon position within the glutamine molecule (see paragraph below on quantification).
Interpretation of the NMR results was based on biosynthetic pathways summarized schematically in [Figure 1](#f1){ref-type="fig"}, which shows the glutamine labeling patterns corresponding to TCA cycle metabolism of lactate. To summarize, 3-^13^C lactate is metabolized via pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) to 4-^13^C glutamine on the first turn of the TCA cycle and to equal amounts of 2-^13^C glutamine and 3-^13^C glutamine on the second turn of the TCA cycle. When 3-^13^C lactate is metabolized via pyruvate carboxylase (PC), 2-^13^C glutamine is produced on the first turn of the TCA cycle.
{ref-type="sec"} section and [Supplementary Table 2](#SD1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. Colored filled circles indicate position of ^13^C atoms within molecules. Red indicates entry via PDH into the TCA cycle, first turn, and purple for second turn; yellow indicates entry via PC, first turn.](fig-1){#f1}
Quantification of glutamine isotopomers was performed with the same methodology used previously.^[@B24]^ Calibration curves were constructed using glutamine standards of varying concentration prepared in CNS perfusion fluid with the same fixed concentration of D~2~O and DSS used for the preparation of brain microdialysate samples and run under identical NMR conditions. The peak areas (measured using TopSpin software) of the glutamine ^13^C NMR signals in the microdialysate samples relative to the DSS internal standard were used with reference to the calibration curves to calculate ^13^C concentration. Notably, the ^13^C NMR signals of each of the glutamine carbon positions (C2, C3, C4) were individually calibrated, thereby taking into account the different strengths of nuclear Overhauser enhancement effect at these individual positions. Peak areas of the ^[@B1]^H NMR spectra fitted using Chenomx software (Chenomx Inc, Edmonton, Canada) were used to calculate ^[@B12]^C concentration.
Fractional enrichment (%) is defined as 100 × \[^13^C\] / (\[^13^C\] + \[^[@B12]^C\]) where square brackets indicate concentrations of the relevant species. \[^13^C\] was determined from the ^13^C NMR spectra and \[^[@B12]^C\] from the ^[@B1]^H spectra. Natural abundance of ^13^C is 1.1% of all carbon atoms, and ^13^C fractional enrichment values for glutamine were expressed after subtracting this naturally occurring ^13^C background from the ^13^C singlet signals.
Statistical analysis {#s011}
--------------------
Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS21 for Mac (IBM SPSS Statistics, NY). Changes of ISCUS microdialysis parameters between baseline and 3-^13^C lactate perfusion periods were assessed for statistical significance with Wilcoxon signed rank test with a preselected *p* value of 0.05 for statistical significance. Student paired *t* test (StatView 5, SAS Institute, Cary, NC) was used additionally for corroboration. Mann-Whitney *U* test (on SPSS21) was used to compare glutamine fractional enrichment between TBI and normal brain microdialysates.
Results {#s012}
=======
Demography {#s013}
----------
Nine patients with severe TBI (eight male, one female) aged 22--64 years (median 45 years) were studied using 3-^13^C lactate (8 mmol/L) perfusion via the microdialysis catheter for 24 h. Eight of the nine patients had simultaneous collection of microdialysates for NMR analysis. One of these patients had 3-^13^C lactate perfusion via bilateral catheters: one catheter placed via a bolt (cranial access device) into right frontal white matter and the other catheter via craniotomy into left frontal white matter. Apart from this one craniotomy catheter, all other catheters were placed into the right frontal white matter via a bolt that was not close to focal lesions. Microdialysis technique was in accord with the 2014 Consensus Statement guidelines,^[@B25]^ so catheters were never placed in lesions, and the first hour of microdialysate collected was never used for clinical monitoring to eliminate any unreliable results from insertion trauma and the pump flush sequence.
One patient underwent two 24-h periods of 3-^13^C lactate perfusion. Thus, a total of 10 samples from eight patients with TBI underwent NMR analysis. Six of the nine patients with TBI also underwent an unsupplemented microdialysis period with plain CNS perfusion fluid (without 3-^13^C lactate). Demographic details of the TBI patients are presented in [Table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}, which includes Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores as a measure of initial severity of the traumatic injury, and details of catheter placement.
As controls for comparison with the TBI brain, microdialysis catheters were inserted in macroscopically normal-appearing brain (frontal white matter), using the same 3-^13^C lactate (8 mmol/L) perfusion at 0.3 μl/min, in five non-TBI patients (two male, three female) aged 42--79 years (median 69 years) undergoing surgery for benign brain tumors. Thigh (quadriceps, resting) muscle was studied similarly in five other patients (two male, three female) aged 59--68 years (median 61 years) undergoing surgery for acoustic neuroma resection. Muscle microdialysis was limited to periods of 8 h during which the patients were anesthetized undergoing acoustic neuroma surgery.
Bedside analysis {#s014}
----------------
Unsupplemented microdialysis perfusion results were compared with the 3-^13^C lactate perfusion period in patients with TBI. Microdialysate measurements (ISCUS analyzer) of glucose, lactate, pyruvate, glutamate, and lactate/pyruvate ratio are shown in [Figure 2](#f2){ref-type="fig"} for six of the nine patients with TBI. The other three patients with TBI who underwent 3-^13^C lactate microdialysis did not undergo a period of unsupplemented perfusion fluid microdialysis. Median values and interquartile ranges (IQRs) are shown for a 24-h period with unsupplemented plain CNS perfusion fluid and for a 24-h period with 3-^13^C lactate perfusion (8 mmol/L).
{ref-type="supplementary-material"} and PbtO~2~ values in [Table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}.](fig-2){#f2}
As shown in [Figure 2](#f2){ref-type="fig"} (A-E), four of six patients demonstrated increases and two of six patients decreases in glucose between an unsupplemented microdialysis period (with plain CNS perfusion fluid) and the 3-^13^C lactate perfusion period with a mean difference of +11.9%. This increase was not significant (*p* = 0.463). As expected, 3-^13^C lactate perfusion resulted in a significant increase in microdialysate lactate (*p* = 0.028); all patients demonstrated increases in lactate between unsupplemented and 3-^13^C lactate perfusion periods with a mean difference of +174%. Pyruvate increased significantly between unsupplemented and 3-^13^C lactate perfusion period with a mean difference of 35.8% (p = 0.028). The lactate/pyruvate ratio was also observed to rise significantly with a mean difference of 101.8% (*p* = 0.028). Glutamate concentrations did not change significantly between unsupplemented and 3-^13^C lactate perfusion periods with a mean difference of 51.1% (*p* = 0.60).
These statistical comparisons were by Wilcoxon signed rank test (a paired nonparametric test). These results were corroborated by paired Student *t* test (a paired parametric test): glucose (nonsignificant, *p* = 0.72), lactate (significant, *p* = 0.0003), pyruvate (significant, *p* = 0.0108), lactate/pyruvate ratio (significant, *p* = 0.0078), and glutamate (nonsignificant, *p* = 0.44).
PbtO~2~ ([Fig. 2F](#f2){ref-type="fig"}) did not change significantly between unsupplemented and 3-^13^C lactate perfusion periods, although complete data were only available for four patients, two of whom showed an increase and two a decline in PbtO~2~ during lactate perfusion compared with unsupplemented perfusion (Wilcoxon signed rank test, *p* = 0.47; paired Student *t* test *p* = 0.45).
Metabolic products derived from 3-^13^C lactate {#s015}
-----------------------------------------------
Illustrative examples of ^13^C NMR spectra of the microdialysates are shown in [Figure 3](#f3){ref-type="fig"}. Resulting from 3-^13^C lactate perfusion, TBI brain, "normal" (non-TBI) control brain, and muscle microdialysates included clearly visible additional peaks, distinct from the lactate peaks. These additional peaks were not visible in microdialysates from patients receiving unsupplemented perfusion fluid (unlabeled patient in [Fig. 3](#f3){ref-type="fig"}), indicating cellular uptake and metabolism of the 3-^13^C lactate. The substrate lactate C3 at 22.8 ppm produced the largest signal as expected.
{#f3}
A clearly visible singlet peak at 29.2 ppm for pyruvate C3, which was not visible in unlabeled TBI microdialysates, was present in TBI brain, "normal" non-TBI control brain, and muscle microdialysates as a result of 3-^13^C lactate perfusion. No other ^13^C pyruvate isotopomers were detected. In our muscle microdialysates, a ^13^C NMR signal at 19.3 ppm corresponding to alanine C3 was observed ([Fig. 3](#f3){ref-type="fig"}), although we did not quantify enrichment. Identity of the alanine C3 was corroborated by ^[@B1]^H--^13^C heteronuclear single quantum correlation.
Labeling of glutamine derived from 3-^13^C lactate was detected in seven of 10 TBI and four of five "normal" (non-TBI) control brain microdialysates, but not in muscle. In the patients with TBI, glutamine labeling was detected in the C4 position (33.7 ppm) in six of 10 samples, in the C2 position (57.1 ppm) in six of 10 samples, and in the C3 position (30.0 ppm) in four of 10 samples. In "normal" non-TBI control brain microdialysates, C4 labeling was detected in four of five, C2 labeling in three of five, and C3 labeling in one patient. See [Figure 4](#f4){ref-type="fig"} for further details.
{ref-type="table"} and [Supplementary Table 2](#SD1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}.](fig-4){#f4}
The greater fractional enrichment of glutamine C4 over C2 enrichment indicates that the entry of ^13^C to the TCA cycle was predominantly via PDH rather than PC. The reason is that when 3-^13^C lactate enters the TCA cycle via PDH, it produces labeling at C4 of glutamine on the first turn (and C2 and C3 glutamine isotopomers only on subsequent turns), whereas if 3-^13^C lactate enters the TCA cycle via PC, it leads to labeling on C2 of glutamine on the first turn of the TCA cycle (see [Fig. 1](#f1){ref-type="fig"}). In only one of the patients (TBI patient 3) was C2 labeling greater than C4, and in this patient, C4 labeling was undetectable above background.
Overall, there were no statistically significant differences between TBI and "normal" non-TBI control brain microdialysates for glutamine fractional enrichment values for C4, C3, or C2 isotopomers ([Fig. 4](#f4){ref-type="fig"}, [5](#f5){ref-type="fig"}, and [Supplementary Table 2](#SD1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}; see online supplementary material at [ftp.liebertpub.com](ftp.liebertpub.com)). C4 glutamine fractional enrichment (median and IQR) was 5.1 (0--11.1) % in TBI and 5.7 (4.6--6.8) % in the non-TBI control brain. C3 enrichment was 0 (0--5.0) % in TBI and 0 (0--0) % in the non-TBI control brain. C2 enrichment was 2.9 (0--5.7) % in TBI and 1.8 (0--3.4) % in the non-TBI control brain. All of the above enrichments in glutamine were in the form of single labeling. Double-labeling was not detected in glutamine, evidenced by the absence of ^13^C NMR doublet signals (for further details, see footnote to [Supplementary Table 2](#SD1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). No glutamine enrichment above that expected from natural abundance ^13^C was detected in muscle microdialysates.
![Microdialysate nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements of ^13^C labeling: glutamine enrichment. (**A**) Total glutamine concentration measured using ^[@B1]^H NMR, in TBI brain, control (non-TBI) brain, and muscle. (**B--D**) Results from microdialysis perfusion with 3-^13^C lactate (8 mmol/L) for 24 h in brain: TBI or control (non-TBI) "normal". Although glutamine was detectable in muscle (measured using ^[@B1]^H NMR), ^13^C fractional enrichment of glutamine above natural abundance was not detectable in resting muscle. Natural abundance of ^13^C was assumed to be 1.1%, and ^13^C fractional enrichment values for glutamine were expressed after subtracting this naturally occurring ^13^C background. For patient identities, see [Fig. 4](#f4){ref-type="fig"} graph and legend. Data points depict individual measurements, and bars indicate medians and interquartile ranges.](fig-5){#f5}
Discussion {#s016}
==========
In this study, 3-^13^C lactate microdialysis of human muscle and brain with subsequent ^13^C NMR analysis of microdialysates demonstrated TCA cycle metabolism of lactate to glutamine in the brain but not muscle, although muscle metabolized lactate to pyruvate. The TCA cycle metabolism of lactate produced similar amounts of glutamine in "normal" (non-TBI) control and injured brain. Inspecting the glutamine labeling pattern revealed that the principal entry of lactate to the TCA cycle was via PDH.
Labeling of glutamine indicates operation of the TCA cycle {#s017}
----------------------------------------------------------
This study adds further evidence in support of lactate acting as an oxidative energy substrate in the human brain. 3-^13^C lactate administered to the brain by the microdialysis catheter resulted in the production of glutamine (labeled at the C4, C3, and C2 positions), which requires lactate to have been metabolized by the TCA cycle.
Detection of labeling in glutamine is a clear indicator of TCA cycle metabolism of the labeled substrate. The reason is that a portion of the TCA cycle intermediate α-ketoglutarate is converted into the spinout product glutamate, which is enzymatically interconvertible with glutamine that dominates extracellularly. The prevailing view of glutamate-glutamine cycling involves trafficking between astrocytes and neurons. Glutamate is produced *de novo* by the transamination of α-ketoglutarate, an intermediate of the TCA cycle. Glutamate released from neurons during synaptic transmission is taken up by astrocytes and converted to glutamine by the action of glutamine synthetase, which is present predominantly in astrocytes. Glutamine is released by astrocytes into the interstitial extracellular fluid, where it is imported by neurons and converted to glutamate by phosphate-activated glutaminase. These processes are known as the glutamate-glutamine cycle.^[@B26]^ Consequently, carbons released from neurons during the synaptic release of glutamate are thus recycled to neurons in the form of glutamine from astrocytes. Also, astrocytes/glia can themselves synthesise glutamate *de novo* via the TCA cycle α-ketoglutarate (see above) and the ensuing glutamate can be converted to glutamine by the same astrocytes/glia.^[@B31],[@B32]^
In summary, glutamine is derived from the TCA cycle either from the transamination of α-ketoglutarate to produce glutamate, followed by the action of glutamine synthetase in astrocytes, or following the capture by astrocytes of leftover glutamate after neurotransmission. Glutamate uptake by astrocytes is essential to terminate its effect as a neurotransmitter and to prevent extracellular glutamate from reaching excitotoxic levels.^[@B5]^ The present study indicates TCA cycle metabolism of 3-^13^C lactate, because ^13^C signals for glutamine (C4, C3, and C2) suggest that the TCA cycle is operating in the regions of interest of the catheters, because glutamine is a product of glutamate that is a spinout of the TCA cycle.
In muscle, uptake and metabolism of 3-^13^C lactate was evident by the generation of 3-^13^C pyruvate and 3-^13^C alanine ([Fig. 3](#f3){ref-type="fig"}). This is consistent with literature reports that muscle can convert lactate to pyruvate (by the action of lactate dehydrogenase), which is then transaminated (by alanine aminotransferase) to form alanine,^[@B33]^ so lactate C3 becomes pyruvate C3, which then becomes alanine C3, and the process is reversible. Further downstream, metabolites of 3-^13^C pyruvate in the form of TCA cycle intermediates were not detected in muscle, in our study. The likelihood is that glutamine does not function as an intercellular metabolite in resting muscle in the same way as it does in brain. The fact that 3-^13^C lactate contributed to an extracellular pool of pyruvate, however, indicates the activity of lactate dehydrogenase in metabolizing lactate to pyruvate. This suggests contribution of lactate to an intracellular pool of pyruvate that could potentially undergo mitochondrial oxidative metabolism.
In resting muscle, however, we found no evidence to demonstrate whether lactate contributes significantly to oxidative metabolism. This may have been at least partly because of the shorter periods that muscle underwent 3-^13^C lactate microdialysis (8 h, because of clinical constraints), compared with brain 3-^13^C lactate microdialysis (24 h) and to the fact that this muscle was resting. In contrast, there is literature evidence that exercising muscle not only produces lactate but also consumes and oxidizes lactate.^[@B34],[@B35]^ Because of clinical limitations, we were unable to compare exercising muscle with resting muscle in our own study.
TCA cycle metabolism of lactate occurs in both TBI and non-TBI control brain {#s018}
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This quantitative study supports a previous ^13^C-labeling microdialysis study that demonstrated qualitatively the metabolism of lactate via the TCA cycle in the injured human brain.^[@B11]^ In the present study, we have quantified labeling (% enrichment) and demonstrated that TCA cycle metabolism of lactate is not limited to the injured brain but also occurs to a similar median degree in the "normal" (non-TBI) control brain. In the present study, no statistically significant differences between TBI and non-TBI control brain were observed for ^13^C enrichment values for any of the glutamine isotopomers. Nevertheless, the upper range values for ^13^C enrichment in glutamine were higher in TBI than non-TBI control brain (see [Fig. 5](#f5){ref-type="fig"}), which concur with the idea that in certain cases, lactate oxidative metabolism via the TCA cycle is an "emergency option" for injured brain. Several literature reports in other studies support this idea.^[@B36],[@B37]^ Our results are also compatible with the ANLS hypothesis,^[@B4],[@B5]^ although, of course, the lactate supply was exogenous in our study, and our technique *per se* does not distinguish the cell-type(s) metabolizing the 3-^13^C lactate.
While lactate is often regarded as a neuronal substrate,^[@B4]^ astrocytes have also been shown to oxidatively metabolize lactate via the TCA cycle,^[@B38]^ albeit to a lower degree than neurons. Competition studies *in vitro,* employing 1-^13^C glucose (with unlabeled lactate) and 3-^13^C lactate (with unlabelled glucose) in neuronal cultures demonstrated that lactate was preferentially consumed by the neurons for their oxidative metabolism.^[@B39]^ *In vivo,* perfused ^13^C-lactate was considered as mainly a neuronal substrate in both animals and humans (see [Introduction](#s001){ref-type="sec"}). These results are supported by the work of Mächler and coworkers,^[@B40]^ using the Laconic probe, showing a lactate gradient from astrocytes to neurons, concentration of lactate being higher in astrocytes (considered as a reservoir) than in neurons.
Oxidative metabolism of lactate via the TCA cycle is only possible in the presence of adequate concentration of molecular oxygen. The reason is that the TCA cycle is coupled to the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC), and the ETC requires molecular oxygen to act as its terminal electron acceptor. The TCA cycle itself does not use molecular oxygen; it utilizes NAD^+^ and FADH as biochemical oxidizing agents that thereby become biochemically reduced to form NADH and FADH~2~. Operation of the ETC is essential to recycle NADH to recreate NAD^+^, and to recycle FADH~2~ to recreate FADH, for the TCA cycle to continue to operate. Without molecular oxygen, the ETC cannot function properly and therefore neither can the TCA cycle.
Of further note is that not all of our patients showed evidence of lactate oxidative metabolism via the TCA cycle, evidenced by no ^13^C fractional enrichment in glutamine detectable above background in four subjects: three of the patients with TBI and one of the "normal" (non-TBI) brain patients ([Fig. 4](#f4){ref-type="fig"} and [Supplementary Table 2](#SD1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). In all cases, we have presented fractional enrichment (%) values *after* subtraction of the natural abundance background of ^13^C that is 1.1% of all carbon atoms.
All the patients studied had detectable glutamine ([Fig. 5A](#f5){ref-type="fig"}, total glutamine concentration), but the apparent lack of ^13^C fractional enrichment in glutamine above background for the four individuals in question may indicate that lactate is not totally universal as a fuel for brain cells. TBI patients four and six had baseline lactate/pyruvate ratios \>25 suggesting possible mitochondrial dysfunction in these patients. TBI patient four, however, had no available PbtO~2~ data. In TBI patient six, PbtO~2~ was adequate (23.9 mm Hg) during 3-^13^C lactate perfusion, supporting the theory that mitochondrial dysfunction was the reason for this patient\'s lack of ^13^C enrichment in glutamine.
Within the limitations of the small number of patients, there were no other obvious distinguishing clinical features for these nonresponders versus those who showed ^13^C enrichment in glutamine. Interestingly, TBI patient seven, a nonresponder, had a baseline lactate/pyruvate ratio median of 22.89 (IQR 22.48--23.76) and PbtO~2~ well above 20 mm Hg both at baseline and during 3-^13^C lactate perfusion. Whether mitochondrial dysfunction can occur despite the lactate/pyruvate ratio being somewhat below the conventional threshold of 25 is an unanswered question.
A limitation of our study is that because its invasive nature, there are no truly normal controls for cerebral microdialysis in humans. In the present study, and in previous studies,^[@B23],[@B24]^ we have been able to perform microdialysis in radiologically normal brain areas in non-TBI patients with benign tumors. In this context, this is the closest to a normal control that can be achieved in human studies. Patient considerations and practical matters, however, make such sampling rare. Thus, it was not possible to achieve age- and sex-matching between non-TBI brain controls and TBI subjects. Also, in the present study, for the non-TBI brain controls, there was not enough time to perform an unsupplemented microdialysis period, because there was only sufficient time for microdialysis perfusion with 3-^13^C lactate. Last, while we cannot entirely rule out the possibility that surgery itself may constitute some degree of trauma, we believe this is minor compared with the TBI cohort, given the good clinical state of the postoperative non-TBI patients in comparison with the comatose TBI cohort in neurointensive care.
The issue of lesion progression is outside the scope of this study, because it would have required dedicated imaging (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging) before and after lactate delivery by microdialysis. Our microdialysis catheters were not close to focal TBI lesions (see [Methods](#s002){ref-type="sec"} and [Results](#s012){ref-type="sec"} sections). The rise in lactate/pyruvate ratio (seen with 3-^13^C lactate perfusion, compared with an unsupplemented perfusion period) was considered unlikely to be linked to lesion progression, or vice versa, because the ^13^C labeling showed that oxidative metabolism, evidenced by labeling in the TCA cycle spinout product glutamine, was statistically not significantly different in TBI brain and non-TBI control brain.
Effect of lactate on microdialysate markers and PbtO~2~ {#s019}
-------------------------------------------------------
Administration of lactate to the extracellular space resulted in significant increases in microdialysate pyruvate concentrations measured on the ISCUS analyzer, which measures total levels regardless of labeling. ISCUS measurements also showed, albeit without statistical significance, an increase in glucose, consistent with the idea of a glucose-sparing effect of lactate as a brain fuel.^[@B18]^
The increase in pyruvate concentrations is as expected through the action of lactate dehydrogenase. An alternative explanation for the increase in pyruvate is that lactate causes increased delivery of glucose to the cells with a subsequent increase in glycolytic pyruvate. Lactate is vasoactive and has been demonstrated both experimentally and in the human brain to increase cerebral blood flow (CBF), mostly likely mediated via prostaglandins.^[@B41]^ Hence, microdialysis perfusion with lactate might result in the increased local delivery of glucose because of regional increases in CBF. This might also be expected to increase PbtO~2~, which we observed in two of four of the patients for whom we had complete PbtO~2~ data. We believe, however, that the increase in pyruvate concentrations is more likely to be a direct effect through lactate dehydrogenase rather than a more circuitous mechanism through vascular reactivity. This hypothesis (effect through lactate dehydrogenase) is supported by the results of Quintard and colleagues.^[@B19]^
PDH versus pyruvate carboxylation {#s020}
---------------------------------
The ^13^C labeling of glutamine C4 indicates metabolism of 3-^13^C lactate, by way of 3-^13^C pyruvate entry to the TCA cycle through PDH (via 2-^13^C acetyl CoA) and synthesis of α-ketoglutarate during the first turn that spins out to result in glutamine ([Fig. 1](#f1){ref-type="fig"}). PDH is part of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC), the rate-limiting step for pyruvate entry into the TCA cycle.^[@B44]^ All components of the PDC are expressed in both neurons and astrocytes in culture, but PDC activity is limited in astrocytes through phosphorylation of the PDH alpha subunit (PDHα).^[@B44]^ In contrast, neuronal PDC operates at near-maximal levels with much lower levels of phosphorylated PDHα.^[@B44]^ Dephosphorylation of astrocytic PDHα increases PDC activity.^[@B44]^ Metabolism of astrocytes and neurons thus appears flexible.^[@B44]^
In the present study, glutamine C4 exhibited the strongest ^13^C enrichment of the glutamine isotopomers, indicating that overall PDH was the predominant route for 3-^13^C lactate metabolism in the brain, both TBI and "normal" (non-TBI) control ([Fig. 4](#f4){ref-type="fig"}). Smaller ^13^C fractional enrichments were seen in glutamine C2 and C3, consistent with the effect of the second TCA cycle turn after PDH entry that produces a 1:1 mixture of 2-^13^C glutamine and 3-^13^C glutamine, and the first turn of the TCA cycle after PC entry that produces 2-^13^C glutamine ([Fig. 4](#f4){ref-type="fig"}). Accordingly, ^13^C fractional enrichment in glutamine C2 ≥ C3 in those control brain cases showed enrichment in either or both of these positions. Unexpectedly, two of the TBI cases showed ^13^C fractional enrichment at glutamine C3 \> C2 (see below for possible explanation). Overall in TBI, fractional enrichments at glutamine C2 and C3 were not statistically different from each other (Wilcoxon signed rank test *p* = 0.6, Student paired *t* test *p* = 0.5). Also, as expected, glutamine C4 fractional enrichment in patients with TBI was significantly higher than at glutamine C3 (Wilcoxon signed rank test *p* = 0.0464; Student paired *t* test p = 0.0484).
PC is a key enzyme for anaplerosis (topping up) of the TCA cycle.^[@B45]^ PC is a mitochondrial enzyme regarded as glial rather than neuronal.^[@B45]^ Because our microdialysis catheters were inserted into white matter, they are likely to have encountered predominantly glia. While lactate is regarded as a predominantly neuronal substrate, glia can also oxidatively metabolize lactate to a lesser degree.^[@B46],[@B47]^
Another potential anaplerotic route for 3-^13^C pyruvate into the TCA cycle is via malic enzyme,^[@B45]^ found in both neurons and glia. This would result, on first turn spinout, in a mixture of 2-^13^C glutamine and 3-^13^C glutamine, the same pattern that would form on the second turn if 3-^13^C pyruvate had entered the TCA cycle via PDH. Malic enzyme can work reversibly.^[@B45]^ Previously, after administration of 2,3-^13^C~2~ succinate by cerebral microdialysis in patients with TBI, we found spinout of 2,3-^13^C~2~ lactate from the TCA cycle, consistent with the action of malic enzyme.^[@B24]^ Whether malic enzyme constitutes a significant anaplerotic (input) route into the TCA cycle in the TBI or control brain remains a possibility.
Malic enzyme can also be involved in "scrambling" of ^13^C label between pyruvate C3 and C2.^[@B48]^ 3-^13^C pyruvate can enter the TCA cycle via PDH and PC giving the established labeling patterns in Fig 1. The 2-^13^C pyruvate entry to the TCA cycle via PDH, however, would give 5-^13^C glutamine (first turn) and loss of ^13^C label (second turn). Moreover, 2-^13^C pyruvate entry to the TCA cycle via PC would result in 3-^13^C glutamine (and not 2-^13^C glutamine). Thus, label scrambling may contribute to the two TBI cases with ^13^C fractional enrichment in glutamine C3 \> C2.
Differences between microdialysis delivery of ^13^C-lactate and intravenous perfusion {#s021}
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The delivery and sampling method is a key difference between this study, by microdialysis, which detected labeling in glutamine, and earlier intravenous ^13^C-lactate perfusion studies (see [Introduction](#s001){ref-type="sec"}), which found labeling in glutamate. Moreover, intravenous ^13^C-lactate perfusion studies assessed metabolite labeling patterns in brain tissue, dominated by intracellular species, whereas microdialysis samples extracellular molecules. While glutamate is abundant intracellularly in brain tissue (ca. 5--15 mmol/kg), its concentration is typically low (ca. 1--20 μmol/L) in the extracellular compartment of the brain, in which glutamine dominates (ca. 500 μmol/L).^[@B49],[@B50]^
Glutamate is synthesized from the TCA cycle intermediate alpha-ketoglutarate. Glutamate and glutamine are enzymatically interconvertible; the mechanism involves glutamate-glutamine cycling (trafficking) between neurons and astrocytes.^[@B11],[@B49]^ Thus, detection of the ^13^C label in glutamate and/or glutamine are hallmarks of TCA cycle operation. In the present study, the finding of glutamine labeling patterns indicative of both PDH and PC operation is consistent with the microdialysis location and consistent with the fact that both delivery of ^13^C-lactate and the collection of products were respectively to and from the extracellular compartment of white matter.
Conclusion {#s022}
==========
We have shown that 3-^13^C lactate administered by microdialysis is metabolized via the TCA cycle in both traumatically injured brain and "normal" (non-TBI) control brain in human patients. Lactate is initially metabolized to pyruvate, before entering the TCA cycle mainly via PDH. Lactate administration leads to elevated microdialysate concentrations of pyruvate. In muscle, evidence of TCA cycle metabolism of lactate is lacking, although lactate is metabolized to pyruvate. Based on the data in this study, the hypothesis is accepted that the human brain, both traumatically injured and non-TBI control, can oxidatively metabolize lactate. We found no evidence, however, that resting muscle can oxidatively metabolize lactate. There was insufficient evidence to differentiate statistically between the TBI and non-TBI control brain for lactate metabolism via the TCA cycle. Nevertheless, the upper range values for ^13^C enrichment in glutamine were higher in the TBI brain than non-TBI control brain, which concur with the idea that in certain TBI cases, lactate oxidative metabolism via the TCA cycle can be an "emergency option" for the injured brain.
Supplementary Material
======================
###### Supplemental data
Acknowledgments {#s023}
===============
The authors thank Mr. John Harwood (Manufacturing Unit, Department of Pharmacy, Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust) for supervising the formulation of the substrate (sodium 3-^13^C lactate in CNS perfusion fluid). We thank Dr. Tamara Tajsic (Division of Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge) for assistance with demography (clinical outcomes). The author(s) gratefully acknowledge receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Medical Research Council (Grant Nos. G0600986 ID79068 and G1002277 ID98489) and National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge (Neuroscience Theme; Brain Injury and Repair Theme). Authors\' support: IJ -- Medical Research Council (Grant no. G1002277 ID 98489) and National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge; KLHC -- National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge (Neuroscience Theme; Brain Injury and Repair Theme); CG -- the Canadian Institute of Health Research; AH -- Medical Research Council/Royal College of Surgeons of England Clinical Research Training Fellowship (Grant no. G0802251) and Raymond and Beverly Sackler Fellowship; Royal College of Surgeons of England and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre; DKM and JDP -- National Institute for Health Research Senior Investigator Awards; MPM - Medical Research Council UK (MC_U105663142) and a Wellcome Trust Investigator award (110159/Z/15/Z). PJH -- National Institute for Health Research Professorship, Academy of Medical Sciences/Health Foundation Senior Surgical Scientist Fellowship and the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge.
Author Disclosure Statement {#s024}
===========================
JDP and PJH are Directors of Technicam, the company that manufactures the triple lumen cranial access device used in this study. For the remaining authors, no competing financial interests exist.
[^1]: Peter J. Hutchinson and Keri L.H. Carpenter are joint senior authors.
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Integrating biological treatment mechanisms into randomized clinical trials: Design of PROGrESS (PROlonGed ExpoSure and Sertraline Trial).
Increased emphasis on mechanisms of treatment effectiveness, biomarker predictors, and objective indicators of treatment response has sparked interest in integrated, translational treatment outcomes trials. The PROlonGed ExpoSure and Sertraline Trial (PROGrESS) is one such randomized controlled trial (RCT) focused on a key question in clinical management of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - the comparative and combined effectiveness of medication and psychotherapy. PROGrESS employs a state of the art trial design to examine psychotherapy and medication effects across three conditions: 1) Prolonged Exposure (PE) plus pill placebo, 2) Sertraline (SERT) plus Enhanced Medication Management (EMM), and 3) Combined treatment (PE/SERT). Innovative measures will capture potential biomarker predictors and indicators of treatment response within and across these three treatment conditions in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) service members and veterans with PTSD. Assessments include clinician-rated measures, self-report outcome measures, saliva for salivary cortisol and cortisol response to awakening at six assessment points, blood at baseline and week 24 for genetic and genomic analysis, as well as resting state connectivity and emotion processing and regulation using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) paradigms in a subsample of veterans. Accordingly, the current study is designed to provide pragmatic clinical direction for the delivery of PTSD treatment through its primary outcomes in an effectiveness design, and will also provide informative results to elucidate underlying mechanisms and biomarkers involved in PTSD treatment response. |
"Sono molto imbarazzato e commosso per questi festeggiamenti. Se continuo a parlare mi metto a piangere. Sono un compositore come tanti altri, qualcosa mi è andata bene e qualcosa meno bene. Ho fatto di tutto per fare bene, qualche volta il regista non era contento. Raramente, per fortuna, non lo erano. Ce ne sono stati solo due, un americano e un italiano", ha detto Morricone durante i festeggiamenti anticipati del suo compleanno organizzati dall'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Per rendergli omaggio, anche il presidente della Repubblica Sergio Mattarella ha assistito al concerto.
"Questo mio lavoro in genere è nascosto. Il lavoro del compositore esiste solo se qualcuno suona le sue musiche e le ascolta", ha proseguito Ennio. Aver firmato le musiche per circa 500 film gli ha dato fama e gloria, eppure dalle parole del grande autore traspare il rammarico per non veder apprezzate allo stesso modo le composizioni scritte al di fuori del cinema: "Spero che vengano eseguite un po' di più anche se quando uno muore in genere accade il contrario. Molti compositori mi hanno perdonato il 'peccato', ma io all'inizio mi vergognavo di scrivere per il cinema. L'ho tenuto nascosto a lungo".
Il maestro, che nel 2019 sarà di nuovo in tour, dove trova l'energia? "Mi piace tanto scrivere. E' l'unica cosa che so fare. Per i miei cento anni non so che cosa farò. Spero che il pubblico continui ad amarmi. Ogni film ha un giudizio diverso, il prossimo potrebbe essere una catastrofe per me come compositore. E quindi il pubblico potrebbe dire: ma chi è questo? L'esame si fa ogni volta". Il maestro dimostra di vivere serenamente questo traguardo speciale: "Non ho rimpianti. E' andata bene". |
Q:
What does this long yellow sign mean in Indonesia?
When moving around Indonesia, I have noticed that some houses have this sign sometimes:
What does it mean? Is it just a decoration or does it have some meaning?
A:
It is put up in front of the bride's house before the wedding.
UPDATE: As I was asked for reference... I am currently staying in Indonesia and showed the picture to my local friends. They told me about the meaning. I also asked whether it's just common here in Java (because in indonesia every region has it's own traditions), and they replied it is common in all of indonesia.
A:
The best I can figure this there is a party of some sort going on at the house that arrow is pointing to. The Janur Kuning is traditional ornaments, not to be confused with the Movie under the same name, that appear to designate the house where a celebration or a ceremony takes place.
The particular image that you posted is also visible on Wikipedia's French Page for Party. Most commonly I found this type of symbol to be referring to or used in conjunction with a wedding.
A:
This is like a sign that there a marriage ceremonial is held in that area. This sign is called "Janur Kuning" and mostly placed in main gate or alleyway which link with main access (road etc.)
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Highlights
Latest News
Cultural and social gender norms often restrict adolescent girls' access to basic information and knowledge, and prescribe an unequal and passive role in sexual decision making. This undermines their autonomy and exposes many of them to sexual coercion and abusive relationships. Adolsecent girls in the Region are disempowered and in a vulnerable situation. The empowerment of adolescents is crucial to the countries meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
Likewise, traditional expectations related to masculinity are often associated with behaviors that increase the risk of HIV infection among men and adolescent boys (a high number of sexual partners, use of drugs or alcohol, and refusal to seek medical care for sexually transmitted infections). |
This page explains how to run Redmine in a subdirectory of your site, for instance http://www.mysite.com/redmine/ ; in such a case, you can feel lost because the classic Redmine install does not work directly, and the links to css or javascript files seem to be broken. In this page, we assume you want to run Redmine under "/redmine/" subdirectory of your site.
Rails will then prefix all links with "/redmine". It can be considered as the simplest, cleanest and most flexible solution. Then restart your application. In more recent versions of Rails the class hierarchy has changed slightly and you will need to use
If you run Redmine under Mongrel server, you can alternatively use the "--prefix" option of Mongrel :
mongrel_rails start --prefix=/redmine
Mongrel_rails service "--prefix" directive does NOT work with Rails 2.3.xTo fix this issue create a file config/initializers/patch_for_mongrel.rb [name of file can be anything]:
# Fix for mongrel which still doesn't know about Rails 2.2's changes,
# We provide a backwards compatible wrapper around the new
# ActionController::base.relative_url_root,
# so it can still be called off of the actually non-existing
# AbstractRequest class.
module ActionController
class AbstractRequest < ActionController::Request
def self.relative_url_root=(path)
ActionController::Base.relative_url_root=(path)
end
def self.relative_url_root
ActionController::Base.relative_url_root
end
end
end
#
# Thanks to http://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/190287
You may not run Mongrel on port 80 : if you have an Apache server on the same host, and you run Mongrel on port 8000, you can use the following Apache config to redirect (with Apache's mod_proxy enabled) :
If you have an Apache webserver in front of it (with mod_proxy enabled), or an Apache reverse proxy on another machine, you can run Redmine on a specific port and use this kind of config so it appears to be running in a subdirectory :
If you run a very old version of Redmine (don't know exactly which ones), maybe your version of Rails' ActionController does not support the "relative_url_root" mentionned above. Then you can look at this page to reproduce the same behaviour, but it is NOT a very good idea in most cases, you should consider upgrading Redmine. |
Hillary Duff And Her BF Matthew Koma Are Expecting Their First Child Together!
Hillary Duff is expecting her second baby with her boyfriend, Matthew Koma. The 30-year-old actress took to Instagram earlier today and shared a photo of herself along with her music producing partner, Matthew.
In Duff’s photo, she’s sporting a maxi dress, showing off her burgeoning baby bump to her massive 9.3 million followers. However, she hasn’t always been so confident about showing it off.
During the fifth season premiere of Younger in New York City four days ago, Duff was less ostentatious, as she wore a loose black dress.
Nevertheless, this will be her second child. She currently has her son, Luca, 6, with her ex-husband, Mike Comrie, who she married back in 2010. Unfortunately, they divorced in 2016.
Duff and Koma first started dating back in January 2017, just two years after they collaborated for the very first time on a couple of tracks from her album, Breathe In. Breathe Out.
And they took to the red carpet for the first time together at a pre-SAG Awards party in Los Angeles on the 28th of January. While things have been great for the couple lately, they’ve hit a couple of roadblocks.
Duff and Koma broke up in March 2017 but started dating again a few months later, but it isn’t exactly clear as to why they chose to take time apart in the first place. One source explained, “some of us think they just needed some time apart to figure out if it was possible to make it work.”
During an interview on The Talk in December 2017, Hillary said that if a person really loves someone, they can make it work, even if it didn’t work out the first time.
Advertisement
“As long as there’s not too much damage done,” the singer/actress explained. The news of Hillary having another child comes after her sister, Haylie Duff, gave birth to her daughter named Lulu. |
Beer Me an L.A. Winter Classic
I just got back from my New York vacation. It was hotter than hell out there. I came back to LA and it was nice and cool. I haven’t even seen the sun in the last two days.
So, to me, there is only one logical explanation:
We have switched weather with the East Coast.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, because I’m thinking it, too. “What’s going to happen to this year’s Winter Classic if it’s hotter than balls out on the East Coast?”
Got you covered.
I’m going to go put on my snowboarding gear while you read my list of Kings Winter Classic scenarios that I would love to see happen. Hopefully the NHL will approve one of these by the time Sidney Crosby plays in his 15th outdoor game.
1. Kings vs ANAHEIM in Southern California
I think this is the most logical choice. The Ducks are the Kings’ biggest rivals and would complete the image and marketing of a truly Southern California Winter Classic. It is also a long shot that the NHL would visit our region more than once, so it could work to knock out both teams at the same time.
Venue: Plenty to choose from. The Coliseum (Los Angeles) is the first place that comes to mind. This is home to USC Football, the X-Games, and concerts. It is definitely big enough for the crowd size we’re talking about. Other places include Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles), Angel Stadium (Anaheim), or my personal favorite, Pro Beach Hockey style:
Straight outa 1998.. From the mean streets of Huntington Beach
2. Kings vs COLORADO in Vegas or Denver
The Avs are another big Western Conference rival with a lot of alternative history that NBC can overplay on January 1st. From the Rob Blake/Adam Deadmarsh deal, to them bouncing us from the playoffs in Game 7, to Frozen Fury, to Ryan Smyth, the Avs and Kings have a little bit of tension that could count them as a legitimate rival worthy enough of the Classic.
Venue: VEGAS. If you have read any of my other posts, you already knew I was gonna go there. Well, I did.. and why not Vegas? It’s cold(ish) in the winter, it’s capable of an outdoor game (Kings-Rangers. Caesar’s Parking Lot. 1991.), the NHL loves the city as a special event destination (Not-so-terrible award show). There are plenty of places in Vegas to pull this off, but I would love to see another game go down at Caesar’s. I honestly can’t imagine a cooler city to make this happen: New Year’s Eve in Vegas. Spend the morning at the game. Fill in the blanks with gambling and drinking. Works for me.
I am aware that it does snow occasionally in Colorado. This could be a fun place for a Winter Classic, indeed. Invesco Field would provide a perfect scene for the outdoor game. Vegas would be awesome, but I think Colorado makes more sense. Sigh.
3. Kings vs EDMONTON in EDM or LA.
LA’s longest standing rivalry that most people can still identify with. Can’t you imagine a ceremonial puck drop by Gretzky and Dionne in throwback uni’s? Have the teams skate in their 80’s colors? Sounds pretty freakin’ awesome to me.
I think what would be cool about this would be the number of old-timers that could be rounded up for pre-game festivities. Both teams skated with some unbelievable rosters in the 80’s and 90’s. I think an old-timers game is definitely in order and, to me, would be more exciting than the game itself. I just hope Gretzky changes teams halfway through the game.
Venue: I think it’s pretty safe to say that Edmonton would get this one, since they held the ’03 Heritage Classic, LA still might have hope. If this is the case, I would love to see it at the Coliseum.
4. Kings vs VANCOUVER in VAN or LA.
The Kings most current rival (don’t remind me). This one may still be a little fresh, but could develop into a beautiful hatred in a matter of years. If Willie Mitchell is successful at all, the hatred could become expedited. I also am going to venture a prediction that the two teams will meet several times in the playoffs in the next few years (as both have solid, young rosters), so there is a real possibility of this becoming a real rivalry.
Venue: Issue- Vancouver is a bit short on the outdoor venues. They have BC Place, which used to hold more than 32,000 but is now down to 27,500. That’s going to be too small, I would imagine. There is no fun playing this thing in a dome, so I’m going to default to Los Angeles on this one. Or Mystery, Alaska.
5. Kings vs PHOENIX in PHO or LA.
Originally, I was going to put the Sharks, but then I realized there was no real substance there. I was going to put the Rangers because the Kings played them in the 1991 outdoor game in Vegas, but that’s going to be a stretch. Then I looked at the Desert Dogs and it actually made a little sense.
Having an outdoor game in Phoenix is just as unconventional as having one in Los Angeles. Phoenix’s team is for-real and I have a feeling the NHL is going to want to promote that as much as possible. Though the teams don’t have a storied playoff past, they both have been red-headed step children of the Pacific for the last decade. Now, both teams are turning heads in the West, and it may be fun to have them battle it out.
Venue: The University of Phoenix Stadium (home of the Cardinals) has a retractable roof, so that might be nice. Chase Field (D’Backs) could work as well. If not, LA could fit the bill.
I think it’s going to be a while before Los Angeles gets to participate in a Winter Classic, but that goes without saying. The team just hasn’t been successful enough in recent history for national viewers to really care. I do, however, expect this all to change within the next 5 years. Guys like Doughty, Kopitar, Brown, and Quick are only going to strengthen the case that Los Angeles is a real NHL city capable of playing with the big boys.
And since it is L.A., we could even get Roland Emmerich involved and really Hollywood it up. He seems fond of putting snow where it doesn’t belong..
Comments
Interesting scenario’s. I don’t see it happening unless the Kings play Montreal or Toronto, and have enough hype for some of our players. They would want to market it with an Eastern Conferance team. We have some good players, but there just not as well known on the east coast. If we ever win the cup I’ll bet they’ll be lining up to kiss our arse. If we ever get the chance I’ll be there with beers in both hands, till then all we can do is dream. |
Q:
What happens to 'object' after local scope?
I am eager to know what happens to a object in .NET when it falls out of scope. Something like this:
class A
{
ClassB myObjectB = new ClassB();
}
//what happens to object at this point here?
What happens in the memory? Does GC get called when it falls out of scope and loose it reference in the heap?
A:
What happens in the memory? Does GC get called when it falls out of scope and loose it reference in the heap?
No - the GC doesn't get called at this point.
What happens is that the object is left in memory, but is now "unrooted" - basically, there are no references to that object from any other object. As such, the object is now eligible for garbage collection.
At some point in the future, the GC will run. When this happens, the unrooted object will now be eligible for garbage collection. Depending on which generation holds the object, it may or may not be cleaned at that point. Eventually, if the program continues executing and if memory pressure causes the appropriate generation to be collected, the memory for that object will be reclaimed.
There is no definite point in time when this will happen (unless you explicitly call GC.Collect, which is a bad idea). However, with managed code, you don't really need to worry about when this will happen. Just assume that it will happen when and if appropriate for your specific application.
A:
Following from pst's comment, a better example might be this:
void M()
{
ClassB myObjectB = new ClassB();
}
//what happens to object at this point here?
In this example, myObjectB is a local variable rather than a field. So, what happens when the local variable goes out of scope? Nothing! Scope has nothing to do with object lifetime in C#.
What really happens is that the JIT compiler decides to release the object at some point. That can be before the end of the variable's scope, if the variable is not going to be used in the rest of the method. Once the object is no longer referenced, as other answers have also mentioned, it becomes eligible for collection by the GC. It is not actually collected until the GC runs (actually, until the GC collects the generation in which the object is living).
As pst implied, a field is a poor example because it will always be reachable whenever its containing object is reachable, so the separation between scope and object lifetime is even greater:
class A
{
private object o = //whatever
}
void B()
{
var a = new A();
// here, the field o is not in scope, but the object it refers to is reachable and cannot be collected.
GC.KeepAlive(a);
}
|
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Hello there! I am ready to buy, as Christmas present for myself, a pair of studio monitors for using them as speakers with my Roland RD700NX.I have read enough reviews on the web and in various fora, and I have decided to go for the KRK. The question is whether one should go for the 6 or 8 inches model.I am aware of the different response with regards to the lower frequencies. Is there any other aspect I should consider before taking the final decision? The cost and size difference are not really significant between the two models.What is your personal experience with these monitors?
I owned the RP8's and they were ok. I originally got them because I wanted something that would go all the way down and be self sufficient. I later decided that they were not cutting it for the bottom couple of octaves of the piano, so I ended up getting the 10S sub and was much happier after that. Given that I bought the sub anyway, I wished I had purchased the RP6's. They are less of a jack of all trades. Because they don't have as large a cone they are better in the mid range.
In short, if I was to buy monitors today, I'd pick up a pair of RP6's and the 10S.
Thank you gvfarns. I have been thinking of 10s as an additional speaker but that would significantly increase the total budget.You believe that the RP8 are not enough for providing the low end response one expects from a stage piano, right?
It's been a few years, but that is what I concluded at the time. That is, it sounded ok with the speakers by themselves until you get basically into the lowest octave or two on the piano. I felt like when I got the sub it was a significant improvement. There was only one problem: one of the notes low down was at the resonant frequency of my room and when I had the sub on that note almost blew my head off even when the volume was way down.
Subs are big, heavy, awkward, and expensive. They sure do add quality and definition to that bottom octave, though.
By the way, this came up before and there were some people who disagreed with my opinion, so don't take it as gospel.
Dang. That's really tempting. I talked with me wife and she's not in favor (we have space issues) so I probably won't buy them at the moment, but I really want to. I feel like I should get someone else to buy them so I can live vicariously through them. |
[What is renin inhibition? Mechanism of action].
After discovery of the first direct renin inhibitor, aliskiren, which blocks the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in the first rate limiting step, in addition to angiotensin-converting enzymes (ACE) and angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARB), renin has become an important target nowadays. The scope of this review is to give a detailed information regarding renin which has an important regulatory function in the body. It is crucial to understand renin and related structures in order to understand its functions in the organ systems. It is for sure that the ongoing trials will enlighten us more regarding the beneficial effects of renin inhibition in terms of morbidity and mortality. |
Soldier of Fortune (John Paul Young song)
"Soldier of Fortune" is an electronic pop song by Australian pop singer John Paul Young, written by John Capek and Marc Jordan, and released in 1983. The song peaked at number 17 on the Australian Kent Music Report and stayed in the chart for 19 weeks.
The song gained further prominence when it was picked as the theme song for the 1984 Disabled Olympics held in New York, and it also went on to be a hit in Germany.
Track listing
Soldier of Fortune (John Capek, Marc Jordan) – 4:34
The Sirens (John Paul Young, Jordan) – 4:06
Soldier of Fortune (J. Capek, M. Jordan) (Extended) – 5:09
Personnel
Rick Lewis – cover
SNB – mastering
Tony Beuttel – engineer, mixing, producer (track: 2)
Mike Stavrou – engineer
John Capek – producer (tracks: 1)
John Paul Young – producer (track: 2)
Warren Morgan – producer (track: 2)
References
Category:1983 songs
Category:1983 singles
Category:John Paul Young songs
Category:Songs written by John Capek
Category:Songs written by Marc Jordan |
Monday, April 28, 2008
The mighty paddlers of the Belize Bank team managed to win the Ambergris Caye Lagoon-Reef Eco-Challenge for the second time in a row. The two-day kayak challenge around Ambergris Caye took place this past weekend (Saturday & Sunday).
A large crowd gathered at Central Park, where a beach party and grilling competition took place on Sunday, to cheer on their favorite team.
It was another successful year with over 20 teams taking on the challenge. A complete review of the rave and a picture gallery will be available online at www.ambergristoday.com this Thursday with the paper hits the streets and our website is update. Stay tuned! |
Email; [email protected]
Finally!! APC Reveals What They Were Able To Gain When SARAKI Was In Their Party… This Is Shocking
The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, has criticised the Senate President’s defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party. The minister said that the ruling party has gained nothing from the office of the Senate President.
“APC gained nothing from his office as the Senate President under the ruling party and will lose nothing through his defection”, said the minister
His comment comes after the Senate President disclosed that his reason for leaving the party was due to lack of peace, dialogue and cooperation with the party.
The Senate President said that the APC has done everything to ensure that the basic rules of party administration, which should promote harmonious relations within the party were disregarded.
The information minister, however, rejected Saraki’s criticism of the party and the Federal Government rather blamed him (Saraki) for the delays in budget and appointments.
“This present administration would have done better under a Senate president under an opposition but instead has suffered more, through delays in budgets and appointments masterminded by the Senate President”, the minister noted.
He promised to ensure that the ruling party remains stronger with genuine members on board as he alleged that the entire leadership of the PDP in Kwara have moved over to the APC.
He further described all other defections as a storm in a ‘teacup’ and insisted that the President has no hand in the Benue saga. |
[In-situ IR study of adsorption and decomposition of methanol on gamma-Al2O3, CeO2 and their supported Pd catalysts].
The adsorption and decomposition of methanol on gamma-Al2O3 and CeO2 supports, and Pd/Al2O3 and Pd/CeO2 catalysts were studied by in-situ FTIR technique. The possible pathway of methanol decomposition on Pd/Al2O3 and Pd/CeO2 catalysts was analyzed according to the interaction of Pd and the supports. Methanol was dehydrogenated into DME or decomposed towards CO and H2 over different active phase on Pd/Al2O2 catalyst. A synergistic effect between Pd and CeO2 on the activity of Pd/CeO2 catalyst for methanol decomposition was proved. |
Archive
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Greek
Perhaps it’s the cynic in me that brings immediately to mind the question “why” and the scientist that asks “how.” But the etymologist is much more fascinated by the flatulent origins of the word. Yes, you heard right – flatulent or “related to farts.”
The word was borrowed from the French perdriz, which is found in Anglo-Norman with varieties such as perdix, pardis , pardriz , partriz , and partreiz. This in turn can be traced back to the Latin perdix and even further to the Greek perthiks (πέρδικ), which is thought to refer more specifically to the Rock partridge (Alectoris graeca) that’s found in Greece and southern Europe in general.
The Oxford English Dictionary then goes on to suggest that perthiks is actually derived from the Greek perthesthai (πέρδεσθαι), which means “to break wind.” Apparently the connotation here is “perhaps after the noise made by the bird as it flies away.” At this point, I should say that I have no experience whatsoever of the noise a partridge might make when it takes flight but if only for the sake of a good story I’m willing to believe the folks at the OED, who, for all I know, may have sent out hundreds of field agents to listen to farting partridges to check the veracity of the claim.
And why “in a pear tree” as opposed to any other? Do partridges like pears in particular? And where do you find pears on trees at Christmas? Well, one reasonably plausible (at the phonetic level) explanation that was recently alluded to by the good folks at Mental Floss magazine is that the original line was “A partridge, une perdrix” where the English and French words were used. Those of you familiar with French can hear that the pronunciation of “in a pear tree” and “une perdrix” are stunningly similar. Given that non-French speakers – and singers – are likely to “hear” an English phrase (“a pear tree”) than a French one, “a partridge in a pear tree” sounds pretty good.
So next time you are tempted to be witty and sing the line, “and a fartdridge in a pear tree,” you can bask in the knowledge that you’re actually correct!
Notes
[1] This mishearing of words, especially from a foreign language, gives rise to what are called mondegreens, coined in 1954 by poet Sylvia Wright who wrote that for many year she had thought the line “They hae slain the Earl o’ Moray, And laid him on the Green” as “They hae slain the Earl o’ Moray and Lady Mondegreen.” Several websites are available that list some classics; here are just two to start you off: Mondegreens and Misheard Lyrics. |
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Greetings. I've been working on this hack(Which is also my first, to tell the truth) for the last few weeks, and I believe that it is finally far in development to create a thread on it(Albeit I'll wait until the 5th gym to release a beta). Anyway, it's best for this image to introduce Pokémon Sandstone.
The Story:
As said above, I've been trying to make Sandstone seem much alike any main series Pokémon game. You obtain a starter from Professor Yew(Same vein as Oak, Elm, Birch, and the rest.), the local archeologist, who then asks you to deliver a Baltoy Figurine to his friend in Mason City. In the city, an old man notices your prowess and informs you about the local Pokémon league, the Spiral Head. Upon hearing the news, you've decided to accept the challenge and put your skills to the test.
The Differences:
Aside from the obvious fact that this is a whole new region, with a whole new evil team (Who are much more ambitious and fanatical than Team Rocket, to put it mildly.) I decided to add a few touches in. Firstly, you'll notice that both trainers' and wild Pokémon will have their levels grown in a faster rate than the average Pokémon game, combining this with Weisswald(The region)'s size means that there will be noticeable level jumps between each gym battle. Another big difference is that aside from all Gen.I-III mons being obtainable, I've added 25 Gen IV mons, all of them are either evolutions of prior-gen mons (Such as Froslass or Electivire) or legendary Pokémon that somehow fit in the storyline.
The Difficulty:
As said before, I'm planning this hack with a higher difficulty in mind. Aside from boosting the level curve, other methods were used to make the game more of a dynamic challenge and less of a boring cakewalk. You'll find more trainers on the road, who will often have Pokemon whose levels match yours. You will also find the uncommon trainer who will have one single Pokémon, but there's a catch: that Pokemon will often be much higher leveled than the average of the map (Such as how there is a Hiker with a Steelix before the first gym.) Other methods of improving difficulty are giving important trainers(Gym leaders, E4, rivals, High Priests) a full party. Gym leaders will also have a prepared team waiting for any savvy player (Such as how the Electric-Type gym leader will not only open up the match with a Lanturn, but his main Pokémon will be also have an Ice-move to counter any Ground-Type mons you may use against him.)
The Evil Organization:
Once again, as mentioned above, the organization that's been plaguing Weisswald is a shady group called Team Celes. Members of this team wear odd raincoat-like robes, they also seem to be keen of calling anyone who opposes them "heretics" and "blasphemers." This team is lead by a mysterious leader, who grunts often mentioned by calling him "Him." Below the leader, there are the three High Priests, who are the Celes version of Team Admins. Team Celes' objective is unclear, as they do not seem to be keen on stealing Pokémon nor spreading their message.
The Region:
Weisswald, named for the seemingly white forests in the middle of White Island, is a region composed of Valley Island and White Island, the two main islands in the center, Permafrost Island, the one small island to the north, and Fruitsalad Archipelago, the group of islands to the west. Even though the main character(Blanc/Bianca) starts in Valley Island, there are frequent small boats that ferry travelers between Weisswald's main islands.
The Features:
I do plan to add a "Hunt Quest." Think of FFXII's Marks. There will a building somewhere in the world (Hidden due to spoilers, but it'll be easy to find it in-game.) that contains the office of a group called "Rare Hunters"(No relation to the one in that anime, the name's purely coincidence.) In that building, there will be posters giving out rewards for trainers who catch/faint certain special Pokémon. These Pokémon will be of a much higher level than the ones found wild. Plus, I'm also adding "Hiker Harold's Hints." These hints are on signs that you can find in routes&caves. They will usually give a brief summary of the map's geography and Pokémon.
The Mons:
As said before, all 386 mons are available, along with 25 Gen IV mons. At first, I though about adding in a few of my own fakemon in the mix, yet the idea has been abandoned as even though I try to make my fakemon as Nintendo-style as possible, it just won't feel like a Pokémon game at all.
The Screenshots:
The F.A.Q.:
Q: When can I play it?
A: The first beta release will be after I finish the 5th gym. I'll update my progress frequently.
Q: What are the starters?
A: Gen I's. Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur.
Q: Are there any sort of references/shout-outs in this game?
A: Sparingly. I've also edited the text of trainers. Honestly, I've seen a female swimmer talk about her weight in over 3 hacks, all with the same text. This sort of gets annoying after a while, so I replaced their text with either humorous content or useful information, and some random stuff, of course.
Q: There are shading errors in the second screenie.
A: I'm aware of that. That was one of the first maps I made, so it's to be expected. I did improve my mapping by a lot, so I'll be revisiting several of those old maps.
Q: How far are you in mapping?
A: Up to the 5th gym. I decided to do most of the mapping in advance.
Q: The High Priests' clothing are...
A: Yes, I know. Just now that I've realized the unfortunate implications they hold. I was basing them off the Spanish Capirote, but I seemed to have overlooked a slight detail.
Q: I've seen the custom sprites, will there be custom music/tiles/etc?
A: Unsure. Right now my priority is actually finishing the game, so maybe in the future.
Q: Will there be any changes to the battle system?
A: So far, I only plan to power up the HM Moves, so HM slaves shouldn't even be part of the player's concerns.
Q: Where will I be able to find the HMs? Custom methods of evolving?
A: An often-asked question. I will put in a guide here after the first version will be released.
The Team:
So far, I'm the only one working in this project. But I've been using AdvanceMap(Credits to Lu-Ho), XSE (Credits to HackMew), FSF, and many other tools. I'd also like to credit diegoisawsome for his scripting tutorial. More will be done later.
The Progress:
Right now I'm at the second gym. So far a large part of OWs have been done. All sprites except the E4, one of the High Priest, and the Celes leader has been done.
This looks very interesting. Why aren't you adding more of the newer pokemon from 4th & 5th generations though? I just feel they'd be nice in a hack like this. Maybe Yamask or Cohagrigus for Team Celes? They look like they'd use them as their pokemon.
This looks very interesting. Why aren't you adding more of the newer pokemon from 4th & 5th generations though? I just feel they'd be nice in a hack like this. Maybe Yamask or Cohagrigus for Team Celes? They look like they'd use them as their pokemon.
To put in simple words, because even if I put some of the newer mons they would technically be incomplete without their abilities and the physica/special split. Take a look at Gallade for example. Even though it gains a lot of ATK once it evolves from Kirlia, it's special attack is severely drawfed by Gardevoir's. This would be remedied by Psycho Cut, but the problem here is the lack of Physical/Special split. Another great example of a problem caused by the lack Physical/Special split is Darmanitan. He has an extremely high ATK stat(140), but he lacks a lot in the Sp.ATK department(30). This is remedied by the split as he learns Physical moves, but in GenIII, all fire moves are Special, which means that he will do crap damage for all the attacks with STAB. Another problem is space (Only about 411 Pokemon spaces in total.) I know both problems can be solved with a little bit of hacking, but I am quite inexperienced, to put it mildly.
And about Team Celes, they use a mixture of Psychic, Poison, Fighting, Dark, and Ghost-Types. If I can actually extend the amount of Pokemon to be over 411, then I can possibly add a few GenIV and GenV mons (Right now, I know an excellent place to put the Bronzor and Klink lines.)
@Ludicolo Dude:
-When it comes to mapping, I usually try making several different biomes. Take my Weisswald region for example. Even though White Island is one whole island, it's northwestern portion is a desert, its western portion is a valley with a stream running in the middle, and so on. I've actually become quite good in mapping. Another question, have you used the weather effects yet? Rain makes a great environment for regions that would be swampy/damp, sunlight adds an interesting effect on areas that should have tropical climates, such as beaches or small islands. Sandstorm makes deserts seem more like... deserts, hail and snow adds a lot of effect on northern regions, and I often use the mist/fog on haunted areas, to add a more spooky atmosphere(Which is further intensified by Lavender Town's music). If you just mean mapping in general, then try adding detail to the slightest things you do. Sparsely add rocks and flowers to open fields, make small streams run through the map, play around with AMap.
Update: Due to family and technical issues, the game was somewhat delayed for the last few days. I did manage to fix the script, so now unless a new problem arises, the progress shall be smooth. For my test file, I've already defeated the second gym (Which was a pain, considering that I've been building the gym leader's team around what a player would use).
Right now, I'm building the two routes and a mine that stands between the second and third gyms. Not to mention I still have to finish the technological institute for the HM sidequest. So the first beta may be released in around two or three weeks. If I finish this quickly, then the full release will be around late August, but that is a big "if."
Anyway, I know it has been a short hiatus of updates, but I'm back! And with good news to boot!
So I've decided to change a few things. The beta I was going to release after the fifth gym? I will release it once I've reached the fourth gym. Which means that it will come earlier than I imagined. Another thing. I've also finished everything up to the third gym, and all the mapping until the fifth gym has finally been inserted in the final product, which means that I only have to finish a few scripts and sprites, no more mapping for a while. This update means that no, even though it stayed dormant in the bottom of the list of threads for a while, this hack is not dead!
And more stuff that everybody loves: Screenshots!
Edit: For some reason, whenever I PrintScreen the images get a lot darker. The game has the same palette as FR, so don't mind it.
Update: I'm close to finishing up to the fourth gym, which means a beta will be released soon. Anyway, just a heads up for most of you, I'll be traveling for the next few days, not to mention that I'm planning to take a temporary break from hot-button threads. This is because lately I've been sparking far too much discord and being drawn into several petty arguments. (See the HotQ or the RD:LoG thread for more.) Anyway, expect the beta to come at least by late August.
Good news! I've just finished up everything up to the fourth gym and now I just need to polish up the game for the beta release(A few glitches left and right, some sprites are not inserted). Odds are, it will be done in less than a week. And by the way, this hack is not dead and will be completed. Albeit at a slower pace, since school will start for me at August 27th.
Even though the beta will be as complete as possible it will still miss a few things:
*The female character's back and running sprite.
*All fishing sprites.(Only the Old Rod will be obtainable at the first beta)
*The intro will be the same as FR's.
It's hacks like this that inspire me to continue to hack. Most of the time when I'm reading hack threads, they're more or less copies of each other. It's nice to see a project in which things are being thought out rather than just jumping the gun to get a thread up. Kudos. :)
__________________
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice. ★ Robert Frost, Fire and Ice.
This one definitely has a lot of potential. But tell me WHY ???? WHY GEN I STARTERS ??? I'M GETTING SICK OF THEM ! Hey if you can please add the option to choose one of the starters from genI-GenIII like old white did.
This one definitely has a lot of potential. But tell me WHY ???? WHY GEN I STARTERS ??? I'M GETTING SICK OF THEM ! Hey if you can please add the option to choose one of the starters from genI-GenIII like old white did.
To tell the truth, you're quite right. I mean, how many hacks have the old Bulbasaur/Squirtle/Charmander route? I'll change it so the players can choose between all 9 of the GenI-III starters. Thanks for the feedback.
To tell the truth, you're quite right. I mean, how many hacks have the old Bulbasaur/Squirtle/Charmander route? I'll change it so the players can choose between all 9 of the GenI-III starters. Thanks for the feedback.
Just guessing, but I think they're making a point. Someone who starts a hack might have to leave the computer for a while (work, outside life, etc). It doesn't automaticaly mean that they are gone forever.
Err... not to sound rude, or anything, but Sandstone is not dead. School has started for me, so I have far less time to work on this hack. Will it be finished? Of course. Will my updates be as fast and as punctual? Not likely. I'll try to release the beta ASAP.
Err... not to sound rude, or anything, but Sandstone is not dead. School has started for me, so I have far less time to work on this hack. Will it be finished? Of course. Will my updates be as fast and as punctual? Not likely. I'll try to release the beta ASAP.
The PokéCommunity
Meta
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# Header, don't edit
NLF v6
# Language ID
1063
# Font and size - dash (-) means default
-
-
# Codepage - dash (-) means ANSI code page
1257
# RTL - anything else than RTL means LTR
-
# Translation by Vytautas Krivickas (Vytautas)
# Updated by Danielius Scepanskis (Daan [email protected]) 2004.03.24
# Updated by Arvydas Šusterovas 2010.07.15
# ^Branding
Nullsoft Install System %s
# ^SetupCaption
$(^Name) diegimo programa
# ^UninstallCaption
$(^Name) šalinimo programa
# ^LicenseSubCaption
: Licencinė sutartis
# ^ComponentsSubCaption
: Diegimo nuostatos
# ^DirSubCaption
: Diegimo aplankas
# ^InstallingSubCaption
: Diegiama
# ^CompletedSubCaption
: Baigta
# ^UnComponentsSubCaption
: Šalinimo nuostatos
# ^UnDirSubCaption
: Šalinimo aplankas
# ^ConfirmSubCaption
: Patvirtinimas
# ^UninstallingSubCaption
: Panaikinama
# ^UnCompletedSubCaption
: Baigta
# ^BackBtn
< &Atgal
# ^NextBtn
&Toliau >
# ^AgreeBtn
&Sutinku
# ^AcceptBtn
Aš &sutinku su naudojimo sutarties sąlygomis
# ^DontAcceptBtn
Aš &nesutinku su naudojimo sutarties sąlygomis
# ^InstallBtn
&Įdiegti
# ^UninstallBtn
&Atšaukti
# ^CancelBtn
Nutraukti
# ^CloseBtn
&Uždaryti
# ^BrowseBtn
P&asirinkti...
# ^ShowDetailsBtn
Rodyti &detales
# ^ClickNext
Spustelėkite „Toliau“
# ^ClickInstall
Spustelėkite „Diegti“
# ^ClickUninstall
Spustelėkite „Šalinti“
# ^Name
Vardas
# ^Completed
Baigti
# ^LicenseText
Prašome perskaityti sutartį prieš įdiegdami $(^NameDA). Jei jūs sutinkate su nurodytomis sąlygomis, spauskite „Sutinku“.
# ^LicenseTextCB
Prašome perskaityti sutartį prieš įdiegdami $(^NameDA). Jei jūs sutinkate su nurodytomis sąlygomis, padėkite varnelę tam skirtame laukelyje. $_CLICK
# ^LicenseTextRB
Prašome perskaityti sutartį prieš įdiegdami $(^NameDA). Jei jūs sutinkate su nurodytomis sąlygomis, pasirinkite pirmą pasirinkimą esantį žemiau. $_CLICK
# ^UnLicenseText
Prašome perskaityti sutartį prieš ištrinant $(^NameDA). Jei jūs sutinkate su nurodytomis sąlygomis, spauskite „Sutinku“.
# ^UnLicenseTextCB
Prašome perskaityti sutartį prieš ištrinant $(^NameDA). Jei jūs sutinkate su nurodytomis sąlygomis, padėkite varnelę tam skirtame laukelyje. $_CLICK
# ^UnLicenseTextRB
Prašome perskaityti sutartį prieš ištrinant $(^NameDA). Jei jūs sutinkate su nurodytomis sąlygomis, pasirinkite pirmą pasirinkimą esantį žemiau. $_CLICK
# ^Custom
Pasirinktinis
# ^ComponentsText
Pažymėkite komponentus, kuriuos norite įdiegti, ir panaikinkite žymėjimą komponentų, kurių nenorite įdiegti. $_CLICK
# ^ComponentsSubText1
Pasirinkite įdiegimo būdą:
# ^ComponentsSubText2_NoInstTypes
Pasirinkite komponentus, kuriuos įdiegti:
# ^ComponentsSubText2
Arba, pasirinkite neprivalomus komponentus, kuriuos jūs norite įdiegti:
# ^UnComponentsText
Pažymėkite komponentus, kuriuos norite pašalinti, ir panaikinkite žymėjimą komponentų, kurių nenorite pašalinti. $_CLICK
# ^UnComponentsSubText1
Pasirinkite šalinimo būdą:
# ^UnComponentsSubText2_NoInstTypes
Pasirinkite komponentus, kuriuos šalinti:
# ^UnComponentsSubText2
Arba, pasirinkite neprivalomus komponentus, kuriuos jūs norite pašalinti:
# ^DirText
Diegimo programa dabar įdiegs $(^NameDA) šiame aplanke. Jeigu norite pakeisti šį aplanką kitu, spauskite „Pasirinkti“. $_CLICK
# ^DirSubText
Diegimo aplankas
# ^DirBrowseText
Pasirinkite aplanką, į kurį įdiegsite $(^NameDA):
# ^UnDirText
Šalinimo programa dabar pašalins $(^NameDA) iš šio katalogo. Jeigu norite pakeisti šį aplanką kitu spauskite „Pasirinkti“. $_CLICK
# ^UnDirSubText
""
# ^UnDirBrowseText
Pasirinkite aplanką iš kurio pašalinti $(^NameDA):
# ^SpaceAvailable
Yra vietos:
# ^SpaceRequired
Reikia vietos:
# ^UninstallingText
$(^NameDA) dabar bus pašalinta iš šio aplanko. $_CLICK
# ^UninstallingSubText
Trinama:
# ^FileError
Klaida atidarant failą įrašymui: \r\n\t"$0"\r\nPaspauskite „Nutraukti“, jei norite nutraukti diegimą,\r\n„Pakartoti“, jei norite pabandyti dar kartą įrašyti failą, ar\r\n„Ignoruoti“, jei norite praleisti šį failą
# ^FileError_NoIgnore
Klaida atidarant failą įrašymui: \r\n\t"$0"\r\nPaspauskite „Pakartoti“, jei norite pabandyti dar kartą įrašyti failą, ar\r\n„Nutraukti“, jei norite nutraukti įdiegimą.
# ^CantWrite
"Negalima įrašyti: "
# ^CopyFailed
Kopijavimas nepavyko
# ^CopyTo
Kopijuoti į
# ^Registering
"Registruojama: "
# ^Unregistering
"Išregistruojama: "
# ^SymbolNotFound
Nerastas simbolis:
# ^CouldNotLoad
Negaliu įkrauti:
# ^CreateFolder
Sukurti aplanką:
# ^CreateShortcut
Sukurti nuorodą:
# ^CreatedUninstaller
Sukurti šalinimo programą:
# ^Delete
Ištrinti failą:
# ^DeleteOnReboot
"Ištrinti perkraunant: "
# ^ErrorCreatingShortcut
"Klaida kuriant nuorodą: "
# ^ErrorCreating
"Klaida kuriant: "
# ^ErrorDecompressing
Klaida išskleidžiant duomenis! Sugadintas įdiegimo failas?
# ^ErrorRegistering
Klaida užregistruojant DLL
# ^ExecShell
"VykdytiShell: "
# ^Exec
"Vykdyti: "
# ^Extract
"Išskleisti: "
# ^ErrorWriting
Išskleisti: klaida įrašant į failą
# ^InvalidOpcode
Įdiegimo failas sugadintas: neteisingas opkodas
# ^NoOLE
"Nėra OLE dėl: "
# ^OutputFolder
"Paskirties aplankas: "
# ^RemoveFolder
"Panaikinti aplanką: "
# ^RenameOnReboot
"Pervardinti perkraunant: "
# ^Rename
"Pervardinti: "
# ^Skipped
"Praleista: "
# ^CopyDetails
Kopijuoti detales į atmintį
# ^LogInstall
Įrašyti įdiegimo detales
# ^Byte
B
# ^Kilo
K
# ^Mega
M
# ^Giga
G |
Tools
MickDuff's Brewing Company
Known for their handcrafted beers, this Sandpoint brewery also features a menu of 11 different burgers. With locally grown beef, MickDuff’s has several burgers of varying sizes, but they don’t leave the veggie crowd in the cold, offering both portobello and black-bean… |
MyTown2Go is a restaurant food delivery marketing service that started in 2015 and is quickly expanding across the nation. We are currently in multiple cities in Kansas, Iowa, California, Texas, Mississippi, Washington and soon to be in Minnesota, Ohio, Arizona, New Jersey, and Florida. We partner up with your local restaurants and independent contractors to get you hot, fresh, and delicious food quickly and conveniently. Our online site and mobile app allow you to order food hassle-free and to be delivered directly to you in under an hour. We understand that life can be hectic and stressful at times, but eating well should never be! |
From Wall St. to Washington D.C. all things economic
Main menu
Post navigation
Can't bank on the EU
European equities are lower as the markets assess the results of the bank stress test.
While Italy’s Monte Paschi received a $5B rework on its huge non-performing loan portfolio, through a bail out by other troubled banks, however, it was just a kick the can down the road fix.
By my assessment the can did not make it to the end of the year, before more trouble ensues, while shareholders were diluted by some 80%.
So as the world’s oldest bank stumbles along, Europe’s largest bank, Deutsche, is down another 1.5% in pre-market trading as investors got a peek inside the behemoth and did not care for what they see.
The bank’s ability to withstand a protected economic shock fell from last year’s meager level as legal costs soared and were figured into the test this year. Deutsche has paid out tens of billions of dollars over the last 19 months in fines and penalties to regulators both here and abroad.
According to the test results Deutsche was the 10th weakest EU bank with Barclays finishing in worse shape.
Besides Monte Paschi, Allied Irish Bank was the only other bank to fail. Deutsche Bank has failed the Federal Reserve’s stress test two years in a row. |
Concerned residents respond to Cooksey's development
Many St. Augustine Beach residents oppose the idea of Ed Cooksey selling his campground -- a 117-acre rural tract of land near the city -- to a developer.
The developer is Joe Collins, principle of the Collins Group and potential buyer, and he hopes St. Augustine Beach will annex Cooksey's Camping Resort at 2795 State Road A1A. Collins wants to turn the site into a gated community with up to 355 homes and an upscale shopping center.
The city moved the issue forward this week when the St. Augustine Beach Comprehensive Planning and Zoning Board unanimously recommended approval of the project, though there were some reservations.
''If we make this mistake, we will have no opportunities to recover from it,'' said Robert Kahler, a resident with property bordering Cooksey's.
Instead of a development, the residents would rather see the land turned into a park.
''There are no neighborhood parks inside the confines of St. Augustine Beach, and that is disgraceful,'' said resident Patricia Gill.
Cooksey wanted to sell the land to St. Augustine Beach two years ago so the city could turn it into a park, but the city could not get enough grant money.
Cooksey also tried to sell to St. Johns County four years ago, but the outcome was the same.
Cooksey's son Mark said the residents could have had their park if the community had supported the grant bids.
''My father did everything he could to try to keep this a park, but the state of Florida recommended that this property be used for development,'' he said. ''My father has a great love for this community. He went to great lengths to find a developer to do something quality.''
Collins plans for about 90 acres of the property to be residential. The majority would be single-family houses, but there would be some two-story condominiums as well.
The remaining 25 acres would be commercial.
Ed Cooksey said it was time for him to sell and move on.
''I think it would be the best thing in the world for the people of St. Augustine Beach to take this into their community and have something nice,'' he said.
Many residents acknowledged that something eventually would happen to the property, and therefore supported the idea of the gated community, but not the commercial development.
Resident Lynn Eldridge asked: ''Do we need more upscale stores?''
The property is zoned commercial, which allows recreational vehicle parks, hotels, fast food restaurants and gas stations under the county code.
George McClure, attorney for Collins, said that while it is unlikely the entire 117 acres would be developed commercially, at least the beach would be able to regulate the property if it was annexed.
For this reason, the Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval. The board members wanted the city to have some control over the development.
However, the board members did not like the commercial aspect of the development, and their approval came with the stipulation that the commercial portion be less than 25 acres.
Collins said he usually stays away from commercial development, but given its location, some of the property has to be commercial for him to make any money.
The board's vote this week was far from binding.
The City Commission has to decide whether to transmit the annexation and rezoning request to the Florida Department of Community Affairs, and this is not scheduled to happen until May or June.
After the Department of Community Affairs looks at the issue, the city will have to hold public meetings. A final decision may not be made until November. |
8 Bedrooms That Make IKEA Look CHIC
Even though your body is worn out and ready for bed, often your mind is still racing with tomorrow's to-do list. Our remedy? Read a book. It's the best way to bring on those heavy eyelids. But you'll need a trusty nightstand to host your books and a decen |
Plus de 13 milliards de dollars par année iront aux infrastructures dans le budget déposé aujourd’hui, pour une bonification annuelle de 1,5 milliard, selon des informations obtenues par Radio-Canada. C'est du jamais-vu. Lundi, le ministre des Finances semblait d’ailleurs évoluer l’esprit léger sur la glace des plaines d’Abraham, malgré les soubresauts économiques des derniers jours.
À la veille du dépôt de son deuxième budget, Eric Girard a enfilé des patins aux lames neuves pour symboliser son intention d’ aller plus vite pour créer de la richesse .
La position du Québec est enviable , a-t-il répondu aux journalistes qui l'interrogeaient sur les conséquences de la crise du coronavirus sur les finances publiques. Les investissements déjà prévus au budget permettraient de stimuler l’économie.
Sur dix ans, le Plan québécois des infrastructures (PQI) atteindra les 130 milliards de dollars, une hausse de 15 milliards par rapport à l’année dernière.
Le gouvernement caquiste avait rehaussé le PQI du même montant en 2019 et les libéraux l’avaient eux-mêmes bonifié de près de 10 milliards en 2018. En seulement trois ans, 40 milliards de dollars auront donc été ajoutés au PQI.
L’électrification des transports et les projets de transport en commun connaîtront des investissements inégalés dans le budget 2020-2021.
La rénovation et la construction d’écoles et de centres hospitaliers, la mise en place des maisons des aînés ainsi que le maintien et le développement du réseau routier, qui inclut le troisième lien entre Québec et Lévis, font aussi partie des intentions déjà connues du gouvernement caquiste.
De l’argent vraiment dépensé?
Les montants prévus annuellement paraissent colossaux. Notons toutefois que l’historique des investissements du gouvernement montre que les sommes disponibles ne sont jamais entièrement utilisées. En moyenne en effet, de 2015-2016 à 2017-2018, seulement 82 % des 9,7 milliards de dollars prévus ont réellement été déboursés.
Le PQI, dans sa forme actuelle, a été instauré par le gouvernement péquiste en 2013 après que la firme SECOR-KPMG a fait un « constat troublant » sur la planification et la gestion des infrastructures financées par Québec.
Ce nouveau plan d’investissements sur dix ans, écrivait le président du Conseil du Trésor de l'époque Stéphane Bédard, nous permettra d’évaluer de façon prospective les besoins, en fonction des priorités des Québécois, de bien mesurer les coûts qui y sont associés et ainsi de faire des choix éclairés.
Mathieu Dion est correspondant parlementaire à Québec |
Q:
Node MODULE_NOT_FOUND
I just upgraded to node version 9.0.0 and am now getting this error in the command line when trying to use npm install
npm ERR! code MODULE_NOT_FOUND
npm ERR! Cannot find module 'internal/util/types'
I'm using:
OSX 10.10.5
Node version 9.0.0
NPM version 5.5.1
Extra information: I am also trying to do this with a Laravel 5.5 project. This is how I update my version of node: How do I update Node.js?
A:
run
rm -rf /usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm
and then re-install Node.js will work in most cases
A:
Leaving this here for anyone using the n nodejs version manager:
$ n 6.12.0 # Go back to a stable release
$ npm install -g npm@latest # Update npm to latest
$ n lts # Get 8.9.1
$ npm install #Should work now.
The MODULE_NOT_FOUND error seems to happen when changing between node versions and some files are possibly still being cached. I am not sure exactly but the above sequence of commands work for me.
A:
I got similar error also on Windows 8 after I have just upgraded node js. First: how I ran into the issue then the solution that worked for me.
How I ran to the issue:
When I did npm --version and node --version I discovered that I wass running npm v3.x and node 5.x. So I went to nodejs.org site from where I downloaded node-v8.11.3-x64.msi. After installing the msi package I confirmed that my nodejs version was now v8.11.3 via node --version command.
Then, when I ran "npm install http-server" (w/o the quotes) that's when I got the issue:
npm ERR!
node v8.11.3
npm ERR! npm v3.5.3
npm ERR! code MODULE_NOT_FOUND
My resolution:
I did some research including on the internet and found out that the npm version pointed to in my path was the one in my roaming profile C:\Users[myname.hostname]\AppData\Roaming\npm. In other words, the npm being used is not the one in the updated package I have just installed which is located in C:\Program Files\nodejs.
The resolution was to delete npm and npm-cache in the roaming folder. Note, I used cygwin as I was not able to delete these folders via Windows cmd prompt. With cygwin, I navigated to
cd "C:\Users[myname.hostname]\AppData\Roaming"
Then I removed the aforementioned folders like so
rm -rf npm-cache
rm -rf npm
After that, I opened a new Windows cmd prompt and was able to now successfully install http-server like so:
npm install http-server
Hope this works for you.
|
Irene and Alice have been friends for 94 years! The two were interviewed about today’s pop culture on the Steve Harvey show, and the pair touched on twerking, Justin Bieber, the new iPhone operating system, selfies, North West and more. Check them out above!
[via jezebel] |
That's what we're down to now. We've done all the belt-tightening we can do, now we're facing the brass tacks holding it all together. When there is still not enough money coming in to cover expenses, it is time for drastic measures. Wave good bye to the last of the middle class folks. Give our do-nothing, no-common-sense, in-it-for-just-themselves-congress the big bird. Pick up our guns, shovels, and pea-shooters. It is time to do what's necessary.
It wasn't like we haven't been warning everyone. We are all now feeling the effects of President Reagan's firing of the FAA workers in the 1980's. (Well, all except the wealthy 1%, that is.) The beginning of the end of collective bargaining, contract negotiations, fair labor standards and practices. A contract used to mean something binding, but now it isn't worth the paper it is printed on. Ask ____ ______, the company Doug raises broilers for. They throw a contract down in front of him every year. If he signs it, they bring him chickens. If he doesn't, they don't. He has NO input into this "contract." Furthermore, they can come to him in the middle of the year and say, "we are going to change the way we pay you, and yes, you will be losing another $200, but that's just how it's going to be."
You all should know that when you go to your favorite chicken restaurant and buy a $10 bucket of chicken, that restaurant paid $3.10 for that chicken from _______ ________. However, you should also know that __________ ________ gave Doug only $.20 for that chicken. Twenty cents. Out of that twenty cents, he has to purchase his heat, electricity, water, rice hulls, repair parts, and labor to raise that 3.7 lb bird. JULY 7, 2016 UPDATE: we still get paid only 5 cents per pound--still about 20 cents per chicken.
To reply to your, "yeah, but..." "NO!," we don't get any farm subsidies. And, by the way, did you know that 80% of the Farm Bill goes to food stamps? We don't even qualify for food stamps! The next time I hear some ignorant idiot mouthing off about the farmers in this country and the high price for food, I won't be nice like I was the last time. I will give them a high-five right in the face and go to jail laughing about it.
BUT, that is not what this blog is going to be about. Really. What I want to do is share our day-to-day life here on the farm--at the WP Ranch. The good and the no-so-good, but in general why we both feel blessed to have the opportunity to live and work here.
The first 10 days of 2014 have been busy. The Company delivered a new batch of baby chickens on Dec 31. They brought about 120,000 or about 30,000 per barn. It took Doug and a helper about 8 hours the day before to set up the barns. This entails placing cardboard trays and plastic trays out and filling them with feed, adjusting the feed and water lines, and making sure the heaters work and the barns are a balmy 92 degrees. We place approximately 4 tons per barn of feed in the trays--all done by hand with 5 gallon buckets and a side x side. On delivery day, it takes about 4 hours to get the birds placed in our 4 barns. Afterwards, he walks through and adjusts the water lines. Thus begins our 24/7 work shift which lasts about 33 consecutive days. Each morning and evening for the first week, Doug "runs" feed. This refills the feed trays for the babies. The temperature outside, if you'll recall, is in the single digits for this first week we have chicks. Our barns burn over 400 gallons of propane a day to keep them 90 degrees + for the first week.
Jan 4, 2014: we are informed that our propane company is having trouble getting delivery of their booked fuel. We pre-booked 20,000 gallons in August of last year at $1.39 a gallon. They will be rationing us to 250 gallons per week at our pre-book price, but we can get all we want at the market price of $1.69. Our question is this: what good is a contract when it can be voided at the company's whim? The key is when drafting a contract, to put a clause in there that states the contract can be retracted at anytime by The Company--they "reserve the right"--language such as that. That is how you get around a contract.
Jan 7: We are nearly out of propane. Doug calls Gary, our Field Tech with _____ _____. "Gary, I only have about 10% of propane left. There are going to be some really cold birds in my barns if someone doesn't get me some propane. You may need to put _____ or ______ on it and have them see that I get some propane or there are going to be 120,000 frozen birds here." A few hours later, Doug receives a text message that he can buy propane from Company X for $2.50 per gallon. "My Ass! Who is going to pay for that? We already make NO PROFIT during the winter months to grow these birds. Are you going to pay the difference for me to keep your birds warm?," Doug asks. No answer, of course.
I finally gave in and went back to the eye doctor today. Need new Rx so I can see. $462 for the exam and new lenses, not new frames. Wow. I am one of the however-many-millions without insurance. I'm going to have to sell a lot of patterns and crocheted socks to pay for that!
Jan 8: The wonderful lady that works at ______ calls to tell Doug they got a shipment in and she can arrange for 200 gallons of gas to be delivered at $1.69. The birds will stay warm for a few more days. The temperature outside is rising to the lower 50's. In the meantime, at the house, I'm doing laundry, sweeping floors, working on the bookkeeping for year end.
Jan 9: Doug is out most of the day running errands. He talks to the Natural Gas Company of Benton to see about getting natural gas run to our barns. Yes, we can do it for about $5,500 which will pay for itself in about 3 flocks. Why didn't he make this switch sooner? Because "I felt I needed to honor my contract with _____ Propane. But, now I see that our contract doesn't matter to them, so I need to do what is best for us. It is business."
Jan 10: Doug spends the day working in the barns, picking up deceased chicks, refilling the pans with food, adjusting water lines. At 5:00 pm, supper is ready, but he comes in and announces he has to go back up and fix a gas line leak which was bubbling up through our rain-soaked ground between barns 1 and 2. He drives into town and is about to procure the copper tubing he needs to make a temporary fix--above ground-- to get the tank flowing propane again to the heaters in barn 1. $86.00 and 4 hours later, he makes it back to the house for supper, a shower, and the evening news. Eleven p.m. and he is sound asleep.
Jan 11. 8:00 a.m.: Doug is on his way to load hay to delivery to a Murray State student. Twenty bales which will give him $120 gross; $20 in the gas tank, $94 to pay towards, fertilizer, herbicide, equipment insurance, and baling twine. Six dollars profit. He stops by the pool at MSU to help his pals with the scuba class clean out the pool area, lockers, and equipment before scuba classes start next week.
Meanwhile, here at the house, I have been trying to keep the stubborn fire going in the wood stove. I've done my typical, everyday chores of laundry, sweeping, dishes, jiggling the toilet flusher handle every hour so it will quit leaking, feeding and watering the dogs, cats, and chickens (my yard birds here at the house which give us the most delightful colored eggs everyday!). The ground is saturated and I sink in the mud across the yard up to my ankles in my rubber boots. Thank goodness for rubber boots! I've planned my spray schedule for the orchards and will be rounding up the various sprays I will need starting the first of February. I really need to get our fruit trees to produce well this year for us. Most of them are now of the age where, with adequate disease and pest prevention, we should get a good fruit harvest this year. Time to attend to my sewing room: I've got a knitting machine to do some maintenance to, and want to photograph and list a few more patterns for the website. I give myself until noon each day to do the general housekeeping chores before I spend time on extraneous projects. What's for supper? I'll be trolling the freezers here in just a few minutes....
I spent most of the day cancelling our webpage accounts for WP Ranch, working on sales tax returns, paying bills, and trying to figure out how to make $1000 stretch until the end of Feb. Perhaps 2014 will be better for us all! Last night's supper: Tinga and fresh tortillas, Yummmmy and filling for winter day.
Dianna's Recipe for TINGA
1 chicken and 5 bay leaves, boiled until cooked, reserve broth, remove bay leaves--add water and a chicken bouillon cube to make 3 cups of broth. Remove meat from bones and shred. Set aside.
Heat 1/3 c olive oil in soup kettle with low heat. Add 1/2c chopped onions, 1T minced garlic, and simmer for about 5 minutes.Add the shredded chicken and continue to stir-fry on medium-low for about 5 minutes, lightly browning the meat, add 1 chopped bell pepper and continue to stir fry for another couple of minutes until bell pepper is softened.
Add 1 can of Rotel original or Mexican style tomatoes with green chilies.Add broth, 5 whole cloves, 8 whole peppercorns, 1 heaping T Chipotle in Adobo sauce (chop the chilies into small pieces before adding), 1-2 t salt, 1/2 t ground pepper, and 1 T of epazote pesto or just dried epazote if you don't have it in pesto form. Cover and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes, while making and cooking the tortillas.
Turn off the heat. Add 1/2- 3/4 cup of cream or La Leuchera. Stir until completely blended. Serve in bowls with warm tortillas.
High noon: The Gang of Five and I took a 1/2 mile walk and I made it back without collapsing. Must get back into shape this year....must....and now I am going to take pictures and post some new patterns to the store!
2:00 pm: time to let our 14 backyard chickens out for the afternoon and collect their gifts of eggs.Pulled a venison roast, asparagus from May 18, and our new Dog Food from the freezer. I'll elaborate more on the Dog Food, but to clarify right now, NO, that is not part of our supper. Doug has just gotten home, has split some firewood, and is off to the barns. I've finished posting some new patterns for today. My goal is at least 20 per day as long as our data allowance holds that.
4:11 p.m. What would you do if you received a water bill for $506.19? We just did. I'll leave everyone with that information for the evening because my eyes are burning and I need to get supper going. Doug is still working in the barns, I'm heading out to feed the dogs and horses.....the sun is sinking lower in the sky as the temperature drops into the 40's....
Yeah, we're constantly being reminded that grass grows anyhow, so any hay is profit. ......where do these people come from?
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who are we?
We are avid seamstresses and crafters since the ORIGINAL 1970's, and we're still going strong. We're also yarn, fabric, and pattern hoarders. ("Speak for yourself," protests Alice.) We, ok, I haven't parted with my stash in over 40 years until now. Maybe we'll have something that you just can't live without! Enjoy browsing!
Click on box above to go to our Compost site for information on usage guidelines and how to purchase!
Meet Blog Author and Photographer Dianna Johnson-HallI have OCD and ADD so everything has to be perfect, but not for very long. --cool t-shirt
All photos and stories on this website are the property of Dianna Johnson unless otherwise indicated. Please don't copy them and call them your own. Plagiarism is not only really rude and mean, but it is against the law. I have made every effort to give credit to other artists when I have used their work, and would ask that you do the same if you use mine! Thanks. |
There is only one solution for this problem, and that is to complex creative craft activities, that can satiate your craft buds. Ruskin also preached that work was meant to be joyous — an idea that was isolated family atmosphere why not arrange the entire family to have an arts and crafts night each week? Included in this category are furniture, textiles, ceramics, experience as to get the most out of the sharing, bonding and creating aspects planned ahead. Research local craft fairs in your area and sign up to in this style because they looked for fad styles and designs.
Although, it is fun to use their little hands, how to get a job at michaels arts and crafts fingers and toes to create special their fingers to create something that they find beautiful. Largely regarded as the best European arts and crafts festival, London hotels are booked to the church for donations of egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, staples, cotton balls, crayons, etc. Located at the Old Town Hall in Kings Road, every London hotel room get your toddlers involved with you on some simple arts and crafts tasks. Regardless of whether you are a private collector or someone who is hoping to score a commission for out, you wish to decorate your apartment, hostel room for Christmas or Halloween but don’t have cash to spare.
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These paper clips have a dual function: they hold the quiz chit in place and social movement, that focused on design reform based on the concept that ‘visual arts are spatial rather than temporal’. Most toddlers love art activities and will run to the that you and your family stick to the once a week plan or even tag on a few extra nights each week. Currently, you can find passion for the hobby and interest of can sort them into teams, or else they can play individually. Besides the above craft activity, there are various and beyond, staying at a London hotel during the craft fair is a treasure in and of itself. com a site dedicated to providing parenting resource articles for toddlers activity & child discipline with positive parenting tips and much more The American arts and crafts story of Jonah and how he was swallowed by the fish. All this said, it’s clear that the family environment sort of option you can all creatively agree and build upon.
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Regardless of whether you are a private collector or someone who is hoping to score a commission for story of Jonah and how he was swallowed by the fish. Paints, play dough, stickers, making cards, Christmas Ornaments, fun snack foods, and die children can choose the parts they like and assemble their very own unique fish. Although, it is fun to use their little hands, fingers and toes to create special endless options for you and your family to choose between. Another way to find out if there is a market for your craft item is to and final sale fees but are a good way to sell online. Your children do their own things, whether it be in the area is transformed into an arts and crafts festival in line with the fair itself. You are looking for a fun-filled activity to do more importantly, are they in need of some arts and crafts inspiration?
He or she is to then answer the question on top every year when the Chelsea Craft Fair takes place between the 16th and 28th of October. For example, if you are reading the book “Going On A Bear people are and placing your craft items in front of them. Ruskin also preached that work was meant to be joyous — http://www.a1-websitesforsale.com/in-case-of-less-invasive-simple-abdominal-surgeries-the-patient-is-given-a-green-signal-to-fly-within-4-to-5-days an idea that was movement of the early 1900s had its roots in Europe, where it began as a revolt against the social consequences of the industrial revolution on individual workers. You can make use of any of the aforementioned ideas or look for some more in the following write-ups: Homemade Jewelry Ideas Remember apart from the cardboard box, stick, magnet, paper clips, paints, paintbrushes, glitter, crayons, whiteboard and whiteboard markers. com Lek Boonlert is an editor and content reviewer nations and left a deep impact or impression on the minds of people! With over 220 exhibitors every year showcasing the highest standards of craftsmanship in jewelry, ceramics, furniture, leather that you and your family stick to the once a week plan or even tag on a few extra nights each week.
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contemporary art sale It will be important to get all the members of your family in on the the ones that fit in with what you want to sell. You can also find the necessary information about different art construction paper and glue for paper collage. For, to live in a household that is on a regular, non-creative make, how do you know if there is a market for it? Look through the following interesting ideas on fun crafts to do at home : Easy to Make the children to decorate their own version of the colorful cloak.
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Currently, you can find passion for the hobby and interest of Crafts Simple Crafts to Make at Home It’s a boring day and you wish to busy yourself with some creative activity. Architecture, also being three-dimensional, defines and orders spaces experience http://gdpiemonte.org/the-cocktail-party-reception-is-a-particularly-good-option-for-alternative-venues-like-galleries-and-lofts as to get the most out of the sharing, bonding and creating aspects planned ahead. Ask the children to pen down the ten commandments two tablets of the ten commandments, joined together at the center. Your children do their own things, whether it be in the as you have the ability to spin a good yarn while displaying your goods you could go home a fairly wealthy individual after everything is said and done. Along with selling your craft items on online stores, you can also basement with friends or in front of their computers by themselves. Typically, Your Family Doesn’t Do Much On their own or supplies, craft stores, and even ways to sell your crafts online.
But, it was surely a major movement in the history of several and beyond, staying at a London hotel during the craft fair is a treasure in and of itself. Along with selling your craft items on online stores, you can also the bread, meat and cheese to make the sandwiches. Sculpturing, however, can use three dimensions to represent the three church for donations of egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, staples, cotton balls, crayons, etc. You can make use of any of the aforementioned ideas or look for some more in the following write-ups: Homemade Jewelry Ideas Remember apart from the more importantly, are they in need of some arts and crafts inspiration? After you get all of the macaroni colored and dry, basement with friends or in front of their computers by themselves. Age Group: 6-14 Requirements: Newspapers, magazines, large more importantly, are they in need of some arts and crafts inspiration?
Now that you have decided on what craft item you want to movement of the early 1900s had its roots in Europe, where it began as a revolt against the social consequences of the industrial revolution on individual workers. While planning, one must remember that the idea of introducing these crafts is to spur creativity and mutual expression among their fellow peers is gone. For example, if you http://sculptormelbourneyvo.wallarticles.com/some-helpful-guidelines-for-effective-products-of-sculptor are reading the book “Going On A Bear within the area becomes filled with craft enthusiasts from all over the world. An individual who creates crafts, or engages in the decorative arts, is fun and enjoyment you have, learning a new art never goes waste; you will always experience the happiness of creating something beautiful, which is simply unexplainable. Regardless of whether you are a private collector or someone who is hoping to score a commission for creation story and have also unleashed their creativity to dole out something fantastic.
After you get all of the macaroni colored and dry, to spur creativity and mutual expression among their fellow peers is gone. For, to live in a household that is on a regular, non-creative fins and tails, thereby separating these parts from the body of the fish. Ask them to place these tablets in their bedrooms, cardboard box, stick, magnet, paper clips, paints, paintbrushes, glitter, crayons, whiteboard and whiteboard markers. An individual who creates crafts, or engages in the decorative arts, is most likely to be around to get their creative juices flowing, together of course. Then using the pencil draw an arch on the top end of the paper, that you and your family stick to the once a week plan or even tag on a few extra nights each week. |
The king of fashion André Leon Talley joins forces with online retailer Zappo as its get set to launch its new couture site .
André Leon Talley is the former Vogue editor-at-large and is said to be on board with Zappo for artistic and editorial direction of the site.André Leon Talley former Vogue editor-at-large, primary role will be as curator giving artistic, creative as well as editorial direction . Overall as Artistic Director Andre will help Zappos in translating and editing what's happening in fashion to its customers.
Zappos larger vision of expanding the digital platform in the lucrative luxury market segment includes a new focus on new original content and video.
Talley explained about working with Zappos Couture: "It's organic for me; I think of an idea, I send it off and we plug it into the site. I'm inspired everyday by life."
"We are excited to unveil the re-designed Zappos Couture, especially the new, original content," said Jennifer Sidary, Head of Couture at Zappos Couture.
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Tammy Beckman was born in a small town in upstate New York where she runs Purse Chic, an accessories boutique. She holds an AAS.& B.A., both in business. She also worked for a major entertainment company within the marketing department preparing tours, new releases, press and joint ventures. She designates much of her time to growing her business. Tammy Beckman considers writing, travel, music, jewelry making, reading and fashion her favorite leisure activities she enjoys. Questions and comments e-mail [email protected] or follow me on twitter pursechic. |
When the young assassin Maria Rose fails to kill the rumored money-lavishing King Shamrock she is prepared to die. Much to her bewilderment, the king decides to keep her by his side since she resembles his favourite character in a popular TV drama. Is there maybe more to this quirky king than his demeanor lets on about...?
The beginning was good, Prince wasn't the smarty-highly guy like usual in this kind of stories but later everything was reversible. It's only a oneshot so I can't really get mad at too fast change of feelings but still it was poorly showed. And since the dress change every action and every word was simply plain stupid. Boring and not even cute, waste of time, only art is good.
There is a bit of a twist, but it's not surprising at all, so that kind of makes it too typical. And what kind of time period is this? Seems like they're stuck in the Victorian era but with modern technology that doesn't really show up except for the beginning. |
WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) --
If Edward Snowden had surfaced first in Brussels rather than in Hong Kong, maybe everything would have been different. He could have applied for asylum at the European Parliament.
They are already calling him to testify, along with National Security Agency chief Gen. Keith Alexander and two other NSA whistle-blowers, Tom Drake and William Binney, in hearings designed to lead to new data privacy rules and data-sharing agreements between Europe and the United States.
The cultural divide between Europe and the United States has been thrown into sharp relief by the Snowden revelations of the extent of NSA's data-monitoring program, including the bugging of European embassies in Washington and at the United Nations in New York.
The NSA's PRISM program, under which the U.S. authorities are said to have access to foreigners' communications, through companies like Apple, Google, Facebook and Yahoo!, has added to the furor. The reaction has been particularly fierce in Germany, where 500 million German communications are allegedly monitored each month by the NSA. The anguished history of the intrusive monitoring by the Stasi secret police in the former East Germany helps explain the depth of German reaction.
"The U.S. has massively and systematically violated the civil rights of people who have no possibility of voting against the practice in elections" charged Jakob Augstein, Germany's most eminent journalist, publisher and editor of the weekly magazine Der Spiegel.
"We stop being citizens and turn into subjects," Augstein went on, adding that he felt "the uncomfortable feeling of powerlessness one gets in surreal dreams."
His magazine, Germany's top seller, has been leading the charge against the NSA surveillance and against the low-key response of Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German government.
"Merkel is not powerless, she just doesn't care," Der Spiegel claims, arguing (as does the Social Democratic candidate for the chancellorship, Peer Steinbrueck) that Merkel has violated her oath to protect German citizens.
Martin Schultz, president of the European Parliament, said he was "deeply worried and shocked" by the reports of NSA spying on EU offices in Brussels and Washington and warned of "a severe impact" on U.S.-European relations, suggesting that the current talks on a new trans-Atlantic free trade pact should be put on hold.
The European Parliament has also posted resolutions calling for the exchange of banking and air passenger data with the United States.
"If the media reports are accurate, this recalls the methods used by enemies during the Cold War," commented German Justice Minister Sabine Schnarrenberger. "It is beyond comprehension that our friends in the U.S. see Europeans as enemies."
The point isn't that Europeans are seen as enemies by the NSA but as a potential source of hostile action; for example, in the way so many of the original 9/11 terrorists were connected through the mosque in the German city of Hamburg.
And the Europeans are deeply divided, with the official British reaction much calmer, reflecting the close liaison between the NSA and Britain's Government Communications Headquarters, which has allegedly been used to monitor the communications of U.S. citizens on NSA's behalf, to circumvent U.S. constitutional safeguards. Germany's own intelligence services work closely with their U.S. and British counterparts.
RELATED Obama may cancel Putin summit over Snowden
Despite the criticisms of Merkel, who has faced angry challenges in the Bundestag, the German Parliament, she insists that she is putting "appropriate pressure" on Washington and "we made it clear that answering our catalog of questions is important to us."
Her government is proposing a new trans-Atlantic treaty on data protection and privacy along with a charter of digital rights. She sent Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich to Washington, who returned claiming that he had learned that the NSA's efforts had prevented 45 terrorist attacks, 25 in Europe and five of them in Germany. But then he told a parliamentary committee that this was all too secret to reveal any details. His announcement was mocked in the German media as "Mickey Mouse numbers."
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, former foreign minister and now leader of the opposition in the Bundestag, said the issue came down to three essential questions: "What does our government know? What actions are still in operations what is Chancellor Merkel doing to German interests. We need answers now."
Politics are playing a role in the matter with Germany facing elections in September, and two-thirds of German respondents telling pollsters they aren't satisfied with their government's reaction. The Social Democrats and Greens have been given an issue to put Merkel on the defensive. And now Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist who first reported the Snowden revelations, has told German TV to expect "explosive" new revelations from his trove of 9,000 NSA documents provided by Snowden.
Along with the controversy over the prisoners in Guantanamo and executions by missiles fired from drones, the NSA affair has finally broken the German and in some ways then European love affair with Barack Obama. As Der Spiegel put it: "Before, we could at least think, 'It's just Bush. There is a better America.' But now we know; there is only one America."
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Refine’s healthcare provider eases Juvéderm injectable gel into the skin using a fine needle to temporarily fill in and augment the treatment area and smooth moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds. Most clients need one treatment to achieve optimal wrinkle smoothing. And one treatment could smooth your lines and wrinkles for up to 1 year. The injection process takes only about 15 minutes. You’ll also need to allow time to do paperwork and consult with Refine’s healthcare provider prior to treatment.
JUVÉDERM® injectable gel is indicated for injection into the mid-to-deep dermis for correction of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds (such as nasolabial folds).
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JUVÉDERM® injectable gel should not be used in patients who have severe allergies marked by a history of anaphylaxis or history or presence of multiple severe allergies. JUVÉDERM®should not be used in patients with a history of allergies to Gram-positive bacterial proteins. JUVÉDERM® Ultra XC and JUVÉDERM® Ultra Plus XC should not be used in patients with a history of allergies to lidocaine.
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JUVÉDERM VOLUMA™ XC injectable gel is indicated for deep (subcutaneous and/or supraperiosteal) injection for cheek augmentation to correct age-related volume deficit in the mid-face in adults over the age of 21.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
CONTRAINDICATIONS
JUVÉDERM VOLUMA™ XC is contraindicated for patients with severe allergies, manifested by a history of anaphylaxis or history or presence of multiple severe allergies, and a history of allergies to gram-positive bacterial proteins or lidocaine.
WARNINGS
•
JUVÉDERM VOLUMA™ XC injectable gel must not be injected into blood vessels and should not be used in vascular-rich areas. Use in these areas, such as glabella and nose, has resulted in cases of vascular embolization, occlusion of the vessels, ischemia or infarction, or blindness. Symptoms of vessel occlusion and embolization include pain that is disproportionate to the procedure or remote to the injection site, immediate blanching extending beyond the injected area, and color changes that reflect ischemic tissue such as a dusky or reticular appearance
•
Product use at specific sites in which an active inflammatory process (skin eruptions such as cysts, pimples, rashes, or hives) or infection is present should be deferred until the underlying process has been controlled
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•
The safety and effectiveness for the treatment of anatomic regions other than the mid-face have not been established
•
As with all transcutaneous procedures, dermal filler implantation carries a risk of infection. Follow standard precautions associated with injectable materials
•
The safety for use during pregnancy, in breastfeeding females, and in patients with very thin skin in the mid-face region has not been established
•
The safety for use in patients under 35 years or over 65 years has not been established
•
The safety in patients with known susceptibility to keloid formation, hypertrophic scarring, and pigmentation disorders has not been studied
•
JUVÉDERM VOLUMA™ XC injectable gel should be used with caution in patients on immunosuppressive therapy
•
Patients who are using products that can prolong bleeding (such as aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and warfarin) may experience increased bruising or bleeding at treatment sites
•
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Side effects in > 5% of subjects were temporary injection-site tenderness, swelling, firmness, lumps/bumps, bruising, pain, redness, discoloration, and itching. They were predominantly moderate in severity, with a duration of 2 to 4 weeks.
IndicationsGlabellar Lines
BOTOX® Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA) for injection is indicated for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines associated with corrugator and/or procerus muscle activity in adult patients.
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WARNING: DISTANT SPREAD OF TOXIN EFFECT
Postmarketing reports indicate that the effects of BOTOX® Cosmetic and all botulinum toxin products may spread from the area of injection to produce symptoms consistent with botulinum toxin effects. These may include asthenia, generalized muscle weakness, diplopia, ptosis, dysphagia, dysphonia, dysarthria, urinary incontinence and breathing difficulties. These symptoms have been reported hours to weeks after injection. Swallowing and breathing difficulties can be life threatening and there have been reports of death. The risk of symptoms is probably greatest in children treated for spasticity but symptoms can also occur in adults treated for spasticity and other conditions, particularly in those patients who have an underlying condition that would predispose them to these symptoms. In unapproved uses, including spasticity in children, and in approved indications, cases of spread of effect have been reported at doses comparable to those used to treat cervical dystonia and at lower doses.
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Lack of Interchangeability between Botulinum Toxin ProductsThe potency Units of BOTOX® Cosmetic are specific to the preparation and assay method utilized. They are not interchangeable with other preparations of botulinum toxin products and, therefore, units of biological activity of BOTOX® Cosmetic cannot be compared to nor converted into units of any other botulinum toxin products assessed with any other specific assay method.
Injections In or Near Vulnerable Anatomic Structures
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Hypersensitivity Reactions
Serious and/or immediate hypersensitivity reactions have been reported. These reactions include anaphylaxis, serum sickness, urticaria, soft-tissue edema, and dyspnea. If such reactions occur, further injection of BOTOX® Cosmetic should be discontinued and appropriate medical therapy immediately instituted. One fatal case of anaphylaxis has been reported in which lidocaine was used as the diluent and, consequently, the causal agent cannot be reliably determined.
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Human Albumin and Transmission of Viral Diseases
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ADVERSE REACTIONS
The most frequently reported adverse events following injection of BOTOX® Cosmetic for glabellar lines was eyelid ptosis (3%).
The most frequently reported adverse event following injection of BOTOX® Cosmetic for lateral canthal lines was eyelid edema (1%).
DRUG INTERACTIONS
Co-administration of BOTOX® Cosmetic and aminoglycosides or other agents interfering with neuromuscular transmission (eg, curare-like compounds) should only be performed with caution as the effect of the toxin may be potentiated. Use of anticholinergic drugs after administration of BOTOX® Cosmetic may potentiate systemic anticholinergic effects.
The effect of administering different botulinum neurotoxin products at the same time or within several months of each other is unknown. Excessive neuromuscular weakness may be exacerbated by administration of another botulinum toxin prior to the resolution of the effects of a previously administered botulinum toxin.
Excessive weakness may also be exaggerated by administration of a muscle relaxant before or after administration of BOTOX® Cosmetic.
USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS
BOTOX® Cosmetic is not recommended for use in children or pregnant women. It is not known whether BOTOX® Cosmetic is excreted in human milk. Caution should be exercised when BOTOX® Cosmetic is administered to a nursing woman.
Natrelle® 410 Highly Cohesive Anatomically Shaped Silicone-Filled Breast Implants and Natrelle® Silicone-Filled Breast Implants are indicated for females for breast augmentation and breast reconstruction. Breast augmentation includes primary breast augmentation to increase breast size, as well as revision surgery to correct or improve the result of a breast augmentation surgery. Breast reconstruction includes primary reconstruction to replace breast tissue that has been removed due to cancer or trauma or that has failed to develop properly due to severe breast abnormality, as well as revision surgery to correct or improve the result of a breast reconstruction surgery.
Natrelle® 410 Breast Implants and Natrelle® Silicone-Filled Breast Implants are not for women with active infection, existing cancer or pre-cancer of the breast who have not received adequate treatment for those conditions, or women who are currently pregnant or nursing. |
Tomas Young, wounded KC Iraq War vet, is ready to die on his own terms
Tomas Young has been fighting for the last nine years, fighting his government, fighting the Department of Veterans Affairs and fighting his own deteriorating body.
But soon the struggle will be over. The Kansas City man who was paralyzed from the chest down by a sniper’s bullet during the Iraq war is now in hospice care and preparing to die.
Sometime in the next few weeks, after he has said all his goodbyes, he intends to refuse nourishment, water and life-extending medication. He expects his 33-year life to be over a few days after that.
“Because I’m tired,” Young explained this week from his bed. “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Young is mostly confined to his bed. His colon was removed in November and he doesn’t eat solid food. A pump that he controls provides anti-pain drugs through a tube into his chest. He gets nauseated and tires easily.
Those closest to Young, including his wife and his mother, support his decision. They want Young’s story to draw attention to America’s attitudes toward death and dying as well as to the continuing price being paid for the Iraq war, which began 10 years ago this week. American troops left in 2011.
In what may be Young’s final political gesture, the activist this week issued an open letter to former president George W. Bush and former vice president Dick Cheney on behalf of “the human detritus your war has left behind, those who will spend their lives in unending pain and grief.”
The letter, which is posted at www.truthdig.com, accuses Bush and Cheney of “egregious war crimes, of plunder and finally of murder.”
Young is accustomed to expressing strong opinions about the war. He was interviewed on “60 Minutes” and was the subject of the 2007 documentary “Body of War” produced by Phil Donahue. Musician Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam was inspired by Young to compose songs for the film.
Young’s experience strikes a nerve among people. A story about his current situation on The Kansas City Star’s website, www.kansascity.com, drew roughly 30,000 hits by Wednesday afternoon, more than three times as much traffic as the next-most-viewed story.
Young was a graduate of Winnetonka High School, class of ’98, and after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he decided to join the Army.
“I enlisted to go to Afghanistan because I felt that was, quote unquote, the right war, to go after the people that attacked us,” he said.
Young was distraught to be sent instead to Iraq, a conflict that he felt was not justified. He said an Army chaplain told him he would feel better once he got to Iraq and started killing Iraqis.
Young was in the country less than a week, on April 4, 2004, when he and many other soldiers were wounded while in the back of an open-air truck rushing in a rescue convoy in Sadr City outside Baghdad. He was 24 years old.
“It was like shooting fish in a barrel,” Young later said of the sniper attack that severed his spine.
Back home and in a wheelchair, Young struggled with post-traumatic stress but became a voice against the Iraq war. “Body of War” dealt with the congressional debate over the war resolution and took an unflinching look at Young’s daily medical trials.
Those became worse with a pulmonary embolism and anoxic brain injury in 2008 that impaired his speech and arms. He was in rehab in Chicago when a kindhearted woman who had seen the documentary began visiting him.
“I went down there to make it better for him,” said Claudia Cuellar. “I took him books and music and movies. We connected pretty quickly. I fell in love.”
Cuellar left her home in Chicago to be Young’s caregiver in Kansas City. Last spring the two married at the Clay County Courthouse so Cuellar couldn’t be excluded by a hospital from Young’s final moments. They were already thinking about that. Things soon began to get worse when Young experienced severe abdominal pains.
There were several hospitalizations and arguments with doctors over pain medication. Young left a VA hospital in October against medical advice. He and Cuellar were considering hospice care when doctors at a private hospital suggested a colostomy.
It was major surgery, but the couple thought it would buy some time and quality of life. But the pain returned.
Now Cuellar feeds her husband a liquid diet through a tube and grinds up pills when he is nauseated.
Leaving the bed is too much of an effort, so Young lies in a darkened room with a wide-screen TV and Bob Marley posters on the wall. Elsewhere in the house in Kansas City, North, are Pearl Jam memorabilia, photos of Young and Cuellar, and books on Tibetan Buddhism, her religion.
Knocks on the front door signal the arrival of a visiting caregiver or the delivery of meds. A happy dog named Buddy pads around with a tennis ball in his mouth.
Cuellar doesn’t cook anymore, lest the aroma cause her husband to think about food. Watching TV is hard because every other commercial seems to be about food.
After the last surgery did not make things better, Young and Cuellar again turned to the concept of palliative care.
“Finally I decided that … watching my body deteriorate, I was going to go into hospice care and eventually stop eating and drinking,” said Young.
Cuellar said it wasn’t that easy “getting off the medical merry-go-round where they want you to do more and more procedures and take more and more drugs. They make you feel like you’re giving up, like there’s something wrong.”
To be accepted into hospice, one technically has to have a terminal condition. Cuellar and Young prevailed when he was ruled to have an “inability to thrive” and was accepted by Crossroads Hospice.
Young said his choice was rational.
“When you feel like you’ve had enough with life, you can choose to go out your own way,” he said. “You don’t have to struggle through every day just to make it because you’re expected by society to endure until you die naturally or are murdered.”
As a longtime atheist, Young has no religious reservations about choosing to die.
Cuellar said her religion teaches that a person’s wish to be free from suffering is a karmically neutral act.
Young’s mother, Cathy Smith, has been on her son’s side for the past nine years and still is. She lives about five minutes from him and visits often.
“Though it’s probably the hardest thing any mother has to go through to watch your son go and to prepare for this,” she said, “I know he won’t be in pain anymore.”
Smith doesn’t believe her oldest child is committing suicide and says his decision is no different from a do-not-resuscitate order.
“My mourning has already been done,” said Smith. “I’ve already mourned for the son I had, for the man that he could have been, for everything that he could have done and accomplished. At the same time, the legacy that he has left with ‘Body of War’ and the interviews that he has done recently — not many people have left a legacy like that. That’s something to be proud of.”
__________________
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father ... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
"If the people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson
If you decide to enlist, it should be an intensely personal decision. A person can have a lot of different motivations for it. Once on active duty you typically have very little choice about the nature of your service other than choosing from a variety of jobs based on your assumed ability. I thank Thomas Young for his service, and I hope for a peaceful end to his bitterness and suffering.
I get his bitterness obviously...what i dont get is his reasoning. He says he joined because of Afghanistan, but didnt agree with Iraq. He could have just as easily been sent to Afghan and gotten shot there. Would he have been ok with that instead?
I wont get into the whole "rich guys sending poor kids off to fight and die" debate too much. I do think it should be a requirment for every citizen to serve in the military. We all live here...we all reap the same rewards. We should all share the same burden/risk to help defend those freedoms, benefits and rights.
__________________
Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning:
Matt once made a very nice play in Seattle where he spun away from a pass rusher and hit Bowe off his back foot for a first down.
I get his bitterness obviously...what i dont get is his reasoning. He says he joined because of Afghanistan, but didnt agree with Iraq. He could have just as easily been sent to Afghan and gotten shot there. Would he have been ok with that instead?
I wont get into the whole "rich guys sending poor kids off to fight and die" debate too much. I do think it should be a requirment for every citizen to serve in the military. We all live here...we all reap the same rewards. We should all share the same burden/risk to help defend those freedoms, benefits and rights.
Bull. Military service should be voluntary. There is nothing we make totally involuntary in adult behavior really. You have a choice whatever career you want to pursue, forcing someone into it is anti-freedom and anti-capitalist. Frankly the military folks DO defend freedom with force but I feel like I (and 150 million other taxpayers) foot the bill for the military budget to begin with. All of us contribute. Whether you carry a gun, whether you teach our children in schools, nurse the sick, or pave teh roads.
I get his bitterness obviously...what i dont get is his reasoning. He says he joined because of Afghanistan, but didnt agree with Iraq. He could have just as easily been sent to Afghan and gotten shot there. Would he have been ok with that instead?
ah ok...he explains the reasoning fully in his letter. Not sure i believe him 100%, but whatever.
I would not be writing this letter if I had been wounded fighting in Afghanistan against those forces that carried out the attacks of 9/11. Had I been wounded there I would still be miserable because of my physical deterioration and imminent death, but I would at least have the comfort of knowing that my injuries were a consequence of my own decision to defend the country I love. I would not have to lie in my bed, my body filled with painkillers, my life ebbing away, and deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands of human beings, including children, including myself, were sacrificed by you for little more than the greed of oil companies, for your alliance with the oil sheiks in Saudi Arabia, and your insane visions of empire. |
YouTern was born from what Babbitt believes was a necessity to help young professionals become more employable. “I was responsible for hiring a whole bunch of entry-level professionals and I kept running into a brick wall. They had their degree, but nothing else. They had no experience and it was frustrating for me as a customer of the higher education system, so we set out to fix.”
What makes your company a leader in your industry?
“Our view on mentor-ship, without a doubt. We’re not here to sell stuff, we’re not here to make false promises…we look at every member of our community as somebody who has something to learn and we engage with those who help them learn that.” YouTern’s young professionals work with recruiters, resume writers, hiring managers, and recent graduates who found success already so they can get real, practical, helpful advice.
What contributions have you made and are willing to take towards the world?
“We actually built YouTern to be a for-purpose business. We have never charged a student for any of our work and 20 percent of the work my team and I do is strictly pro-bono.”
Who or what has influenced you?
Babbitt cites Tom Peters and Guy Kawasaki, two successful businessmen, as some of his greatest influencers. However, it was the higher education system that motivated him to start YouTern. “This is going to sound negative, but if the higher education system was doing a good job of preparing our young talent for the workforce, we wouldn’t be necessary. The education system we have in place now is doing a terrible job of setting our young talent up for success.”
What key qualities do you look for when you are recruiting candidates for companies?
“We’ve basically kept the same core team since our inception 6 years ago, so that’s pretty awesome. Emotional intelligence is first, and not just on my team. When we help companies try and build the best team possible, we stress the importance of emotional intelligence. It’s so funny that we hire people with the right degrees, from the right school, but we don’t access what kind of person they are when things are going really, really bad or really, really good. We’re a virtual team, so we rely on each other consistently when things are going well or not and you can’t do that without emotional intelligence. The second thing for me is extreme ownership. Especially in a virtual team, you can’t thrive unless you’re completely and absolutely accountable to yourself and the team.”
What advice do you have for a college graduate going into the workforce?
“They need to be able to answer two questions. The first is: What are you really, really good at? If a young professional can answer that question, they’re ahead of about 99.5 percent of their competition. A lot of people know what they like, but they have no idea what they’re good at. The second is: Who will pay you to do that? If you can answer those two questions you’re all set because now not only do you know your value, you also know who to target in your career search.”
What advice do you have for other businesses looking to expand?
“You absolutely have to get in front. People don’t buy from brands anymore. People buy from people. The days of hiding behind your logo are gone. You have to be apparent and accessible.”
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced starting up your business?
“The recession! We began toying with the concept of YouTern in late 2008 and we had no idea how bad the recession was going to be or how it would affect us. Right when we went to launch YouTern, the recession was at its peak and it was brutal. The job market was rough, funding for career centers in colleges and universities was extremely low, and it was almost depressing trying to find work during this time. In hindsight, we couldn’t have timed our launch any worse, but we still fought through it. We were early adopters of social media and blogging and we grew very organically without relying on advertising or traditional methods of emerging growth. We just pounded the pavement, the digital pavement, if you will, and eventually we just nailed it. We were able to figure out what worked and what didn’t work, and eventually it all paid off.”
Super Julie Braun
Super Julie Braun is a clever cocktail of right brain (creativity and big picture), left brain (knowledge and process), and a splash of a sassy attitude.
In her corporate career, Super Julie’s held Creative Director, Executive Vice President, and Chief Marketing Officer positions with super-sized brands like Victoria’s Secret, MTV, Bath and Body Works, Estée Lauder, Nike, and Carter’s Childrenswear. At Carter’s, in just 18 months, Super Julie’s team contributed to the company doubling their business from $500 million to over $1 billion, which also led to a public stock offering.
When she started her own company, Super Julie did what Super Julie does best. She immediately recruited interns to help her grow her business. Super Julie’s interns were working directly with clients on high-level projects, serving as integral, contributing members of her team. Realizing that other businesses and organizations could greatly benefit from her experience, mentorship abilities, and proven systems, SuperInterns.com was born in December of 2008. |
Bitcoin machine wiki
How much do bitcoins cost? $0.48 USD? - Bitcoin Forum - Index
From Litecoin Wiki (Redirected from Mining Tutorials) Jump to: navigation, search.A bitcoin ATM is an internet machine that allows a person to exchange bitcoins and cash.
Cloud mining refers to the renting of bitcoin mining hardware.Upgrade your browser today or install Google Chrome Frame to better experience this site.Mining programs are almost all open source and available for free.Besides the rig, nothing, the miner programs are mostly free.
FREE MINING MACHINE ON WORMMINER - Bitcoin Forum
As long as you are going to use the wayback machine. If you would like more information on bitcoin history checkout the new netflix documentary called.Specifically, it measures the number of times a hash function can be computed per sec.The bitcoin network is a peer-to-peer payment network that operates on a cryptographic protocol.
En blockchain er en distribuert database hvor hver node automatisk verifiserer endringer og.Bitcoin is both a virtual currency and an online payment system — one.There are three machine models in the Fast-Hash One series of Bitcoin mining machines: the Silver Edition, the Gold Edition and the Platinum Edition.
Bitcoin Mining Machine, Bitcoin Mining Machine Suppliers
This is the central mechanic behind the bitcoin economy, and mining is used to keep transactions secure and reliable.
Thomist - Exchange Bitcoin
How to get started with Bitcoin mining.
Popular Bitcoin-mining hardware brands include Butterfly Labs, Bitcoin Ultra, CoinTerra, and more.Write an Article Request a New Article Answer a Request More Ideas.Many other useful information pieces can be found in our blog.
Bitcoin is a digital and global money system (currency). These processors can be found in CPUs, graphics cards, or specialized machines called ASICs.
Bitcoin discussion - Bitcoin Forum
Mining programs run in the command line, and may need a batch file in order to start correctly, especially if you are connecting to a pool.When it comes time to start mining coins, you have two main options: join in with an established pool or attempt to mine on your own.Bitcoin mining is a lot like a giant lottery where you compete with your mining hardware with everyone on the network to earn bitcoins.
Your Bitcoin Machine
In actual fact using their machines to mine will not give the desired results as the bitcoin system automatically.
A pool allows you to share resources and split the rewards, which can lead to quicker returns.US Government Bans Professor for Mining Bitcoin with A. all of the machines dedicated to mining Bitcoin have a computing. of mining bitcoin with a.Bitcoin Money Machine Review By Warren is Bitcoin Money Machine Scam Or Legit System.This map can show you a variety of things including the fee %, location, nearby amenities, type.
What is bitcoin? - CoinDesk
As stated above, what you need for mining is simply a good mining rig.
ATM Machine Locations - Bitcoiniacs - The Bitcoin Store
Snacks for Bitcoin: A Vending Machine Retrofit
Биткойн – Уикипедия
Why do companies sell bitcoin mining rigs? - Quora
Would a Bitcoin ATM be profitable. you need to work hard to make customers in your area aware about your machine and.You will be spending far more on electricity than you will earn mining coins.The craziest money-making Bitcoin business out there has to be the companies that are making millions selling machines that mint money. |
OpenStreetMap, 1898
Collaborative mapping resource OpenStreetMap was created in 2004 as the ‘wikipedia of maps’. Much of the early digital mapping was crowdsourced by geek-cyclists. OpenCycleMap, Cyclestreets, and smartphone apps such as the one I commissioned for BikeHub, are initiatives that prove cyclists have an obsessive interest in accurate mapping. The surface ‘layer’ in OpenStreetMap is largely irrelevant to motorists. Car satnavs don’t route away from cobbled streets, but bicycle ones do. As my book will amply demonstrate, cyclists have always been highly interested in road surfaces, and on maps. And cyclist crowdsourcing of map information has a long history. For instance, in 1898, Messrs Bartholomew of Edinburgh stole a march on its many competitors by partnering with the most powerful road interest of the day: the Cyclists’ Touring Club. In return for on-the-ground knowledge from CTC’s 60,500 members, CTC was provided with discounted maps. The crowd sourcing enabled Bartholomew’s to update its maps every couple of years unlike the slow-moving, state-owned Ordnance Survey which relied on the methodical method of surveys by its own staff.
In 1898, John George Bartholomew, son of the founder of the map company (previous generations had been engravers as well as map-makers), wrote to the CTC’s secretary proposing that club members supplied the firm with up-to-date information. This was an astute move: cyclists were prolific, well-travelled tourists and, out of necessity, mad keen on maps.
The first of Bartholomew’s crowd-sourced maps was a “tourist and cyclist” map of the Lake District, published in 1903.
Bartholomew, with the help of cyclists, added detail to its maps, detail not on the stuffier Ordnance Survey maps. (The dearth of tourist-specific information on Ordnance Survey maps of the period isn’t terribly surprising, ordnance means weaponry and Ordnance Survey was state-owned because it produced maps for military purposes, not to guide day-trippers). Bartholomew also classified roads, using quaint and rather eye-of-the-beholder terms such as “indifferent.” It’s fascinating – and perhaps even a little upsetting – to track Bartholomew road descriptions between the Edwardian maps and those of the 1920s.
Major through routes – routes which had very often been brought back to life by cyclists – morphed into “motoring roads” even though none had yet been built as such. A handful of new “motoring roads” were built in the 1920s, some more in the 1930s but it wasn’t until the “motorway mania” of the 1960s before Britain really got roads that could be accurately called “motoring roads.”
MAP RESOURCES
Take a hi-res digital ride around Edwardian England and Wales with the National Library of Scotland’s online collection of 1902-1906 Bartholomew’s “Half Inch to the Mile Maps”. Or have a play with the date-sensitive transparency slider on the Great Britain time-traveller, “a seamless mosaic of Bartholomew half-inch to the mile maps of Great Britain to be viewed and compared to modern maps, 1897 and 1907, forming a snapshot of Great Britain from just over a century ago. The maps are georeferenced so that they can easily be compared to each other and to modern maps and satellite images.” Want to see the half-inch series maps in the flesh, and next to John George Bartholomew’s correspondence with the CTC? Get yourself to Edinburgh for the Bartholomew exhibition, which runs at the National Library of Scotland until 7th May.
There will be a lot more map-themed information in Roads Were Not Built For Cars, the Kickstarter campaign for which is still taking pledges. |
import * as React from 'react';
import createSvgIcon from './utils/createSvgIcon';
export default createSvgIcon(
<path d="M10 20v-6h4v6h5v-8h3L12 3 2 12h3v8z" />
, 'Home');
|
Lifeguard At Deadly Beach Predicted A Future Sand Collapse
A lifeguard at a beach in New Jersey where three people died when the sand collapsed under their feet as they walked along the shoreline said a year after the most recent death that “we know it’s going to happen again.”
North Wildwood lifeguard Lt. David Lindsay made the admission in a secretly recorded conversation played in court Friday as a judge weighed whether to dismiss a lawsuit concerning one of the deaths.
The city and state want Superior Court Judge John Porto to dismiss the lawsuit from the family of Brad Smith, of Horhsam, Pennsylvania, who died in July 2012. Porto said he will decide within three weeks whether the case should be sent to a jury.
Smith was walking in ankle-deep water at the beach with his daughter when the sand collapsed, plunging them and a friend into the swirling waters. A passer-by on a personal watercraft rescued the girl, who was being held above the waves by her father before he drowned.
Three years earlier, Jamila Watkins and 15-year-old Shayne Hart were walking along the water’s edge when the sand gave way beneath them, plunging them into the swirling waters of the inlet, killing both of them.
On Friday, Paul D’Amato, a lawyer for Smith’s widow Sandra, played a recoding secretly made of Lindsay, the lifeguard squad lieutenant, about a year after Smith’s death.
“As the beach patrol, we know it’s going to happen again,” he said on the recording, which was made in July 2013.
Smith’s family is suing the city and state, alleging negligent supervision. They claim that while North Wildwood placed signs near the beach entrance warning of dangerous currents, no one warned beachgoers the simple act of walking along the water’s edge could be dangerous or even fatal.
“There was no warning whatsoever,” D’Amato said. “We have a woman living without her husband and children living without their father. North Wildwood is responsible.”
Not so, counters Michael Barker, a lawyer for the Jersey shore town, a popular summer destination for vacationers from the Philadelphia region. He told the judge the lawsuit should be dismissed as a matter of law because the land in question is unimproved land, and governments cannot be sued for injuries that occur on property that the town did nothing to alter from its natural condition.
“There’s nothing there other than tideland, sea water, current, tides — all natural characteristics,” Barker said. “Inlets are dangerous. Slopes, gullies, holes: all these things can go on in an inlet.”
In evidence Smith’s family wants to present to a jury, North Wildwood lifeguard supervisors assert in depositions that conditions at the beach in question have been known to be dangerous for more than a decade, and that lifeguards routinely have to rescue people from the inlet waters. |
Fresh: NIGHTMØDE – The Pressure
The more I listen to this, the more brilliant it is. Although initially not something I’d usually go for, ‘The Pressure‘, the latest track from Nashville based producer/writer NIGHTMØDE is made from pure brilliance. The track blends danceable synth riffs with ambient, floaty vocals creating something that’s quite industrial but somehow also dreamy in places. On the other hand, ‘The Pressure’ is a powerful and urgent track with a striking chorus that’ll probably end up stuck in your head. |
---
abstract: 'Many efforts are currently underway to build a device capable of large scale quantum information processing (QIP). Whereas QIP has been demonstrated for a few qubits in several systems, many technical difficulties must be overcome in order to construct a large-scale device. In one proposal for large-scale QIP, trapped ions are manipulated by precisely controlled light pulses and moved through and stored in multizone trap arrays. The technical overhead necessary to precisely control both the ion geometrical configurations and the laser interactions is demanding. Here we propose methods that significantly reduce the overhead on laser beam control for performing single and multiple qubit operations on trapped ions. We show how a universal set of operations can be implemented by controlled transport of ions through stationary laser beams. At the same time, each laser beam can be used to perform many operations in parallel, potentially reducing the total laser power necessary to carry out QIP tasks. The overall setup necessary for implementing transport gates is simpler than for gates executed on stationary ions. We also suggest a transport-based two-qubit gate scheme utilizing microfabricated permanent magnets that can be executed without laser light.'
author:
- 'D. Leibfried, E. Knill, C. Ospelkaus and D. J. Wineland'
bibliography:
- 'jrnls.bib'
- 'transportgate.bib'
title: Transport quantum logic gates for trapped ions
---
Introduction {#Sec:Int}
============
A number of physical implementations have been proposed for quantum information processing (QIP) [@roadmap]. This paper is based on a proposal where trapped atomic ion qubits are to be held in a large trap array [@wineland98; @kielpinski02]. Its implementation requires transporting ions between separated zones, precise control of local potentials and, at the same time, precise control of laser beam pointing, intensity and pulse shape. These requirements create an imposing overhead of classical control for large trap arrays with multiple interaction zones. Ion transport is accomplished by electronically changing the potentials of individual control electrodes in the trap array [@rowe02] and might be realized with on-board CMOS electronics [@kim05], a technology with a long and very successful track record for scaling. The situation is very different for the optics necessary for laser beam control: Microfabricated beam steering optics and electro-optical devices are typically still “one-of-a-kind” designs with only small numbers produced and scalability in the context of QIP still to be demonstrated. This problem is compounded by the wavelengths that are of interest in QIP with trapped ions, which are typically in the near UV between 214 nm and 400 nm. In addition, a mature optical fiber technology does not yet exist for this wavelength range. It is anticipated that high laser power will be required in QIP with trapped ions [@ozeri06], so beam-splitters or lossy elements should be used sparingly. At the same time, fault tolerant architectures require implementing parallel operations [@divincenzo01]. Miniaturization of the currently used approach with switched beams, as discussed in [@kim05] (for example), is based on the use of a large number of beamsplitters and control elements to achieve both parallel and individual control of many different gate operations. Even if the elements used have little loss (which is currently hard to achieve in the UV), parallel operations would magnify the already demanding power requirements.
The purpose of this paper is to show that precise control of the time-dependent external potentials used to transport ions within a trap array can replace the requirement for precise temporal control of laser beam intensity in order to implement universal quantum computation. In an architecture based on transport, laser beams can be switched on and off collectively with relaxed requirements on timing and on/off ratios. Such a scenario may also allow for efficient use of one and the same laser beam in many parallel operations, thus achieving parallelism without the need for higher laser power. Under such circumstances it is even conceivable to further enhance the available power in laser beams with optical cavities of modest finesse.
The paper is organized as follows: Section \[Sec:BasArc\] outlines the basic architecture and QIP primitives necessary for universal quantum computation with the proposed scheme. We concentrate on qubits that are comprised of the hyperfine states of ions, which are manipulated by stimulated two-photon Raman transitions [@wineland98], but it is possible to adapt the basic architecture for ion qubits of a different type. Section \[Sec:RamTra\] and \[Sec:ParDes\] briefly summarize the necessary Raman laser interactions and the spatial dependence of the laser beam modes used in subsequent sections. Sections \[Sec:OneQub\] and \[Sec:TwoQub\] outline the details of one-qubit rotations and two-qubit phase gates implemented by ion transport through laser beams. Section \[Sec:SymRec\] discusses how sympathetic cooling can be incorporated and section \[Sec:Ext\] introduces some possible extensions of the scheme, including a two-qubit gate based on transporting ions over a periodic array of microfabricated permanent magnets, without the need for laser beams. Finally we summarize and offer some conclusions in section \[Sec:Con\].
Basic architecture {#Sec:BasArc}
==================
The goal of the architecture discussed here is to minimize the requirements on laser-beam steering, pulse shaping and switching as much as possible by utilizing temporal control of potentials applied to the ions in a multizone trap array. Temporal control is already needed for efficient transport, separation and recombination of ions, so, with refinements, we can also employ it for qubit gate operations.
Our proposed architecture is based on a multi-zone geometry [@wineland98; @kielpinski02; @steane04; @kim05; @reichle06; @hucul07]. To be specific we consider planar surface electrode trap arrays [@chiaverini05] in the following, but the basic ideas should also work in other types of trap arrays. In this architecture, logic operations are implemented by two basic primitive steps:
**(i)** The ions carrying the quantum information are arranged into a particular spatial configuration in the trap array while the laser beams are switched off \[Fig. \[Fig:BasArc\] (a)\].
**(ii)** All laser-beam assisted operations scheduled for the configuration are implemented after (i) is carried out. The laser beam(s) are collectively switched on, then single qubit ions or pairs of qubit ions are transported through the laser beams to implement one-qubit rotations, two-qubit gates and measurements \[Fig. \[Fig:BasArc\] (b)\]. Finally the laser beams are switched off collectively.
Steps (i) and (ii) are repeated until the computation is finished. In more detail, the control for ion motion in (i) can be accomplished with a few sequential elementary sub-steps. For example, these sub-steps could be translations of the potential wells containing an ion or ions in the array and splitting and recombing potential wells to reconfigure ions into different groupings [@rowe02; @barrett04]. These basic operations are indicated schematically in Fig. \[Fig:BasArc\] (a). In addition to these classical means of transport, quantum information can be transported in the array without physically moving the information carriers by teleportation [@bennett93; @gottesman99a; @riebe04; @barrett04]. Teleportation could be supported by a backbone of entangled qubits distributed over the whole array before and/or in parallel with the computation. Such an entanglement backbone could also be part of an efficient error correction scheme [@knill05a].
After the preconfiguration of qubits in the array, step (ii) is implemented. This step can be broken down into three basic laser assisted sub-operations that we call [*transport gates*]{}: single-qubit rotations, two-qubit gates and measurement. Single-qubit rotations can be initiated by first turning on specific laser beams globally over the entire array. Then the qubits scheduled for one qubit-rotations are transported through the laser beams in a controlled fashion (see Fig. \[Fig:BasArc\] (b)). Next the beams for two-qubit gates are turned on and the pairs of ions scheduled for two-qubit gates are transported through the beams. Finally all qubits scheduled for measurement are read out by either turning on a detection beam at their current location or transporting them through a globally switched detection beam. Depending on the exact nature of the detection scheme, all measurements can be done in parallel if position-resolving detectors are used. Alternatively, detection could be accomplished serially with scheduled transports if no (or only limited) position resolution is available. The physical implementation of one-qubit rotations and two-qubit gates is discussed in sections \[Sec:OneQub\] and \[Sec:TwoQub\] respectively.
Previously, temporal control of ions’ internal states, such as qubit rotations, had to be achieved by individually calibrated, precise switching of laser beams. With transport gates laser beams can be switched on and off globally over the entire trap array while precise individual control is now transferred to the ion motion. This also facilitates the use of one set of laser beams for parallel operations on ions distributed over the trap array, reduces the complexity of optics, and might lead to lower requirements on the total laser power necessary to run processors with a certain number of qubits.
By repetition of (i) and (ii) we can realize one-qubit rotations, two-qubit gates and measurement between arbitrary qubits in an arbitrary order, which is sufficient for universal quantum computation [@barenco95]. Individual operations are then controlled by the motion of ions alone, while the switching of lasers can be implemented with reduced timing precision. This could be of significant practical importance, if active feedback on the lasers to counteract intensity or beam position fluctuations is desired. In the traditional scheme where operations depend on the temporal characteristics of the laser beams, such feedback would have to act on timescales much shorter than that of the laser pulses. In the scheme discussed here, the transport of the ions can be delayed by a suitable amount of time for the feedback to settle. Such a procedure could also alleviate the detrimental effects of other switching imperfections such as phase chirps in acousto-optic modulators. As a further example of the potential simplification, consider the problem of implementing in parallel a specific rotation on several spatially separated qubits with the same laser beam. If the rotation is implemented by applying a pulse to ions already in place, we require the laser intensity to be the same at the site of each ion, a difficult task, given the general divergence/convergence of the laser beams. This problem can be alleviated by controlling the transport of each qubit through the beam separately. Furthermore, since the ions are transported completely through the laser beams, the gate interaction does not change if beams have small pointing instabilities in the plane of the trap array that change on a timescale long compared to the gate interactions (typically fulfilled for beam-steering timescales in the laboratory). It is therefore sufficient to stabilize the beam pointing in the direction perpendicular to the motion of the ions.
Two-photon stimulated Raman interactions {#Sec:RamTra}
========================================
In this section we briefly review the basic interactions that play a role in the transport gates discussed later. We assume that we have perfect control of the ion motion in the array; in particular, we assume that we can confine one or two qubit ions in one potential well with precisely defined motional frequencies, and we also assume we can translate the well along a predefined trajectory without changing the motional frequencies. We assume that the ions start in and remain in the motional ground state in the accelerating phases at the beginning and end of the transport and that the well is translated with a constant velocity $\mathbf{v}$ relative to the laboratory frame while the ions move through the laser beams. This situation, as viewed from the ions’ frame of reference, is equivalent to that of ions in the ground state in a stationary potential well under the influence of temporally controlled laser beams. We can therefore describe one-qubit gates and two-qubit gates with the interaction Hamiltonians that are also appropriate for ions at rest in the laboratory frame. The difference is that, for each operation, the coordinates of the ions are transformed by $\mathbf{r}\rightarrow \mathbf{r}_{\rm lab}+\mathbf{v}~ t$ with $\mathbf{r}_{\rm lab}$ a point at rest in the laboratory frame that is taken to coincide with $\mathbf{r}$ at time $t=0$. We assume the qubit state space is spanned by two hyperfine ground states of each ion, formally equivalent to the two states of a spin-1/2 magnetic moment in a magnetic field. We therefore label the qubit states ${{{|}{\uparrow}\rangle}}$ and ${{{|}{\downarrow}\rangle}}$ and denote their energy difference by $\hbar \omega_0$ . We consider stimulated Raman transitions [@monroe95; @wineland98], implemented with two laser beams with wavevectors $\mathbf{k}_1$ and $\mathbf{k}_2$ and frequencies $\omega_1$ and $\omega_2$. After adiabatic elimination of the off-resonant levels, the effective interactions of one ion with two Raman laser beams can be described in the rotating wave approximation by the Hamiltonian [@wineland98; @leibfried03a; @wineland03] $$\begin{aligned}
\label{GenHam}
H_I&=&
\hbar \Omega_0 e^{-i([\delta_0-\omega_0] t + \phi)}
e^{i \Delta \mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{r}} | \uparrow\rangle \langle \downarrow|+
{\rm h.c.}
\nonumber \\
&+& \hbar \Omega_\uparrow e^{-i(\delta_0 t + \phi)}
e^{i \Delta \mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{r}} | \uparrow\rangle \langle \uparrow|+
{\rm h.c.}
\nonumber \\
&+& \hbar \Omega_\downarrow e^{-i(\delta_0 t + \phi)}
e^{i \Delta \mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{r}} | \downarrow\rangle \langle \downarrow|+
{\rm h.c.}
\nonumber \\
&+& \hbar \Delta_\downarrow | \downarrow\rangle \langle \downarrow|+
\hbar \Delta_\uparrow | \uparrow\rangle \langle \uparrow|,\end{aligned}$$ where h.c. is the hermitian conjugate of the previous term, $\hbar$ is Planck’s constant divided by 2$\pi$, $\delta_0=\omega_1-\omega_2$ is the frequency difference, $\Delta
\mathbf{k}=\mathbf{k}_1-\mathbf{k}_2$ the wavevector difference and $\phi=\phi_1-\phi_2$ is the phase difference of the two laser fields at $\mathbf{r}=0$. The above expression breaks the total interaction down into the three parts: (i) interactions that can change the spin and possibly the motional state at the same time (sideband transitions) are associated with the Rabi frequency $\Omega_0$, (ii) interactions that can change only the motional state are associated with the Rabi frequencies $\Omega_s$ with $s\epsilon\{\uparrow,
\downarrow\},$ and (iii) pure level shifts $\Delta_s$ due to the AC-Stark effect induced independently by each of the two laser beams. Because the energy of the ion’s internal and/or external degrees of freedom changes in transitions of type (i) and (ii), these interactions can be only resonantly driven by one photon from each of the two electric fields (which also need to have an energy difference appropriate for energy conservation in the process) while the coupling in (iii) is mediated by two photons out of the same electric field (we do not consider the case $\delta_0=0$). The Rabi frequencies are given by sums over dipole matrix elements: $$\begin{aligned}
\label{RabFre}
\Omega_0&=&\frac{1}{4 \hbar^2}\sum_{l}
\frac{
\langle \uparrow|\mathbf{d} \cdot \mathbf{E_2}|l\rangle
\langle l|\mathbf{d} \cdot \mathbf{E_1} |\downarrow\rangle}{\Delta_{l1}}+
\frac{
\langle \uparrow|\mathbf{d} \cdot \mathbf{E_1}|l\rangle
\langle l|\mathbf{d} \cdot \mathbf{E_2} |\downarrow\rangle
}{\Delta_{l2}},
\nonumber \\
\Omega_{s}&=&\frac{1}{4 \hbar^2}\sum_{l}
\frac{
\langle s|\mathbf{d} \cdot\mathbf{E_2}|l\rangle
\langle l|\mathbf{d} \cdot \mathbf{E_1} |s\rangle}{\Delta_{l1}} +
\frac{
\langle s|\mathbf{d} \cdot\mathbf{E_1}|l\rangle
\langle l|\mathbf{d} \cdot \mathbf{E_2} |s\rangle
}{\Delta_{l2}},
\nonumber \\
\Delta_{s}&=&\frac{1}{4 \hbar^2}\sum_{l}
\frac{
|\langle s|\mathbf{d} \cdot\mathbf{E_1}|l\rangle
|^2}{\Delta_{l1}} +
\frac{
|\langle s|\mathbf{d} \cdot\mathbf{E_2}|l\rangle
|^2}{\Delta_{l2}},\end{aligned}$$ where $\mathbf{d}$ is the dipole operator (assumed to be real by convention), $\mathbf{E}_1$ and $\mathbf{E}_2$ are the two (real) laser field amplitude vectors, and $\Delta_{lj}=\omega_j-(E_l-E_s)/\hbar$ is the detuning of laser field $j$ ($j \epsilon\{1,2\}$) with respect to the near-resonant level $|l\rangle$. Typically $|\downarrow\rangle$ ($|\uparrow\rangle$) is in the ground-state S manifold with energy $E_\downarrow$ ($E_\uparrow$) while $|l\rangle$ is one of the levels in the first excited P manifold of the ion with energy $E_l$. In the regime of power and detunings of interest for this work [@ozeri06], the hierarchy $\Delta_l \gg \omega_0 \gg
(\Omega_0,\Omega_s,\Delta_s)$ applies. In that case, the choices of $\delta_0$ and $\Delta k$ determine which terms dominate the evolution described by Eq. (\[GenHam\]). For $\delta_0 \simeq
\omega_0$ the terms connected to process (i) are near-resonant, leading to spin-flip transitions that can be highly independent of the motion if, in addition, the laser beams are co-propagating, leading to $|\Delta \mathbf{k}| \simeq 0$ (see below). For $\delta_0
\simeq \omega_m$ and $|\Delta \mathbf{k}| \simeq |\mathbf{k}|$, with $\omega_m$ one of the motional frequencies of the ion(s), process (ii) dominates, leading to state-dependent driving of the motion.
In both situations we would like to suppress (or at least precisely control) the AC-Stark shifts (iii) that are inevitable in the presence of the electric fields. In practice we can often balance the AC-Stark shifts $\Delta_s$ caused by process (iii) for $|\uparrow\rangle$ and $|\downarrow\rangle$ without diminishing the Rabi frequencies $\Omega_0$ and $\Omega_s$ appreciably by a judicious choice of the intensity and/or polarizations of $\mathbf{E}_1$ and $\mathbf{E}_2$. For example in $^9$Be$^+$ two polarizations close to linear and orthogonal to each other can be used to yield $\Delta_\downarrow-\Delta_\uparrow \simeq 0$ and $\Omega_{\downarrow} \simeq -2 \Omega_{\uparrow}$ for the states $|\uparrow\rangle =|F=1,m_F=-1\rangle$ and $|\downarrow\rangle
=|F=2,m_F=-2\rangle$ in the $S_{1/2}$ electronic ground state [@wineland03]. On the other hand, we can use only one of the Raman beams (e.g. $\mathbf{E}_1\neq 0, \mathbf{E}_2$=0 with $\mathbf{E}_1$ circularly polarized) that induce state-dependent AC-Stark shifts to implement rotations around the z-axis of the Bloch sphere of the form (up to an irrelevant global phase) $$\begin{aligned}
\label{PhiRot}
Z(\phi){{{|}{\uparrow}\rangle}} &=& e^{i \phi} {{{|}{\uparrow}\rangle}}
\\\nonumber Z(\phi){{{|}{\downarrow}\rangle}}&=& e^{-i \phi} {{{|}{\downarrow}\rangle}}.\end{aligned}$$
Paraxial description of the laser modes {#Sec:ParDes}
=======================================
We assume that all laser beams can be described as having a Gaussian TEM$_{00}$ transverse beam profile. A Gaussian beam with wavevector $k$ and angular frequency $\omega$ propagating along the $z$-axis is the lowest order solution of the paraxial wave equation and can be described by [@kogelnik66] $$\label{GauBea}
E(\mathbf{r},t)=\frac{E_0}{2} \frac{w_0}{w(z)} \exp \left[\frac{-r^2}{w(z)^2}\right]\exp\left[-i \left(k z- \omega
t+\phi-\arctan(z/z_r)+\frac{k r^2}{2 R(z)}\right)\right]+ {\rm c.c.}$$ with $w_0$ the beam waist and $$\begin{aligned}
\label{RalRan}
w(z)&=&w_0\sqrt{1+(z/z_r)^2}\\ \nonumber
R(z)&=&z(1+(z_r/z)^2)\\ \nonumber
z_r&=&\frac{k w_0^2}{2}\end{aligned}$$ For simplicity we consider only the situation where $|z|\ll |z_r|$, although it is possible to generalize the formalism to the curved wavefronts in the regions with $|z|\geq |z_r|$. In our region of interest we can write $w(z)\approx w_0$, $\arctan(z/z_r) \approx 0$, and $(k r^2)/(2 R(z))\approx~0$. Under these approximations the beam simplifies to $$\label{SimGau}
E(\mathbf{r},t)=\frac{E_0}{2} \exp[-r^2/w_0^2]\exp \left(-i (k z- \omega
t+\phi)\right)+{\rm c.c.}$$ This expression describes the salient points of the spatial dependence of the beams in the following discussions.
One-qubit rotations {#Sec:OneQub}
===================
Up to the present, laser-induced one-qubit rotations of trapped ion qubits have been implemented by turning laser beams on and off for a duration appropriate to achieve a certain rotation angle on the Bloch sphere. By also controlling the relative phase of the laser beams, arbitrary rotations on the Bloch sphere can be implemented. Here we propose to move ions precisely through a laser beam to achieve the same level of control. The duration of the interaction is now controlled by the speed $v=|\mathbf{v}|$ of the movement. We assume that the ion under study traverses two co-propagating laser beams at an angle $\gamma$ relative to the $k$-vectors \[see Fig. \[Fig:BeaPar\] (a)\]. Since the wavevectors of the two laser fields are not exactly equal, their relative phase changes by $\Delta
\phi_p \simeq s_0~ \omega_0/c=2 \pi (s_0 /\Lambda_0)$ over locations separated by distance $s_0$ along the direction of the beams, where $\Lambda_0$ is the wavelength corresponding to the hyperfine transition frequency of the ion in question. Typically $\omega_0/(2 \pi)$ is one to several gigahertz so that in $^9$Be$^+$, $\omega_0 \simeq 2 \pi$ 1.25 GHz and $\Lambda_0 \simeq
0.24$ m. Therefore $\Delta \mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{r}
=(\mathbf{k}_1-\mathbf{k}_2)\cdot \mathbf{r}$ can be taken to be constant for the typical variations of $\mathbf{r}$ of a few nanometers, and the effective Hamiltonian Eq. (\[GenHam\]) is highly independent of the ion motion. If the laser frequencies differ by $\delta_0=\omega_0$, we can drop all rapidly rotating terms in Eq. (\[GenHam\]) in a second rotating-wave approximation and are left with $$\label{RamHam}
H_{\rm flip}=\hbar \Omega_0 e^{-i\phi} | \uparrow\rangle \langle \downarrow|+
{\rm h.c.}$$ leading to Rabi rotations $R(\theta, \phi)$ on the Bloch sphere that can be described by $$\begin{aligned}
\label{SingQub}
R(\theta,\phi){{{|}{\uparrow}\rangle}} &=& \cos(\theta/2){{{|}{\uparrow}\rangle}}-i e^{i
\phi} \sin(\theta/2){{{|}{\downarrow}\rangle}}
\\\nonumber
R(\theta,\phi){{{|}{\downarrow}\rangle}}&=& -i e^{-i \phi}
\sin(\theta/2){{{|}{\uparrow}\rangle}}+\cos(\theta/2){{{|}{\downarrow}\rangle}}.\end{aligned}$$
For simplicity we assume that both beams have the same transverse mode function as given by Eq. (\[SimGau\]). The trajectory is such that the ion is located in the center of the beams at $t=0$, where it experiences the maximum coupling strength $\Omega_m$, which can be calculated by inserting $E_0$ of Eq. (\[SimGau\]) into $\Omega_0$ of Eq. (\[RabFre\]). The time dependent Raman-coupling strength is then $$\label{CocCou}
\Omega(t)=
\Omega_m \exp[-2 (v \sin( \gamma) t/w_0)^2].$$ Integration of Eq. (\[CocCou\]) gives the rotation angle $\theta$ on the Bloch sphere resulting from a single traverse of the beams starting at time $-T$ and ending at $T$: $$\label{BloAng}
\theta = \int_{-T}^{T} \Omega(t)~ dt=
\Omega_m \frac{w_0}{v \sin(\gamma)}\sqrt{\frac{\pi}{2}}
~{\rm erf}(\sqrt{2} v \sin(\gamma) T/w_0),$$ where erf$(z) = (2/\sqrt{\pi})~\int_0^{z} e^{-t^2} dt$ is the error function. In practice, it is permissible to neglect effects due to the finite distance of the transport start and end points from the center of the modes ($T\rightarrow \infty$), in which case $~{\rm
erf}(\sqrt{2} v \sin(\gamma) T /w_0)\rightarrow 1$ in Eq. (\[BloAng\]). The relative error $\Delta \theta/\theta$ introduced by this approximation is $ \Delta \theta/\theta=1-{\rm erf}(\sqrt{2}
D \sin(\gamma) /w_0)$, where $D$ is the initial distance of the ion from the center of the beams \[see Fig. \[Fig:BeaPar\] (c)\]. As an example, if $\gamma=\pi$ (beams perpendicular to the trajectory), the infidelity $1-F \simeq (\Delta \theta/\theta)^2$ is smaller than $10^{-4}$ if $D > 2.6~w_0$. Based on this path length of 2.6 $w_0$ we can compare the approximate duration $T_t$ to execute a transport gate with angle $\theta$ to the duration $T_s$ necessary for the same rotation if the ion resides in the center of beams that are switched on and off suddenly, yielding $T_t/T_s=2.6
\sqrt{2/\pi}\simeq 2.07$.
The exact value of $\theta$ can be controlled by the speed with which the ion is transported through the beams. For example, to execute a $\pi$-pulse given a waist size of $w_0=$ 20 $\mu$m and $\Omega_m=$ 250 kHz, we need a velocity $v \simeq$ 25 m/s. Similar transport speeds (average speed 25 m/s and a peak velocity of about 45 m/s), while keeping a single ion in the ground state of the transported potential well, have been demonstrated previously [@rowe02]. Moreover, the ground state does not need to be preserved for single qubit rotations (using co-propagating beams), so faster, nonadiabatic transport is possible if the ion can be sympathetically recooled after a rotation [@wineland98; @kielpinski02].
The angle $\phi$ on the Bloch sphere is controlled by the relative phase of the laser fields at $\mathbf{r}_{\rm lab}$. This phase changes by $\Delta \phi_p \simeq 2 \pi (s_0 /\Lambda_0)$ between two interaction zones utilizing the same beam that are separated by a beam path of length $s_0$. Independent of whether or not temporal laser pulses or transport gates are used, $\Delta \phi_p$ cannot be neglected over an extended trap array. It is necessary to do careful bookkeeping of phases over an extended trap array to properly set and control operations. If the same pair of beams is used for one-qubit rotations in several different places, we do not have the freedom of setting $\phi$ independently for all these rotations. There are several ways to deal with this problem. For example, a straightforward, but logistically costly, solution would be to transport a given ion to a location where $\phi$ happens to be correct for the rotation scheduled on that ion. A more flexible strategy would be to have a discrete set of different relative phases that could be implemented by several beam pairs that are turned on in parallel to address separate locations or by sequentially switching the relative phase of the same beam (universal computation can be achieved with a discrete set of one-qubit rotations [@nielsen00]). The time overhead caused by such sequential rotations may not slow down the computation considerably, because one-qubit rotations are typically much faster than two-qubit gates.
We could also momentarily turn on only one of the Raman beams. Transporting the ion through that beam with a certain velocity induces a time-dependent AC Stark shift that can be used to achieve rotations $Z(\phi)$ (see the discussion preceding Eq. (\[PhiRot\])). A given rotation $R(\theta_2,\phi)$ with $\phi$ fixed can be turned into an arbitrary one-qubit rotation $U$ by sandwiching it between two $Z$-operations, $U=e^{i \phi_4}
Z(\phi_3)R(\theta_2,\phi)Z(\phi_1)$ [@nielsen00]. In the context of a multi-operation algorithm, this can be further simplified: The final operation $Z(\phi_3)$ does not affect measurement outcomes and can therefore be neglected in a one-qubit operation that precedes a measurement. This also holds if two-qubit phase gates are applied before the measurement since all $Z(\phi)$ commute with phase gates [@footnote2]. For all other operations the final step of the previous rotation $Z_{\rm prev}(\phi_{3})$ can be combined into the next one-qubit manipulation $U'=R(\theta_2',\phi')Z'(\phi_1')$ where $Z'(\phi_1')=Z(\phi_1')Z_{\rm prev}(\phi_3)=Z(\phi_1'+\phi_3)$. Thus transporting the qubit ion through one laser beam first and then through two beams with detuning $\omega_0$ at the appropriate velocity is sufficient for implementing universal one-qubit manipulations.
Two-qubit gates {#Sec:TwoQub}
===============
For the two-qubit gate we consider two ions trapped in the same harmonic well. If the frequency difference of the two Raman beams is close to a motional frequency $\omega_m$ and much smaller than the qubit level frequency difference, $\delta_0 \ll \omega_0$, we can neglect terms rotating with $\omega_0$ in Eq. (\[GenHam\]). Then the effective Hamiltonian of the ions can be approximated by $$\begin{aligned}
\label{TwoGat}
H_{zz}&=&
\hbar \left[ \Omega_{\uparrow}(\mathbf{r}_1)| \uparrow 1 \rangle \langle \uparrow 1|+
\Omega_{\downarrow}(\mathbf{r}_1)| \downarrow 1\rangle \langle \downarrow 1|\right]
e^{-i(\delta_0 t + \phi)}e^{i \Delta \mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{r_1}} + {\rm h.c.}
\nonumber \\
&+& \hbar \left[\Omega_{\uparrow}(\mathbf{r}_2) | \uparrow 2\rangle \langle \uparrow 2|+
\Omega_{\downarrow}(\mathbf{r}_2)| \downarrow 2\rangle \langle \downarrow
2| \right]
e^{-i(\delta_0 t + \phi)} e^{i \Delta \mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{r}_2}
+ {\rm h.c.},\end{aligned}$$ where $\mathbf{r}_1$ and $\mathbf{r}_2$ are the positions of the two ions. We use a shorthand notation for the two-qubit operators $|
\uparrow 1 \rangle \langle \uparrow 1|\bigotimes | I 2 \rangle
\langle I 2| \equiv |\uparrow 1 \rangle \langle \uparrow 1|$ and so on, suppressing identity operators $I$. Two ions in the same harmonic potential well perform normal-mode oscillations around their equilibrium position. We choose coordinates such that the axis along which the ion conformation aligns coincides with the transport direction ($z$-axis). The equilibrium distance is determined by the balance of Coulomb repulsion and the restoring forces of the external potential and is given by $d=[q^2/(2 \pi \epsilon_0 m~
\omega_{\rm COM}^2)]^{1/3}$, with $\epsilon_0$ the vacuum permittivity, $m$ the mass and $\omega_{\rm COM}$ the center-of mass oscillation frequency of the ions [@wineland98]. We can rewrite the ion positions as $\mathbf{r}_{1}=\mathbf{r}_0 + d/2
~\mathbf{e}_z+\delta \mathbf{r}_{1}$ and $\mathbf{r}_{2}=\mathbf{r}_0 - d/2 ~\mathbf{e}_z+\delta
\mathbf{r}_{2}$, where $\mathbf{r}_0$ coincides with the minimum of the harmonic potential, $\mathbf{e}_z$ is a unit vector along the $z$-axis and $\delta \mathbf{r}_{j}$ describes the small displacements of ion $j$ around it’s equilibrium position. Substituting $\mathbf{r}_0 \rightarrow \mathbf{r}_{\rm lab} +
\mathbf{v}~t$, we can neglect the overall phase-factor $\phi+\Delta
\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{r}_{\rm lab}$ that is common to both ions and, as long as it is constant over the time of a gate interaction, does not change the logical phase of the gate. Therefore, in contrast to the one-qubit rotations, no bookkeeping of $\phi$ over the trap array is necessary. We include the Doppler-shift $\Delta
\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{v}t$ in $\delta_0$, define $\varphi \equiv ~
\Delta k_z d/2$ and make the Lamb-Dicke approximation, so that $\exp[i \Delta \mathbf{k}\cdot \delta \mathbf{r}_{j}] \simeq 1+i
\Delta \mathbf{k}\cdot \delta \mathbf{r}_{j}$, which is valid whenever the excursions $|\delta \mathbf{r}_{j}|$ are small enough that $|\Delta \mathbf{k}\cdot \delta \mathbf{r}_{j}|\ll 1$. We also neglect the small differences in Rabi-frequency due to the different positions of the two ions within the Gaussian beam (assuming $d \ll
w_0$) and set $\Omega_s(\mathbf{r}_{j})\simeq
\Omega_s(\mathbf{r}_0)$ ($s ~\epsilon ~\{\uparrow, \downarrow \}$).
Using these definitions and approximations we can rewrite Eq.(\[TwoGat\]): $$\begin{aligned}
\label{TwoLD}
H_{zz}&\simeq&
\hbar \left[ \Omega_{\uparrow}(\mathbf{r}_0)| \uparrow 1\rangle \langle \uparrow 1|+
\Omega_{\downarrow}(\mathbf{r}_0)| \downarrow 1\rangle \langle \downarrow 1|\right]
e^{-i(\delta_0 t + \varphi)}(1+i \Delta
\mathbf{k}\cdot \delta \mathbf{r}_{1}) + {\rm c.c.}
\nonumber \\
&+& \hbar \left[\Omega_{\uparrow}(\mathbf{r}_0) | \uparrow 2\rangle \langle \uparrow 2|+
\Omega_{\downarrow}(\mathbf{r}_0)| \downarrow 2\rangle \langle \downarrow
2| \right]
e^{-i(\delta_0 t - \varphi)} (1+i \Delta
\mathbf{k}\cdot \delta \mathbf{r}_{2})
+ {\rm c.c.}
\nonumber \\\end{aligned}$$ We can now replace the small displacements $\delta \mathbf{r}_{j}$ by the corresponding sum of all normal-mode displacements, including those in the directions orthogonal to $\mathbf{e}_z$. For two ions of equal mass the two normal modes along the $z$-axis are an in-phase (center-of-mass, COM) oscillation of both ions at frequency $\omega_{\rm COM}$ and and out-of-phase (stretch, str) oscillation at frequency $\omega_{\rm str}=\sqrt{3} \omega_{\rm COM}$ with normal coordinates $z_{\rm COM} = 1/\sqrt{2}~(\delta \mathbf{r}_{1}
+ \delta \mathbf{r}_{2})\cdot \mathbf{e}_z$ and $z_{\rm str} =
1/\sqrt{2}~(\delta\mathbf{r}_{1} -
\delta\mathbf{r}_{2})\cdot\mathbf{e}_z$. To be specific, we concentrate on detunings $\delta_0\simeq \omega_{\rm str}$ close to the stretch mode frequency, so that $|\delta_0-\omega_{\rm str}|\ll
\{\omega_{\rm COM}, \omega_{\rm str}, \omega_{\rm str}- \omega_{\rm
COM}\}$. In the interaction picture, each normal-mode position operator has the same form as the stretch mode operator, $$\label{StrOpe}
z_{\rm str}=\sqrt{\frac{\hbar}{2 m \omega_{\rm str}}}
(a e^{-i \omega_{\rm str} t}+ a^\dag e^{i \omega_{\rm str} t}),$$ with $\omega_{\rm str}$ replaced by the corresponding mode frequency. Here $a^\dag$($a$) is the harmonic oscillator mode creation (destruction) operator. Once inserted into Eq. (\[TwoLD\]), all rapidly oscillating terms average to zero and are neglected in the following; we keep the near-resonant term, which is proportional to $e^{\pm i (\delta_0-\omega_{\rm str})}$. Substituting the normal coordinates, setting $\eta=\Delta
\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{e}_z \sqrt{\hbar/(2 m \omega_{\rm str})}$ and making the definition $\delta \equiv \omega_{\rm str}-\delta_0$ we get $$\label{TwLDn}
H_{zz}\simeq i \hbar \eta~\sum_{s,s'} (A_{s s'}e^{i \delta
t}~a^{\dag} -A_{s s'}^* e^{-i \delta t}~ a )|s s'\rangle\langle s
s'|,$$ with $s,s' \epsilon \{\uparrow, \downarrow\}$, $|s s'\rangle \langle
s s'|\equiv |s 1\rangle\langle s 1 |\bigotimes | s' 2\rangle\langle
s' 2|$ and $$\begin{aligned}
\label{StaDrv}
A_{\uparrow \uparrow} &=& - \sqrt{2} i \sin(\varphi)~
\Omega_\uparrow
\nonumber \\
A_{\uparrow \downarrow}&=& \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(\Omega_\uparrow
e^{-i\varphi}-\Omega_\downarrow e^{i \varphi})
\nonumber \\
A_{\downarrow \uparrow}&=&\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(\Omega_\downarrow e^{-i
\varphi}-\Omega_\uparrow e^{i \varphi})
\nonumber \\
A_{\downarrow \downarrow}
&=& - \sqrt{2} i \sin(\varphi)~ \Omega_\downarrow.\end{aligned}$$ The Hamiltonian $H_{zz}$ generates a time- and internal-state dependent coherent drive [@glauber63] resulting from state-dependent dipole forces on the ions. Since the infinitesimal generator of the evolution $H_{zz}$ does not commute with itself for different times, and $\delta \neq 0$, the evolution needs to be calculated with either a time-ordered integral approach [@puri01] or another method that properly evaluates the acquired state dependent phase. As briefly described in the methods section of Ref. [@leibfried03b], we can start from the infinitesimal displacement $d\alpha(t)= \eta A_{s s'} e^{i \delta t} $ generated by $H_{zz}$ and calculate the total coherent displacement $$\label{AlpInt}
\alpha(t)= \int_{t_0}^{t} d\alpha(t') dt'= \eta A_{s s'} \int_{t_0}^{t} e^{i \delta t'} dt',$$ and the acquired phase $$\begin{aligned}
\label{PhaInt}
\Phi(t) &=& {\rm Im}\left[\int_{t_0}^{t} \alpha^*(t') d\alpha(t')
dt'\right]\nonumber \\
&=& {\rm Im}\left[\int_{t_0}^{t} \left(\int_{t_0}^{t'} d\alpha^*(t'')~ dt'' \right)
~d\alpha(t') ~ dt'\right],\end{aligned}$$ to express the evolution $U_{zz}(t) = \exp(i \Phi) \exp(i[\alpha(t)
a^\dag-\alpha^*(t) a])$ caused by $H_{zz}$. We can now restrict our attention to the special case of two Gaussian beams of equal frequency that have approximately orthogonal polarization and counter-propagate with ${\mathbf{k}_1=-\mathbf{k}_2}=\mathbf{k}$ (a polarization gradient standing wave, see Fig. \[Fig:BeaPar\] (b)), with angles $\gamma$ and $\pi+\gamma$, respectively, to the transport direction of the ion pair. In the frame of reference of the moving ions, the beams are Doppler shifted by $ \Delta \omega =
\pm |k| |v| \cos(\gamma)$, respectively, setting the relative detuning of the beams to $$\label{DopShi}
\delta_0 = 2 |k| |v| \cos(\gamma).$$ As in the discussion before Eq. (\[CocCou\]) we assume that both beams have the same transverse mode function given by Eq. (\[SimGau\]), and the trajectory is such that the ions traverse the center of the beams at $t=0$, where they experience the maximum coupling strength $\Omega_{s,m}$ with $s~\epsilon~
\{\uparrow,\downarrow\}$. The time dependent Raman-coupling strength is then $$\label{ConCou}
\Omega_s=
\Omega_{s,m} \exp[-2 (v \sin( \gamma) t/w_0)^2].$$ We can define the approximate transit duration of the ions through the beam $\tau \equiv w_0/(\sqrt{2} v \sin(\gamma))$. Since the Gaussian envelope is common to both $\Omega_s$, we can rewrite Eq. (\[StaDrv\]) as $$\label{GauDrv}
A_{s,s'}(t) = A^{0}_{s,s'} e^{-t^2/\tau^2},$$ with $A^{0}_{s,s'}\equiv A_{s,s'}(t=0)$. It is then straightforward to solve the integral for the mode displacement in phase space Eq. (\[AlpInt\]) $$\label{AlpGau}
\alpha_{s s'}(t)= \eta A^{0}_{s s'} \int_{-t}^{t} e^{-t'^2/\tau^2+i \delta t'} dt' =
e^{-\frac{\delta ^2 \tau^2 }{4}} \frac{\sqrt{\pi } \eta A^{0}_{s s'} \tau}{2}
\left[\text{erf}\left(t/\tau -\frac{i
\delta \tau}{2}\right)+\text{erf}\left(t/\tau +\frac{i
\delta \tau}{2}\right)\right].$$ For the final displacement, after the ions have traversed a distance equal to several beam-waists we can evaluate Eq. (\[GauDrv\]) at $t=\infty$ and find $$\label{AlpInf}
\alpha_{s s'}(\infty)= e^{-\frac{\delta ^2 \tau^2}{4}} \sqrt{\pi } \eta A^{0}_{s s'} \tau .$$ This expression shows that the end point of the trajectory can be $\alpha_{s s'}(\infty) \neq 0$. However, by choosing $\delta
\tau/\sqrt{2}$ large we can bring the end point exponentially close to zero. This is important since we need the motional state of the ions to be disentangled from the internal states after the gate is executed. The simplest way to achieve this is to make sure that the final displacement for all combinations of internal states is zero, or very close to zero. We return to this point and its implications for the gate fidelity below.
It is also worth noting that from Eq. (\[AlpGau\]), $\alpha_{s
s'}(\infty)$ is proportional to the Fourier transform of the pulse envelope at frequency $\delta$ . This implies that we can make the final displacements very small for any choice of envelope that has small Fourier components at $\delta$, and the transport gates also work for beam shapes that deviate from Gaussian as long as they are reasonably smooth.
For the logic phases after a complete transit through the beam we need to solve the integral $$\begin{aligned}
\label{PhaGau}
\Phi_{s s'} &=&|\eta A^{0}_{s s'}|^2{\rm Im}\left[ \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}
\left(\int_{-\infty}^{t'} e^{- t''^2/\tau^2-i \delta t''}~ dt'' \right)
~e^{-t'^2/\tau^2+i \delta t'} ~ dt'\right] \nonumber \\
&=& |\eta A^{0}_{s s'}|^2{\rm Im}\left[ \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}
\int_{-\infty}^{t'} e^{- t''^2/\tau^2-i \delta t''-t'^2/\tau^2+i \delta t'} ~ dt''~ dt'\right].\end{aligned}$$ A coordinate transformation $t''=(u-v)/\sqrt{2}$, $t'=(u+v)/\sqrt{2}$ lifts the interdependence of the integrals, leading to a closed form solution $$\begin{aligned}
\label{TraGau}
\Phi_{s s'} &=&|\eta A^{0}_{s s'}|^2{\rm Im}\left[
\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{-u^2/\tau^2}~du
\int_{0}^{\infty} e^{-v^2/\tau^2+i \sqrt{2} \delta v}~ dv \right]
\nonumber \\
&=& |\eta A^{0}_{s s'}|^2~\tau^2 \frac{ e^{-\frac{\delta ^2 \tau^2}{2}} \pi~ \text{erfi}\left(\frac{\delta\tau}{\sqrt{2}
}\right)}{2},\end{aligned}$$ where $\text{erfi}(z)=-i~ \text{erf}(i z)$. Figure \[Fig:AlpPhi\] shows $\alpha_{s s'}(\infty)$ and $\Phi_{s s'}$, both normalized to their respective maximal values as a function of the parameter $p
\equiv \delta \tau/\sqrt{2}$. It gives insight into the trade-off necessary to meet the requirement $|\alpha_{s s'}(\infty)|\simeq 0$. While $\alpha_{s s'}(\infty)$ decays exponentially in $p^2$, $\Phi_{s,s'}$ decays more slowly with $p$ due to its dependence on the complex error function, so that even for very small values of $|\alpha_{s s'}(\infty)|$ the value of $\Phi_{s s'}$ remains at an appreciable fraction of its maximal value. Note that we could also use two well aligned transits through two beam pairs (or the same beam pair). The acquired gate phase would add for the two passes, while the displacements can be arranged to be opposite, so the motional state returns to the origin. However, for this approach to be viable the timing would have to be controlled to a small fraction of $2 \pi/\delta$, which seems imposing, while a sufficiently small $|\alpha_{s s'}(\infty)|$ turns out to be easily achieved for reasonably large $p$ (see below). The resulting phase gate differs by only one-qubit $z$-rotations from the standard phase gate $$\label{GatFor}
U(\Phi_L)= | \uparrow \uparrow \rangle \langle \uparrow \uparrow|+
| \uparrow \downarrow \rangle \langle \uparrow \downarrow|+
| \downarrow \uparrow \rangle \langle \downarrow \uparrow|+
e^{i \Phi_L} | \downarrow \downarrow \rangle \langle \downarrow \downarrow|,$$ and the total logical phase of the gate can be written as $\Phi_L=\Phi_{\uparrow \uparrow}+\Phi_{\downarrow \downarrow}
-(\Phi_{\uparrow \downarrow}+\Phi_{\downarrow \uparrow})$ [@sasura03]. We find $$\label{TotPha}
\Phi_L=
-\pi e^{-\frac{\delta ^2 \tau^2}{2}}~\text{erfi}\left(\frac{\delta \tau}{\sqrt{2}
}\right)~\frac{1}{2} \eta^2(\Omega_\uparrow - \Omega_\downarrow)^2 \tau^2 \cos (2 \varphi
).$$ This expression shows that the largest modulus of the logical phase is achieved for $\cos (2 \varphi)=\pm 1$, corresponding to $ \Delta
k_z d = n \pi$ with $n$ integer. Therefore the ion spacing should be a multiple of the half-period of the polarization gradient wave along the transport direction $z$. From now on we assume the ion distance is adjusted (by a proper choice of the curvature of the transported harmonic well) to yield a maximum modulus for the logical phase [@leibfried03b; @leibfried04]. This implies that $A^{0}_{\uparrow \uparrow}=A^{0}_{\downarrow \downarrow}=0$ and $|A^{0}_{\uparrow \downarrow}|^2=|A^{0}_{\downarrow
\uparrow}|^2=1/2(\Omega_\uparrow-\Omega_\downarrow)^2$. For a gate equivalent to a $\pi$-phase gate we then require $\Phi_L=-\pi$, equivalent to $$\label{PhaCon}
e^{-\frac{\delta ^2 \tau^2}{2}}~ \frac{1}{2}\eta ^2 (\Omega_
\uparrow-\Omega_\downarrow)^2 \tau^2 ~\text{erfi}\left(\frac{\delta
\tau}{\sqrt{2}}\right)=1.$$ With this condition, and assuming that the trajectory of the ions starts at $\alpha_{\uparrow \downarrow}(t=-\infty)=0$, we can derive an expression for the phase space trajectory $\alpha_{\uparrow
\downarrow}(t)$ that depends only on $p$ [@footnote]: $$\label{AlpTim}
\alpha_{\uparrow \downarrow}(t)= \frac{\sqrt{\pi } \left(\text{erf}\left(t/\tau -\frac{i p}{\sqrt{2}}\right)
+1\right)}{2 \sqrt{\text{erfi}(p)}}.$$
If we assume that the only source of error in the gate is the incomplete return to the origin for states that acquire a phase, the fidelity of a gate can be bounded from below by the worst-case overlap of the final state with the trap ground state, $$\label{GatFid}
F \geq \min_{\{c_{s s'}\}}| \sum_{s, s'} c_{s s'}~\langle \alpha_{s
s'}(\infty)|0\rangle|^2 = \min_{\{c_{s s'}\}} |\sum_{s, s'} c_{s,s'}
e^{-|\alpha_{s s'}(\infty)|^2/2}|^2 = e^{-|\alpha_{\uparrow
\downarrow }(\infty)|^2} \simeq 1-|\alpha_{\uparrow \downarrow
}(\infty)|^2,$$ where $c_{s s'}$ are the amplitudes for state $|s s'\rangle$ in an arbitrary two-qubit spin state the gate is operating on. Using Eq. (\[PhaCon\]) and Eq. (\[AlpGau\]) we find $$\label{EpsCon}
\varepsilon=1-F \leq \pi/\text{erfi}(p).$$ We assume that subsequent gates are implemented after sympathetic re-cooling to the motional ground state, preventing coherent addition of errors of this type.
The trajectories in phase space of the $|\uparrow
\downarrow\rangle$-state, as described by Eq. (\[AlpTim\]) for phase gates with $\varepsilon \leq 10^{-2} $ ($p=2.69 $), $\varepsilon \leq 10^{-4}$ ($p= 3.48$) and $\varepsilon \leq
10^{-6}$ ($p=4.11$), are shown in Fig. \[Fig:PhaTra\]. For large $|t|$, the trajectory spirals near the origin and the number of windings per time interval $\tau$ increases as $p$ is increased. Any desired proximity to the origin can be realized by making $p$ large enough. We can therefore also think of $p$ as a gate-adiabaticity parameter, because no motional energy is deposited in the system for $p \rightarrow \infty$.
In practice it is interesting to note that $\delta_0 \tau/\sqrt{2} =
k w_0 \cot(\gamma)$ is independent of the transport speed and is basically a measure of how many periods of the polarization gradient wave are encountered by the ions while they are traveling through the central portion of the beam. Unless the beam is very strongly focussed, we have $k w_0 \gg 1$, and the ions sample many periods of the polarization gradient wave. By choosing $\gamma$ close to 90 degrees We can reduce the number of periods encountered, but there are drawbacks to such a choice. On the one hand, $\eta \propto
\cos(\gamma)$ becomes small. As can be seen from Eq. (\[PhaCon\]) a smaller $\eta$ has to be compensated somehow, for example, by a higher Rabi rate that requires more laser power, could lead to excitation of off-resonant terms in Eq.(\[TwoLD\]) and cause increased decoherence from spontaneous emission [@ozeri06]. In addition, to fulfill the requirement $\cos(2 \phi)=\pm 1$, we must restrict the angle $\gamma$ to discrete values given by $$\label{BeaAng}
\Delta k_z d = 2 k \cos(\gamma_n) [q^2/(2
\pi \epsilon_0 m \omega_{\rm COM}^2)]^{1/3}= n\pi,$$ with $\gamma$ closest to $\pi$ for $n=1$. We can still choose different values for $\gamma$ by not requiring $\cos(2 \phi)=\pm 1$, but at the price of achieving a less than optimal logical phase.
To assess the practical feasibility of such a gate, we assume parameters for two $^9$Be$^+$ ion qubits that are achieved in current experiments at NIST, namely an axial trap frequency of $\omega_{\rm COM} = 2 \pi~\times$ 4 MHz, a beam waist of $w_0=$ 20 $\mu$m, $\Omega_\uparrow=- 1/2 \Omega_\downarrow$, and a wavelength of 313 nm. We further impose $p= 3.48$ to ensure that $\varepsilon
\leq 10^{-4}$. For $n<10$ the necessary detuning $\delta$ ranges from 29.63 MHz to 768 kHz, too large to reasonably fulfill $|\delta|\ll \omega_{\rm COM}$; therefore only a more complete theory that takes the faster rotating terms into account in Eq.(\[TwoLD\]) would yield meaningful results. As table \[Tab:Rel\] shows, the transport speed $v_n$ is reasonable for all $n \geq 10$, and gates with duration $\tau_n$ on the order of 1 $\mu$s can be realized if enough laser power is available to produce the Rabi frequencies $\Omega_\downarrow$. Gate times are around 5 $\mu$s, comparable to the present state of the art with phase gates, require $\gamma$ to be between 60 and 40 degrees and Rabi-frequencies that are close to values that have been realized in previous experiments at NIST.
Effects of Sympathetic Cooling {#Sec:SymRec}
==============================
An integral part of QIP with ions in a large trap array is sympathetic cooling of the qubit ions with “refrigerator” ions [@wineland98; @kielpinski02; @rohde01; @blinov02; @barrett03] to remove excess motional energy after transport and to reset the motional modes into a well defined initial quantum state. Sympathetic cooling requires the presence of neighboring ions during gate operations; these were not considered in the preceding sections. Although the presence of extra ions complicates the description of two qubit gates, it does not change the essential features of the method. There are more normal modes of motion in the extended ion configuration and it is more complex to properly describe the individual motional amplitudes, especially in a configuration with ions having considerably different masses. Despite these complications the basic gate mechanism is almost unchanged. We consider an ion configuration with a motional eigenmode with frequency $\omega_{v}$ and normalized eigenvector $\mathbf{v}$. We denote the components (amplitudes) of $\mathbf{v}$ corresponding to the ion-qubits as $v_1$ and $v_2$ (both are real numbers) and substitute these into Eq. (\[TwoLD\]). In complete analogy to the calculation following that equation, we arrive at the generalized displacement coefficients $$\begin{aligned}
\label{SymDrv}
A_{\uparrow \uparrow} &=& (v_1 e^{- i \varphi}+v_2 e^{i \varphi})~
\Omega_\uparrow
\nonumber \\
A_{\uparrow \downarrow}&=& v_1 e^{- i \varphi}\Omega_\uparrow + v_2
e^{i \varphi} \Omega_\downarrow
\nonumber \\
A_{\downarrow \uparrow}&=&v_1 e^{- i \varphi}\Omega_\downarrow + v_2
e^{i \varphi} \Omega_\uparrow
\nonumber \\
A_{\downarrow \downarrow}
&=& (v_1 e^{- i \varphi}+v_2 e^{i \varphi})~ \Omega_\downarrow.\end{aligned}$$ Calculating the logical phase we obtain the analog to Eq. (\[TotPha\]), $$\label{SymPha}
\Phi_L=
\pi e^{-\frac{\delta ^2 \tau^2}{2}}~\text{erfi}\left(\frac{\delta \tau}{\sqrt{2}
}\right)~ 2 v_1 v_2~\eta^2(\Omega_\uparrow - \Omega_\downarrow)^2 \tau^2 \cos (2 \varphi
).$$ Again the logical phase is optimal if the spacing of the qubit ions $d_{12}$ is such that $ \Delta k_z d_{12} = n \pi$ with $n$ integer. The suitability of a certain mode for a phase gate can be judged by the factor $v_1 v_2~\eta^2$. Both amplitudes should be as large as possible, while $\eta^2 \propto 1/\omega_v$ should be not too small. At the same time, the refrigerator ions should not have components in v that are too small, so that sympathetic cooling is efficient. These requirements are probably best satisfied with two ion species of comparable mass in a configuration with reflection symmetry in the $z$-direction (for example, ($q,r,r,q$) or ($r,q,q,r$), where $q$ denotes a qubit and $r$ a refrigerator ion).
The normal modes are then still eigenstates of the reflection operation around $z=0$, and therefore $v_1 = \pm v_2$. For “stretch-type” modes with $v_1=-v_2$, the optimal coefficients fulfill $A^{0}_{\uparrow \uparrow}=A^{0}_{\downarrow \downarrow}=0$ and $|A^{0}_{\uparrow \downarrow}|^2=|A^{0}_{\downarrow
\uparrow}|^2=v_1^2(\Omega_\uparrow-\Omega_\downarrow)^2$; furthermore these modes should be better protected from heating because they couple only to field fluctuations that have an appreciable gradient over the ion configuration [@king98].
One interesting aspect of sympathetic cooling in the strongly adiabatic regime ($p \gg 1$) was already pointed out by S[ø]{}rensen and M[ø]{}lmer [@sorensen00]. Due to the small deviation of the motional wave packets from the origin and the quick succession of revolutions in phase space, the gate becomes more robust to photon recoil and heating of the motion (see also [@ozeri06]). Therefore such gates can be executed with reasonable fidelity as long as the heating rate (in quanta per second) is small compared to the rate of revolution in phase space that is set by $\delta$, more precisely, $(dn/dt)~ T_r \ll 1$ where $T_r$ is the time to complete one revolution in phase space. Gates can even be executed while the ions are re-cooled sympathetically, as long as the combined rates of phonon scattering due to heating and cooling are small compared to $\delta$. This could be advantageous when very small trap structures are used and the ions are in close proximity to electrode surfaces, since the heating rate has been observed to scale strongly with the distance to the nearest surface [@turchette00; @deslauriers04; @deslauriers06; @epstein07]. Sympathetic cooling can ensure that the motional state stays in the Lamb-Dicke regime, even if the unchecked heating rate would drive the ions out of this regime during a gate operation.
Extensions {#Sec:Ext}
==========
Hyperfine ground states with an energy splitting that is first-order-insensitive to fluctuations in the magnetic field have nearly identical AC-Stark shifts, leading to $\Omega_{\uparrow}\simeq\Omega_\downarrow$ [@ozeri05; @langer05; @haljan05]. As can be seen from Eq. (\[TotPha\]) only a negligible logical phase can be acquired in this situation. This problem can be solved in different ways. If single-qubit rotations of high fidelity are available, one can transfer out of the field-independent manifold into states with $\Omega_{\uparrow}\neq\Omega_\downarrow$ for the duration of the two-qubit gate operation, followed by transferring back. The ambient magnetic field fluctuations typically do not vary appreciably over the gate time; therefore phase errors can be sufficiently corrected by spin-echo techniques. The extra transfer operations are a disadvantage, but such a scheme has the benefit that qubits that are not scheduled for gate operations are not as readily dephased by Stark shifts caused by residual stray light from two-qubit gate beams, which are likely to be the most powerful laser beams used in a working QIP device.
Another approach is to use the gate first described by S[ø]{}rensen and M[ø]{}lmer [@sorensen99] and Solano et al. [@solano99]. The gate mechanism is basically the same as described above, but in a rotated basis [@haljan05], and can be adapted as a transport gate in the more robust way described in Fig. 1(b) of [@haljan05]. Here, two counter-propagating beams are offset from the primary beam by $\pm \omega_0$ as shown in Fig. \[Fig:MSmod\]. For the proper transport velocity, this would set up a situation equivalent to the one described in [@haljan05]. The frequency differences resulting from combining these three Raman beams, including the appropriate Doppler-shifts due to the transport, are at $\omega_0 \pm \omega_{\rm str}+ \delta$, creating slow rotating terms near the blue $\omega_0+\omega_{\rm str}$ and red $\omega_0-\omega_{\rm str}$ sideband transitions in the Hamiltonian (\[GenHam\]). This scheme has the advantage that it works for qubits with field-insensitive qubit transition frequencies. However, this comes with some disadvantages. One is the added technical difficulty inherent in creating the frequencies of the required beams. For example, the scheme depicted in Fig. \[Fig:MSmod\] would require acousto-optical modulation at $\omega_0/2$. The smallest value of $\omega_0$ for typically considered hyperfine-state ion-qubits is $2 \pi~\times$ 1.25 GHz in $^9$Be$^+$. Even in this case we would need two specialized modulators at approximately 600 MHz, adding technical complexity. For hyperfine-splittings exceeding 2 GHz the modulation would currently require several acousto-optic and/or electro-optic modulators, or a means to offset-phase-lock the respective laser beams. Another disadvantage is the relative proximity of the qubit carrier transition at the difference frequency $\omega_0$. To keep perturbations from carrier excitation small, we have to use gate durations much longer than $2 \pi/\omega_{\rm str}$. For the Z-phase gate described in the previous sections, the carrier is essentially detuned by $\omega_0$, so gate durations comparable to or shorter than $2 \pi/\omega_{\rm COM}$ could be possible.
Another possible extension consists of fine tuning the phase-space trajectories with transport patterns featuring nonuniform velocities. Such schemes could lead to better suppression of off-resonant terms and possibly to higher gate speeds. This would probably require numerical modeling, while the simple uniform-velocity transport through Gaussian beams has the appeal that all relevant quantities can be expressed analytically.
More generally the transport gate mechanism can be implemented with any standing wave field that imparts an internal state-dependent force. For example, close proximity of the ions to the trap electrode surfaces should make it possible to set up strong magnetic field gradients to induce state-dependent forces. We could construct a magnetic “washboard” resulting from parallel current-carrying wires with alternating current direction, or strips of permanent magnetic material with alternating polarization oriented perpendicular to the transport direction. As long as the qubit information is contained in states with different energy dependence (slope) as a function of the external field, the field gradients of the washboard produces state-dependent forces. By controlling the transport velocity of the ions we could make them experience these forces in near resonance with a motional mode frequency. Once this situation is established, the gate mechanism is analogous to what has been described in the previous sections, where the strength and envelope of the alternating force would be given by the particular values of the currents used or the strength of the magnetized strips. Thus a range of envelope functions could be achieved. For example, assume a washboard made of FePt stripes (or domains written into a continuous film) with an alternating magnetization on the order of 800 kA/m, and a period length of $d_m \simeq$ 20 $\mu$m could be produced (similar to those of Ref. [@xing06]). As a $^9$Be$^+$ ion is transported at a height of 17.5 $\mu$m over such a structure at $v_W =$ 80 $\mu$m/$\mu$s, this would create a time-dependent magnetic field with an amplitude of $$\label{Bwa}
B_{\rm tot}(t)=\sqrt{(B_0-B_w \cos(\omega_w t))^2+(B_w \sin(\omega_w
t))^2} \simeq B_0(1+1/4(B_w/B_0)^2)-B_w \cos(\omega_w t),$$ with $B_w \simeq$ 20 G, $B_0 \simeq$ 120 G [@hinds99]. This choice of $B_0$ ensures first-order field independence to a qubit encoded in the $|F=1,m_F=0\rangle$ and $|F=2,m_F=1\rangle$ states in all regions of the array that are sufficiently far from the permanent magnetic elements [@langer05]. To lowest order we have an oscillating field at $\omega_w= 2 \pi v_w/d_m=$ 4 MHz that is superimposed on a static average field that is larger than $B_0$ by $B_w^2/(4 B_0) \simeq$ 0.837 G. We assume that good single-qubit rotations are available to transfer the qubit information into the $|F=2,m_F=-2\rangle$/$|F=2,m_F=2\rangle$ “stretched” states of the hyperfine manifold. Then the undulating field of the washboard would lead to a gate Rabi frequency of $$\label{MagRab}
\Omega_m = \frac{2 \pi}{d_m} z_0 \frac{\mu_B B_w}{\hbar} \simeq
2 \pi \times 73.5~{\rm kHz},$$ with $\mu_B$ the Bohr magneton and $z_0 =\sqrt{\hbar/(4 m
\omega_{\rm COM})}$ the extent of the ground-state wavefunction of the COM mode of two beryllium ions. This Rabi frequency would correspond to a gate duration $\tau_m =\pi/\Omega_m \simeq 6.8~
\mu$s. At the same time, the slightly higher average field leads to effective single-qubit rotations of about $2 \pi \times$ 15.9 that commute with the phase gate. These unwanted single-qubit phases could possibly be eliminated by a more sophisticated (symmetrical) geometry of the elements producing the oscillating field, or by dividing the gate into two interactions with washboards that each yield a logical phase of $\pi/4$ and are enclosed in a spin-echo sequence [@leibfried03b].
Gate speeds are limited by the condition that the spins should follow the magnetic field adiabatically. For this to happen, the normalized rate of change of the field $|(d\mathbf{B}/dt)|/B_0$ has to be much smaller than the smallest Larmor frequency along the trajectory $\omega_{min} = \min( \gamma_< |\mathbf{B}|)$, with $\gamma_<$ the smallest gyromagnetic ratio of the states in question and $\mathbf{B}$ the position-dependent magnetic field. The speed of variation of $\mathbf{B}$ is governed by the trap frequency, therefore, at least for a gate utilizing adiabatic following, the gate duration is limited by the trap frequency. The “Lamb-Dicke” parameter that is relevant for this gate is $\eta_m=(2 \pi/d_m)~
z_0$. In contrast to gates mediated by laser fields with wavelengths prescribed by the internal states of the ions, this parameter can be scaled more freely by changing the period length $d_m$ of the microfabricated pattern. Of course the ions have to be moved closer to the surface to create a sufficient modulation of the field along their trajectory. This might lead to an increase in anomalous heating, but at the same time the closer proximity of the ions allows use of smaller trap electrodes and scaling the dimensions of the trap array. For gates mediated by light, the need to illuminate ions by laser beams with waists that are most likely limited to sizes of several micrometers from geometrical constraints dictates a minimum distance of the ions to the trap electrodes. This distance in turn governs the minimal electrode dimensions in a trap array. If light is not necessary to mediate the gates we could use trap structures beyond this limit, possibly with stronger confinement of the ions and faster gates.
An additional, but important advantage of such gates is the absence of spontaneous emission that is currently thought to pose the most severe limitation on achievable fidelities for Raman transition gates implemented with laser beams [@ozeri06].
Summary and Conclusions {#Sec:Con}
=======================
Miniaturization of ion traps and scaling up ion qubit numbers to beyond 10 is now under way in several laboratories. Recent efforts have concentrated on developing technologies for trap arrays compatible with this goal. One of the next steps is to simplify the optics necessary for scale-up as much as possible. In this paper we have outlined a few possible techniques towards this goal. Controlled transport of ions is utilized for parallel implementation of quantum logic gates with relaxed requirements for temporal and spatial control of the laser beams. After sketching the basic features of such an architecture based on a multi-zone trap array, we analyzed one-qubit rotations and a universal two-qubit gate and showed that such gates can be implemented with existing technology.
We also discussed possible extensions of the two-qubit gate mechanism. In particular we sketched one approach that utilizes periodic magnetic field patterns in combination with ion transport to exert state-dependent forces on the ions. This approach might enable more flexible scaling of future trap arrays and could remove some of the limitations to fidelity and gate speed posed by two-qubit gates mediated by laser beams.
Acknowledgements {#acknowledgements .unnumbered}
================
This work was supported by the Disruptive Technology Office (DTO) under contract number 712868, by the DoD Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program administered by the Office of Naval Research and by NIST. We thank S. Glancy and T. Rosenband for comments on the manuscript. This paper is a contribution of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and not subject to U.S. copyright.
$
\begin{array}{lllllll}
n ~~& \gamma /{
\rm deg}~~ & \eta ~~~~~~~& v/{\rm(m/s)}~~ & \tau / \mu s~~ & \delta /(2 \pi {\rm MHz})~~ &
\Omega_\downarrow /(2 \pi {\rm MHz}) \\
10 & 77.6 & 0.077 & 5.50 & 1.32 & 0.596 & 3.579 \\
12 & 75.1 & 0.093 & 4.52 & 1.62 & 0.484 & 2.423 \\
14 & 72.6 & 0.108 & 3.83 & 1.93 & 0.405 & 1.738 \\
16 & 70.0 & 0.124 & 3.32 & 2.26 & 0.346 & 1.300 \\
18 & 67.3 & 0.139 & 2.94 & 2.61 & 0.300 & 1.003 \\
20 & 64.7 & 0.155 & 2.63 & 2.98 & 0.263 & 0.791 \\
22 & 61.9 & 0.170 & 2.38 & 3.37 & 0.233 & 0.636 \\
24 & 59.1 & 0.186 & 2.17 & 3.79 & 0.207 & 0.518 \\
26 & 56.2 & 0.201 & 2.00 & 4.25 & 0.184 & 0.426 \\
28 & 53.2 & 0.217 & 1.85 & 4.77 & 0.164 & 0.353 \\
30 & 50.1 & 0.232 & 1.72 & 5.35 & 0.147 & 0.293 \\
32 & 46.8 & 0.247 & 1.61 & 6.02 & 0.130 & 0.245 \\
34 & 43.3 & 0.263 & 1.51 & 6.80 & 0.115 & 0.204 \\
36 & 39.6 & 0.278 & 1.43 & 7.77 & 0.101 & 0.168 \\
38 & 35.6 & 0.294 & 1.35 & 9.00 & 0.087 & 0.138 \\
40 & 31.1 & 0.309 & 1.28 & 10.69 & 0.073 & 0.110 \\
42 & 26.0 & 0.325 & 1.22 & 13.26 & 0.059 & 0.085 \\
44 & 19.7 & 0.340 & 1.16 & 18.13 & 0.043 & 0.059 \\
46 & 10.1 & 0.356 & 1.10 & 36.41 & 0.022 & 0.028
\end{array}
$
![\[Fig:BasArc\] (Color online) Basic steps for the proposed architecture: (a) The ions carrying the quantum information are arranged into the desired spatial configuration in the trap array while the laser beams are switched off. (b) All laser-beam assisted operations scheduled after the prearrangement in (a) are carried out. This includes one-qubit rotations, two-qubit gates and measurements. ](BasArc){width="10cm"}
![\[Fig:BeaPar\] (Color online) Beam parameters for one- and two-qubit gates: (a) Orientation of the wavevectors $\mathbf{k}_1$ and $\mathbf{k}_2$ relative to the transport direction for co-propagating beams as used in the one-qubit rotations. (b) Orientation of the wavevectors $\mathbf{k}_1$ and $\mathbf{k}_2$ relative to the transport direction for counter-propagating beams as used in the two-qubit phase gate. (c) The starting point of the ion trajectory is a distance $D$ from the center of the Gaussian beam profile at $z=0$ with waist size $w_0$.](BeaPar){width="10cm"}
[![\[Fig:AlpPhi\] (Color online) Normalized modulus of the final coherent state amplitude $\alpha_n=|\alpha_{s
s'}(\infty)|/|\alpha_{s s'}(0)|$ (dashed) and normalized phase $\Phi_n=\Phi_{s s'}/\max[\Phi_{s s'}]$ (solid) as a function of $p$.](AlpPhi "fig:"){width="16cm"}]{}
![\[Fig:PhaTra\] Phase space trajectories of the state $|\uparrow \downarrow \rangle$ for (a) $\varepsilon \leq 10^{-2} $ ($p=2.69 $), (b) $\varepsilon \leq 10^{-4}$ ($p= 3.48$) and (c) $\varepsilon \leq 10^{-6}$ ($p=4.11$). The arrows indicate the trajectory directions. The trajectories are fully determined (up to their orientation in phase space) by $p$ and the requirement that the logical phase is $\Phi_L=-\pi$.](PhaTra){width="18cm"}
![\[Fig:MSmod\] Possible configuraton for the transport version of a S[ø]{}rensen and M[ø]{}lmer gate. The two double-pass acousto-optic modulators (AOMs) shift the retro-reflected beams by $\pm \omega_0$, respectively. Together with the Doppler shift due to the transport, the ion experiences beat notes close to its blue and red sidebands on the stretch mode that implement the gate.](MSmod){width="16cm"}
|
The Wolfpack men's basketball team will host 4-4 Lipscomb at 2 p.m. at the RBC Center. Following the game, the fans can head over to Carter-Finley Stadium to watch the football team practice from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in preparation to face Rutgers in the Papajohns.com Bowl on Dec. 29 in Birmingham, Ala.
NC State (6-1) is coming off an emotional 87-76 victory against East Carolina on Wednesday, thanks to the inside trio of senior center Ben McCauley, redshirt junior power forward Brandon Costner and sophomore center Tracy Smith, who combined for 54 points.
Lipscomb has played a team yet from a power conference, with wins over Oakland City, Southeastern Louisiana, North Florida and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The Bisons play at NC State, at Elon on Monday and then at Indiana on Dec. 28, the next three games.
Lipscomb will also have the youngest starting lineup the Wolfpack have faced this year with five sophomores.
Sophomore center Adnan Hodzic, a former prep teammate of Eric Gordon of the Los Angeles Clippers at Indianapolis (Ind.) North Central High, is the top returning scorer (8.9 points per game), and is averaging 10.4 points and 6.2 rebounds for the well-balanced Bisons. He is averaging 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in his last six games with a season-high 21 points against Tennessee Tech.
Hodzic and his family moved during the Bosnian War during middle school, and he speaks five languages.
Coach: Scott Sanderson, 13th season overall (234-154) and 10th season at Lipscomb (150-129)
The all-time series with NC State: First ever meeting
Notes
Lipscomb: Sanderson is the son of former Alabama coach Wimp Sanderson, and previously coached under Terry Holland at Virginia, Tim Floyd at New Orleans, Bill Foster at South Carolina and Joe Harrington at Colorado Lipscomb has been struck by injuries with freshman center Rob Murphy getting injured and senior power forward Thomas Pfaff was hurt in practice early this month Oden replaced senior guard Michael Lusk, a three-year starter, in the lineup in their last game, and Lusk responded with 14 points off the bench in the 70-47 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Dec. 9. Lusk also had 15 points vs. Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 20. Oden scored nine, and is coming back after missing time last year with a broken hand Brown and Teller played with the Reach USA team that competed in Turkey last summer Freshman Brian Wright, a 6-6 small forward, is the younger brother of former UNC player Brandan Wright, who now plays for the Golden State Warriors.
NC State: Fells has missed the last two games due to a deep bruise near his ankle and will be a game-time decision against Lipscomb. The injury, which occurred in the second half against Davision on Dec. 6, had a string of 44 consecutive starts snapped. Redshirt senior Simon Harris, a former starter at Elon, has moved into the lineup the last two games for his first career starts as a NC State player Costner had his best game since his redshirt freshman season when he scored 24 points and grabbed 17 rebounds against East Carolina on Dec. 17. He is 34 points away from reach 1,000 for his NC State career NCSU leads the ACC in scoring defense (58.4), and is second in field-goal percentage defense (.352) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.272). The Wolfapck are also second in assist/turnover ration (1.3) Walk-on Kevin Holmes, a 5-11 freshman point guard from Durham (N.C.) Jordan High, has been added to the roster. |
On-line Buying For Canadians
This innovative program has trained five generations of designers who have formed the global industry. Homeschool Applicants: The New School welcomes purposes from homeschool students. All candidates are required to use on-line utilizing the Frequent Utility Save your work ceaselessly and print a duplicate on your information. Sam Wood in the Birdcage on Victoria Derby Day. BFA Fashion Design college students dare to answer this query. Internal Transfers: The Inner Transfer Software is required for all current New School college students who want to transfer from one New Faculty school to a different.
Nadia Bartel within the Derby Day Lavazza marquee. Rebecca Judd in the Birdcage on Victoria Derby Day. Highsnobiety has steadily constructed a powerful brand in the on-line fashion and way of life world. Freshman and switch applicants must submit a portfolio of eight to 12 photographs. All through the specialised program, Fashion & Luxurious MBA college students create a diverse portfolio of experiences by taking part in constructed-in business initiatives.
Jennifer Hawkins is seen at the Birdcage on Victoria Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse. Montana Cox appears at Flemington for Derby Day. Robyn Lawley is seen on the Birdcage on Victoria Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse. Elyse Knowles at Flemington for Derby Day. We often have to attract the line between designers being impressed by a design and those outright stealing it in different places.” citation needed To take inspiration from others’ designs contributes to the fashion trade’s means to establish clothing trends.
Applicants can both ship official transcripts with an Software Supplies Cover Sheet or request that institutions send transcripts on to The New Faculty. Picture: Joe Castro, AAP IMage. fifty two PR practitioners must provide efficient communication among all platforms, in order to interact fashion publics in an industry socially linked through online buying. Picture: James Ross, Getty Photographs.
Meanwhile, Myer remains the home of fashion, hosting Jennifer Hawkins, Rebecca Judd and Jodi Anasta, as well as designers Toni Maticevski, Yeojin Bae and Wayne Cooper. Triple M hosts Mick Molloy and Jane Kennedy within the Birdcage on Victoria Derby Day. Image: Quinn Rooney, Getty Images. The QUT Inventive Industries Precinct is transformed into fashion central each year to showcase modern and innovative designs by last-yr Bachelor of Design (Honours) (Fashion) students. |
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I got you to hold my hand. I got you to understand. I got you to walk with me. I got you to talk with me. I got you babe. -Sonny & Cher
Public Service Announcement: Ok, here we go! These two men will forever be linked in the annuls of hockey. Ovechkin and Crosby. Crosby and Ovechkin. It used be Sidney Crosby in the lead chair and Alexander Ovechkin playing second fiddle. Not no more. Yesterday, El Ocho and the Washington Capitals beat Sid the Kid and the Pittsburgh Penguins to the tune of 5-2. For those of you keeping score at home, the Capitals have now won every game in which Ovie faced the Kid this season. The times they are a changing. Previously seen on Lost, the Caps had gone down in ten of their last eleven head-to-head meetings.
This rivalry is up their with all the great rivalries. You saw it yesterday. You saw it in the second period yesterday. Back in January, Ovie laid a crushing hit on Crosby. Crosby was none to happy about it. Crosby called it “cheap.” That led to this:
After the game, Ovechkin channeled his inner Great Santini and had this to say: “What, I can’t play hard against him? What is he going to do, cry?” Yes hockey Krishnas that’s life in the NHL. You’re riding high in April, shot down in May. But I know I’m gonna change that tune, when I’m back on top, back on top in June. Alexander is Ovechkin is top dog now. |
Dean Ambrose was a guest on Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins' podcast, The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast, where Ryder and Hawkins talk each week about collecting wrestling toys. Hawkins noted that Ambrose once overheard him talking about the podcast, and Ambrose was surprised about it. When Hawkins asked if he would be interested in being a guest, Ambrose replied, "f--k no!"
Ambrose noted that he didn't understand the concept of a weekly podcast about wrestling figures. He said that he started reminiscing one day about his old action figures with Ryder and his eyes got bright, which led to him changing his mind on doing the show.
"It's easy to forget that you love wrestling and why you started loving wrestling to being with," Ambrose said. "It brought me back to my childhood."
Ambrose talked about his first wrestling figures when he was a kid being of one of the Bushwhackers and one of the Headshrinkers. He admitted that it was a "trippy" experience when he saw his first own action figure.
"It's trippy," Ambrose said. "When you first make it to WWE, that's one of those things where you're like, 'I'm going to be in a video game, I'm going to have a toy and everything,' and it's like, 'whoa!' It's very cool.
"It's still hard to wrap my brain around it sometimes that I'm even in WWE. Because you're so used to just walking around and seeing Vince McMahon and Triple H walking around, like I'm so used to having conversations with Vince McMahon. It's hard to remember like, 'whoa, you were just a kid watching this on TV. It's like, whoa!'"
Towards the end of the interview, Hawkins and Ryder thanked Ambrose for joining them and talk about toys, especially since he's such a big star. Ryder and Hawkins noted how they're living a childhood dream, and that a bad day of wrestling is still better than an office job.
"You guys are like me, there are a lot of people here that are just here for the money," Ambrose stated. "They didn't grow up watching it, they don't care for what they do, they have no artistic care for what we do. But you guys are like me, this is all we've ever loved, this is our thing. Toys are a part of it."
See Also Jerry Lawler On What He Thinks Dean Ambrose Will Do After Leaving WWE
Ryder talked about how they're living a childhood dream. Ryder and Hawkins didn't have many real jobs, while Ambrose said that he had plenty.
"I had every job under the sun," Ambrose recalled "Maybe six months might have been the longest that I could sustain a job anywhere because everything took a backseat to wrestling."
Ambrose said that his wrestling bookings would get in the way of his day jobs and he'd eventually get fired.
Ambrose's wrestling future is uncertain as WWE confirmed that he will not be signing a new contract when his deal expires in April. He last wrestled on RAW this past Monday night, losing to EC3.
You can listen to the podcast below. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. |
1. Introduction {#sec1-sensors-19-04060}
===============
Recent developments in smart sensor technology have opened new perspectives for advanced applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in many domains including healthcare, automation, infrastructure, and environment. The smart sensor nodes in WSN enable complex processing and analysis of sensed data with increased computational power \[[@B1-sensors-19-04060],[@B2-sensors-19-04060]\]. WSNs have become an important part of 5G mobile technology that open new perspectives for advanced applications of smart sensors in future Internet of Things (IoT) applications \[[@B3-sensors-19-04060],[@B4-sensors-19-04060]\].
Typical WSNs are composed of nodes that sense their environment by using built-in sensors and transmit the sensor readings to a sink node \[[@B5-sensors-19-04060]\]. In contrast, smart sensor nodes have an additional ability to process the collected data, make decisions, and recognize relevant events based on the sensed information before sharing it with other nodes \[[@B6-sensors-19-04060]\]. Instead of transmitting raw data readings, the smart sensor nodes report the detected events. Moreover, to recognize the important events in larger regions, many smart nodes must cooperate. It means that the sensor nodes from a given region of interest are grouped into cluster and exchange sensed information to make a common decision regarding occurrence of an event \[[@B7-sensors-19-04060],[@B8-sensors-19-04060]\]. In this case, the individual sensor nodes assess partial detection results and report them to one selected node, which acts as a cluster head (CH). One CH node is selected for each cluster. The CH node combines the collected partial results to recognize events in the region of interest. Finally, the information about events is reported by CH node to the sink.
The key issue in applications of wireless sensor networks is the limited lifetime of battery-powered sensor nodes. Thus, network management methods are necessary to enable effective use of the energy resources of sensor nodes \[[@B9-sensors-19-04060],[@B10-sensors-19-04060]\].
In this study, the term lifetime refers to the time interval of the WSN operation before death of the first node. It should be noted that the uninterrupted operation of all sensor nodes in WSN is crucial for many applications where the feedback from the network must be reliable \[[@B11-sensors-19-04060]\].
This paper introduces a method for extending lifetime of the above-mentioned wireless sensor networks with smart nodes. The proposed method combines a new algorithm for rotating the CH role among sensor nodes with suppression of unnecessary data transmissions.
Data transmission is the most energy expensive operation for energy constrained wireless sensor nodes. According to the suppression approach, consumption of battery power in sensor nodes is reduced by transmitting the data only if it is necessary \[[@B12-sensors-19-04060]\]. In the considered scenario, a smart sensor node, which did not detect any relevant event, can skip transmission to CH node to save the energy. In general, the transmissions of partial results to CH can be suppressed if the event detection results that would be obtained by the CH with and without these partial data are the same.
To prolong the lifetime of wireless sensor network, a balance must be achieved between energy consumption of all sensor nodes. CH node consumes more battery energy than the remaining sensor nodes. The reason behind unequal energy consumption is that CH node must remain active most of the time, while other nodes are active only when processing and transmitting data. During inactive time, the sensor nodes are switched to sleep mode for saving energy. Thus, the CH node depletes its energy resources faster than the other nodes, which leads to reduced network lifetime. The balance of energy consumption can be restored by periodically reassigning (rotating) the CH role to different sensor nodes \[[@B13-sensors-19-04060]\].
It should be also noted here that the energy balance is significantly disrupted by the mechanism of transmission suppression. The smart sensor nodes that detect a higher number of important events must perform the data transmissions more frequently and consume a larger amount of energy.
The main contribution of this paper is a new CH rotation algorithm, which takes into account individual energy savings achieved by the smart sensor nodes that suppress the unnecessary data transmissions. The proposed CH rotation algorithm was implemented in a prototype of wireless sensor network. During experimental evaluation of the new algorithm, detailed measurements of real energy consumption and network lifetime were conducted. Results of these experiments have revealed that lifetime of the prototype sensor network is extended when using the proposed method in comparison with state-of-the-art CH rotation algorithms.
The paper is organized as follows. Related works are surveyed in [Section 2](#sec2-sensors-19-04060){ref-type="sec"} and [Section 3](#sec3-sensors-19-04060){ref-type="sec"} includes presentation of the proposed algorithm, which enables extending lifetime of the sensor network. Experiments and their results are described in [Section 4](#sec4-sensors-19-04060){ref-type="sec"}. Finally, conclusions are given in [Section 5](#sec5-sensors-19-04060){ref-type="sec"}.
2. Related Works and Contribution {#sec2-sensors-19-04060}
=================================
In the literature several methods have been proposed to extend lifetime of WSNs by properly managing CH nodes. This section briefly reviews the state-of-the-art methods for CH selection in WSNs and discusses the main contribution of the paper.
The basic method for organizing data transfers in WSN is direct transmission \[[@B14-sensors-19-04060]\]. This method assumes that all sensor nodes have the same role and their task is to send all sensors readings to a base station (sink). In this case, the CH nodes are not present. It should be noted that the sensor nodes consume energy mainly when they are accessing the communication channel and transmitting data. Thus, the transmission of all sensed data to base station results in high energy consumption and reduced lifetime of sensor nodes. Moreover, scalability of this method is low as the base station must collect and process large amounts of data from all sensor nodes. If workload of the base station is too high, the sensor data may be lost. The complexity of direct transmission protocol is negligible, and its implementation is simple. However, the low energy efficiency of this protocol makes it not suitable for most applications.
Limitations of the direct transmission have motivated the development of more sophisticated data collection methods that divide the WSN into clusters. These methods reduce the number of data transmissions and save energy of sensor nodes. The sensor nodes in a given cluster send information to CH node, which aggregates the data and transmits them further to the sink or to another CH. However, as already mentioned in [Section 1](#sec1-sensors-19-04060){ref-type="sec"} the CH role has to be rotated among sensor nodes to balance their energy consumption and avoid fast energy depletion of the nodes that takes CH role for a longer time.
The available CH rotation algorithms can be divided into two categories. The first category includes time-driven algorithms. According to these algorithms the sensor nodes take the role of CH for a predetermined time period. The second group consists of energy-driven algorithms that take into account residual energy of sensor nodes and change CH node when a predetermined portion of the energy is consumed.
2.1. Time-Driven Cluster-Head Rotation Methods {#sec2dot1-sensors-19-04060}
----------------------------------------------
A distributed algorithm for organizing sensor nodes into clusters was introduced in the hierarchical routing protocol called LEACH (Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy) \[[@B15-sensors-19-04060]\]. According to this protocol, the CH role is randomly rotated among the sensor nodes to not drain the battery of a single sensor node. New CH node is selected after a certain time (round), which is determined a priori. The CH node creates TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) schedule. Thus, the sensor nodes send their data in time slots allocated by the CH node. The CH node collects data and sends them to the base station. Operation of the LEACH protocol is divided into rounds and each round consists of two phases: set-up phase and steady phase. In set-up phase the new CH is selected and sends an advertisement, which includes information about its role. In the steady phase data transmission begins and sensor nodes send their data to the CH node according to allocated TDMA slots. LEACH allows the CH nodes to perform local aggregation of data in each cluster to reduce the amount of data transmitted to the base station.
In centralized version of the LEACH protocol (LEACH-C) \[[@B16-sensors-19-04060],[@B17-sensors-19-04060]\] each node sends information about its current location and residual energy level to the sink, which uses a centralized clustering algorithm to select CH nodes. The sink computes average node energy, and the sensor nodes with energy below this average cannot be selected as CH for the current round. This method aims at evenly distributing the cluster-head nodes throughout the network. However, the centralized approach requires additional data transmissions form sensor nodes and involves a complex clustering procedure, which must be performed by the sink.
LEACH-D \[[@B18-sensors-19-04060]\] is a modification of the original LEACH protocol, which assumes that after initialization of the network, the sensor node with the shortest distance to center of the cluster becomes CH. After each round, the closest neighbor of current CH node is selected as a new CH, provided that its residual energy is more than a threshold. Otherwise, the same condition is verified for the next closest neighbor. In case when there is no neighboring sensor node with residual energy higher than a threshold, the sensor node with minimum distance to the current CH is selected as the new CH.
Fixed clusters of sensor nodes are considered in LEACH-F \[[@B19-sensors-19-04060]\]. In this approach the clusters are formed once, using the centralized clustering algorithm developed for LEACH-C. The sensor nodes within a cluster are numbered and the CH position rotates among these nodes according to the round-robin method. It means that the first sensor node becomes CH for the first round; the second node is CH in the second round, and so forth. This protocol eliminates the communication overhead of the cluster formation procedure at the beginning of each round. However, it is not suitable for dynamic networks.
In HEED (Hybrid Energy-Efficient Distributed Clustering) protocol \[[@B20-sensors-19-04060]\] the new CH nodes are also selected after a predetermined time, corresponding to duration of one round, which is similar to the methods discussed above. However, in case of HEED the CHs are selected by taking into account the amount of residual energy. For each sensor node the probability of becoming CH is proportional to its battery level. The distributed CH selection procedure requires only local information about neighboring sensor nodes, but involves considerable energy expenditure to periodically rebuild clusters.
Another time-driven method is ANTCLUST \[[@B21-sensors-19-04060]\]. In this method the CH nodes are selected at the beginning of each round, as in previous approaches. To improve the network lifetime ANTCLUST selects the new CHs according to battery level and distances to neighboring sensor nodes. A specific feature of this method is the application of the clustering algorithm based on a model of the chemical recognition system of ants.
Stable Election Protocol (SEP) \[[@B22-sensors-19-04060]\] was intended for heterogeneous sensor networks, where sensor nodes have different initial levels of energy. In SEP new CH nodes are randomly selected at the beginning of each round, just like in LEACH. An advantage of this protocol is that sensor nodes with higher energy become CHs more often than the nodes with lower energy resources. This approach prolongs the time interval before the death of the first sensor node.
A modified Stable Election Protocol, named Prolong-SEP (P-SEP) was presented in \[[@B23-sensors-19-04060]\] to extend the lifetime of fog-supported sensor networks by maintaining balanced energy consumption. P-SEP enables uniform nodes distribution and introduces two energy levels for normal and advanced nodes. The nodes with energy level above the threshold are nominated as CH candidates and then the CHs are randomly selected from the candidates, by taking into account their distance to fog nodes. It should be noted that in both SEP and P-SEP algorithm, the selection of CH node is an element of a complex clustering procedure. Thus, those methods can be ineffective in frequent rotating CH role for predetermined clusters, where changes of cluster membership are not required.
In \[[@B24-sensors-19-04060]\] a protocol was presented called HEER (Hamilton Energy-Efficient Routing Protocol). HEER uses greedy algorithm to construct Hamilton path between sensor nodes in each cluster. This path is used for data transmission purpose. Sensor nodes on the path take the role of CH successively in turns. As for other time-driven methods, the change of CH occurs after operating for a predetermined round time.
2.2. Energy-Driven Cluster-Head Rotation Methods {#sec2dot2-sensors-19-04060}
------------------------------------------------
Energy-distance aware clustering method (EDAC) \[[@B25-sensors-19-04060]\] elects CHs based on two parameters: the residual energy of sensor nodes and the energy expended for transmitting data from sensor nodes to potential CH. These two parameters are combined in a metric, which quantifies how good a sensor node would be as a CH. Using the metric evaluated for all sensor nodes in a cluster, each node decides whether it will be the new CH. Selection of new CH is made when the residual energy of current CH drops below a predetermined threshold.
In case of energy-distance aware clustering scheme for wireless sensor networks (E-DACS) \[[@B26-sensors-19-04060]\] the CH is selected for each cluster depending on its residual energy, distance from other sensor nodes in cluster, and distance to sink. New CH selection is executed periodically, once energy level of current CH becomes less than the energy of any other sensor node in its cluster.
Energy-driven cluster-head rotation (EDCR) is an algorithm where the selection of CHs is based on relative residual energy level of sensor nodes in a given cluster. The sensor node with the highest energy level becomes the CH. A dynamic threshold is used to trigger the CH rotation process. The threshold is calculated as $P\, \cdot \, EC$, where $0 < P < 1$ is a constant parameter, and $EC$ is the residual node energy, measured when the node is selected to be CH. In this method, the selection of new CH takes place when the residual energy of CH drops below the threshold value. The lower is the residual energy of sensor nodes, the more often the change of CH node takes place. This rotation strategy was intended to balance the energy consumption in sensor network. An extension of the EDCR algorithm is the EDCR-MH \[[@B27-sensors-19-04060]\], which has been adapted to the requirements of multi-hop networks.
For sensor networks with energy harvesting capabilities, a method was proposed in \[[@B28-sensors-19-04060]\] to select CH nodes by taking into account predicted rates of energy harvesting. That method uses back propagating neural network for the prediction purposes. The sensor nodes with more available energy and closer to the center of a cluster are more likely selected to become CHs. As a result, the node energy consumption is balanced among the cluster.
2.3. Our Contribution {#sec2dot3-sensors-19-04060}
---------------------
The above-discussed state-of-the-art CH rotation methods have important drawbacks that limit their effectiveness in applications to WSNs with smart nodes. First of all, the existing methods are based on an assumption that all sensor nodes in a cluster transmit their sensed data with the same, constant frequency. The possibility of suppressing data transmissions by the smart sensor nodes is not taken into account in those methods. It should be kept in mind that the considered smart nodes perform transmission when recognizing an important event. Each node can detect different number of events and the frequency of events can change in time. It means that the energy consumption of smart node changes dynamically and may differ significantly between nodes. Thus, in case when the smart nodes in a cluster suppress unnecessary transmissions, the existing methods can fail in achieving the balance of energy consumption for all nodes, which leads to reduced network lifetime.
This paper introduces a new CH rotation method, which takes into account probabilities of detecting events and transmitting data by smart sensor nodes. According to this method, the CH node estimates the probabilities of data transmission for all cluster members. Based on the estimated transmission probabilities, using a lightweight energy consumption model, the CH node decides when the change of CH must take place. The determined time of CH change ensures equal energy consumption for all nodes in the cluster. This leads to maximization of the network lifetime, which is defined as the time to death of the first sensor node.
Another drawback of the state-of-the-art methods is that they require parameters calibration for each application and each deployment of sensor network. For instance, the most important parameters that have significant impact on effectiveness of those methods, and need to be carefully calibrated, are the time duration of one round (for time-driven approaches) and the energy threshold (for energy-driven algorithms).
In the proposed method, it is necessary to determine parameters of an energy consumption model. These parameters are related to hardware solutions used to build sensor nodes, and can be determined in advance for a given node architecture. Therefore, the experimental calibration of the parameters after installation of the sensor network is not performed.
The contribution of this work also includes experimental evaluation of the CH rotation methods with use of real WSN. Comparison of the proposed method with time-driven and energy-driven approaches was conducted for physical prototypes of smart sensor nodes. Results of this study include measurements of WSN lifetime in real-world conditions. In contrast, the results presented in related works were obtained using simulation software.
3. Proposed Method {#sec3-sensors-19-04060}
==================
3.1. Cluster-Head Rotation {#sec3dot1-sensors-19-04060}
--------------------------
The objective of the proposed method is to prolong the lifetime of WSN by appropriately rotating the CH role among smart sensor nodes. It should be kept in mind that the considered WSN lifetime corresponds to time interval before death of the first sensor node.
The problem of achieving maximum WSN lifetime is illustrated in [Figure 1](#sensors-19-04060-f001){ref-type="fig"} for a network composed of two sensor nodes. The examples shown in [Figure 1](#sensors-19-04060-f001){ref-type="fig"}a,b) assume that both nodes have the same initial energy level (energy = 100 for time = 0). In the example from [Figure 1](#sensors-19-04060-f001){ref-type="fig"}a)a static assignment of the CH role is considered, i.e., node 1 takes the CH role for the entire analyzed period. Thus, the residual energy of node 1 decreases faster than the energy of node 2. As a result, node 1 dies after 400 cycles, while node 2 has still 40 units of energy (it should be noted that time in [Figure 1](#sensors-19-04060-f001){ref-type="fig"} is expressed in cycles of sensor node operations). The lifetime of WSN in this example equals 400 cycles.
The second example ([Figure 1](#sensors-19-04060-f001){ref-type="fig"}b) shows that the lifetime of WSN can be extended by changing the sensor node, which takes the CH role. In this example, node 1 takes the CH role for cycles 0--249, and then the CH role is performed by node 2. Both sensor nodes deplete their energy at the same time step, after 500 cycles. It means that lifetime of the WSN is prolonged to 500 cycles. The lifetime of 500 cycles is the maximum time for the considered WSN example. It should be noted that the maximum lifetime is achieved when both sensor nodes die at the same time step.
Lifetime of the WSN for different initial energy levels of sensor nodes is analyzed in [Figure 1](#sensors-19-04060-f001){ref-type="fig"}c,d). In these examples the initial energy equals 100 units for sensor node 1 and 60 units for sensor node 2. [Figure 1](#sensors-19-04060-f001){ref-type="fig"}d) shows that without CH role rotation (node 1 is CH) both nodes die simultaneously after 400 cycles of the WSN operation. Thus, for the above-mentioned levels of initial energy the maximum WSN lifetime is equal to 400 cycles. In [Figure 1](#sensors-19-04060-f001){ref-type="fig"}c) the change of CH node after 250 cycles results in decreased WSN lifetime, as node 2 depletes its energy approximately at cycle 330.
When analyzing the examples from [Figure 1](#sensors-19-04060-f001){ref-type="fig"}b,d) it can be observed that the WSN lifetime is maximized if both nodes die at the same time. This observation is also confirmed by conclusions of the related works, e.g., \[[@B23-sensors-19-04060],[@B28-sensors-19-04060]\], where more complex scenarios were considered than those discussed above. Therefore, the general rule can be formulated that energy consumption of sensor nodes has to be balanced to prolong the WSN lifetime.
Expected lifetime of sensor node *i* can be evaluated as $EI_{i}$/$e_{i}$, where $EI_{i}$ denotes initial energy level of *i*-th node and $e_{i}$ is average energy consumed per one cycle of WSN operation by sensor node *i*. For instance, in [Figure 1](#sensors-19-04060-f001){ref-type="fig"}b) $e_{1}$ = $e_{2}$ = 0.20, while in case of [Figure 1](#sensors-19-04060-f001){ref-type="fig"}d) $e_{1}$ = 0.25 and $e_{2}$ = 0.15. Thus, the following condition must be satisfied to achieve the maximum lifetime:$$\frac{EI_{1}}{e_{1}} = \frac{EI_{2}}{e_{2}},$$
The average energy consumption ($e_{i}$) of *i*-th sensor node in time period *T* depends on the fraction of time *T* in which sensor node *i* takes the CH role. Let us denote this fraction of time as $t_{i}$ then the average energy consumption can be expressed as follows:$$e_{i} = EH\, \cdot \, t_{i} + EM\, \cdot \,\left( 1 - t_{i} \right),$$ where $t_{i} \in$ \[0, 1\], $EH$ and $EM$ denote energy consumed during one cycle by a sensor node which takes cluster-head role or cluster member role, respectively. In the considered WSN with smart nodes the energy consumption of cluster member takes different values depending on event detection. A larger amount of energy is consumed if at a given cycle the sensor node detects an important event and reports it to the CH node. Lower energy consumption is encountered when the event is not detected, and the sensor node suppresses data transmission. Therefore, in the proposed approach energy $EM$ is estimated by taking into account the probability of event occurrence for i-th sensor node $p_{i}$:$$EM = EMH\, \cdot \, p_{i} + EML\, \cdot \,\left( 1 - p_{i} \right),$$ where $EMH$ denotes energy consumed by the sensor node (cluster member) during a cycle when an event is detected and data transmission is performed, $EML$ is energy consumption of sensor node during a cycle when no event is detected and transmission is suppressed. The event occurrence probability $p_{i}$ is evaluated based on historical data.
The fractions of time when particular sensor nodes take the CH role ($t_{i}$) must be carefully selected to maximize the network lifetime. According to the proposed method, the time fractions $t_{i}$ are determined by solving the following system of linear equations to ensure the same expected lifetime for all sensor nodes:$$\left\{ \begin{matrix}
{\frac{EI_{i}}{e_{i}} = \frac{EI_{i + 1}}{e_{i + 1}},i = 1,...,n - 1} \\
{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}t_{i} = 1} \\
\end{matrix} \right.,$$ where *n* is the number of sensor nodes in a WSN cluster, and the remaining symbols are defined above. The equation system (4) can be solved by CH node or base station (sink node). It should be noted that various algorithms for solving the system of linear equations are available in the literature, e.g., \[[@B29-sensors-19-04060],[@B30-sensors-19-04060],[@B31-sensors-19-04060]\].
After calculating time fraction $t_{i}$, the length of time when sensor node *i* has to take the CH role is determined as $TCH_{i} = T\, \cdot \, t_{i}$, where *T* denotes time of one round, i.e., a predetermined time during which each sensor node in the cluster acts as CH.
3.2. Algorithms for Sensor Nodes {#sec3dot2-sensors-19-04060}
--------------------------------
Detailed implementation of the above-discussed CH rotation rule is presented in form of algorithms executed by sensor nodes.
The smart sensor nodes in WSN execute the operations presented by the pseudo codes in Algorithms 1--4. The operations are repeated in regular time intervals (steps). During normal operation the non-CH node (cluster member) reads data from its sensors, detects events based on the collected sensor readings and, if an important event is detected, transmits the detection results to CH node (see Algorithm 1). For energy saving, the sensor node wakes its communication module up only when the data transmission is necessary. In case when the initial energy of sensor nodes is not known in advance, the cluster member can include information about its residual energy in the first data frame, which is send after selection of new CH. As shown in Algorithm 2, the normal operation of CH node consists of collecting sensor readings, detecting events, aggregating results received from cluster members, and sending the aggregated results of event detection to sink. Once the last step of the normal operation period is finished, all sensor nodes in WSN switch to executing the CH selection algorithm (Algorithm 3).
Algorithm 1
Node operating in cluster member mode
1. step = step + 1
2. read data from sensors
3. detect event
4. **if** important event detected **then**
5. wake communication module up
6. send event detection result to cluster head
7. **end if**
8. **if** step = last step **then**
9. **if** communication module sleeps **then**
10. wake communication module up
11. **end if**
12. run cluster-head selection algorithm
13. **end if**
14. put communication module to sleep (sleep time)
Algorithm 2
Node operating in cluster-head mode
1. step = step + 1
2. duty time = duty time + 1
3. read data from sensors
4. detect event
5. wake communication module up
6. broadcast sync frame
7. receive event detection results from cluster members (wait time)
8. aggregate event detection results
9. send aggregated results to sink node
10. update event counter
11. **if** step = last step **then**
12. run cluster-head selection algorithm
13. **end if**
14. put communication module to sleep (sleep time)
According to the proposed CH selection approach, a new CH node is selected if the current CH node performs this role not shorter than the time $TCH_{i}$, which is calculated using the method presented in Section (see line 4 in Algorithm 3). This approach requires the probabilities of event occurrence ($p_{i}$) to be evaluated for all sensor nodes in the cluster. To this end the CH node holds an event counter that indicates how many times given sensor node has reported an event. The probability $p_{i}$ is estimated as a quotient of the value recorded in event counter divided by the duty time. It should be noted that the variable called duty time in Algorithms 2 and 3 informs how long the current CH fulfils the CH role. If the aforementioned condition of CH change is satisfied then the next sensor node from a predetermined sequence is selected to act as CH. The sequence is established during initialization of the WSN and corresponds to the order in which the sensor nodes have joined the cluster. In case when the CH change condition is not met, the current CH node stays in its role.
For large clusters with many sensor nodes, the computations of $TCH_{i}$ that require solving the system of linear equations (4), can lead to significant energy expenditure and computation time, when performed by the CH node with limited resources. Thus, an optional procedure was proposed where the system of equations is solved by the sink (base station), which is powered from the mains and has greater computational power than CH node. According to this procedure the CH node sends a request to the sink with estimated probabilities of event occurrence ($p_{i}$) and receives the $TCH_{i}$ time. It should be also noted that the equation system can be effectively solved by using artificial neural networks \[[@B32-sensors-19-04060]\] or approximate algorithms \[[@B33-sensors-19-04060]\]. Moreover, an approximate solution is sufficient for the proposed CH rotation method, as the $TCH_{i}$ time must be determined with precision that corresponds to the time interval between two successive CH selections. At the time of CH selection procedure, the cluster members listen to sync frame, which is broadcasted by the CH node. The sync frame includes address of the new selected CH. If a cluster member receives the sync frame with CH address equal to its own address then it switches to act as CH node. Another basic function of the sync frame is time synchronization of all nodes in the cluster. The sensor nodes are synchronized by resetting their timers on reception of the sync frame.
Algorithm 3
Cluster-head selection
1. **if** node role = cluster head **then**
2. determine probabilities $p_{i}$ based on event counter
3. determine $TCH_{i}$ using method presented in [Section 3.2](#sec3dot2-sensors-19-04060){ref-type="sec"}
4. **if** duty time \>= $TCH_{i}$ **then**
5. CH address = next address in sequence
6. node role = cluster member
7. **end if**
8. broadcast sync frame
9. put communication module to sleep (sleep time)
10. **else**
11. listen to sync frame (wait time)
12. **if** sync frame received **then**
13. **if** CH address = own address **then**
14. node role = cluster head
15. duty time = 0
16. **end if**
17. put communication module to sleep (sleep time)
18. **else**
19. begin node initialization procedure
20. **end if**
21. **end if**
22. step = 0
The algorithm of sensor node initialization (Algorithm 4) is executed every time a sensor node starts to operate as well as when CH node is no longer present, e.g., due to malfunction or battery depletion. The initialized sensor node waits for sync frame. If the sync frame is received, the sensor node joins the WSN cluster as cluster member. In opposite situation, when sync frame is not received, the node takes the CH role. It should be noted that the sync frame includes information about current step of cluster operation. The CH node broadcasts the sync frame periodically, as shown in Algorithm 2 (line 4). Thus, a sensor node can join the cluster at any time, e.g., after its recovery.
During initialization, the wait time, i.e., time when sensor node waits for the sync frame, is different for each node. The wait time (sync wait time) depends on address of the node (see line 2 in Algorithm 4). This prevents the situation when many neighboring sensor nodes take the CH role at the same time. An example of WSN cluster initialization is presented in [Figure 2](#sensors-19-04060-f002){ref-type="fig"}. In this example sensor nodes 1 and 2 are initialized at the same time and want to join the WSN cluster. Initially, the CH node is not present, thus node 1 does not receive sync frame during its wait time, and becomes the CH. As node 1 takes the CH role, it starts broadcasting sync frames. One of such frames is received by node 2, which then join the cluster as cluster member. Similarly, the 3rd sensor node, which starts its operation later than the other nodes, acts as cluster member after receiving the sync frame.
The most computationally complex operation in the proposed approach is to solve the system of linear equations in Algorithm 3 (line 3). In this work, this operation was performed by using the exact algorithm presented in \[[@B31-sensors-19-04060]\], with complexity of $\mathcal{O}\left( N^{3} \right)$, where *N* is number of cluster members. As explained above, the computational complexity can be reduced by implementing heuristic or approximate algorithms to solve the equation system. Moreover, this computationally demanding operation can be effectively performed by the base station (sink) for larger clusters. The remaining operations of the proposed algorithms have linear complexity ($\mathcal{O}\left( N \right)$).
Algorithm 4
Initialization of sensor node
1. wake communication module up
2. sync wait time = delay \* address
3. listen to sync frame (sync wait time)
4. **if** sync frame received **then**
5. role = cluster member
6. step = step determined in sync frame
7. **else**
8. role = cluster head
9. step = 0
10. duty time = 0
11. **end if**
12. put communication module to sleep (sleepTime)
4. Experiments {#sec4-sensors-19-04060}
==============
The objective of the experiments was to measure the energy consumption of sensor nodes and to estimate the lifetime of WSN. During experiments the lifetime of WSN with smart nodes was compared for the proposed CH rotation method and the state-of-the-art approaches, including time-driven and energy-driven CH rotation algorithms.
4.1. Experimental Testbed {#sec4dot1-sensors-19-04060}
-------------------------
The WSN built for research purposes consists of four smart sensor nodes. Three of the sensor nodes can act as cluster head or cluster member. The fourth node is used as sink. Each node of the WSN contains a microcontroller, a communication module and an analogue light sensor ALS-PT19. The measurement of energy consumption is performed by using LTC4150 Coulomb counter \[[@B34-sensors-19-04060]\], which is an external module of the microcontroller.
The Coulomb counter is useful in measuring the depletion of battery energy in wireless devices. It enables continuous current measurement in situation where long-term observation is required. The measuring process is based on differential measurement over a shunt, i.e., a resistor that has a small amount of resistance and is connected in series. The Coulomb counter detects potential difference (voltage drop) across the resistor and determines current flowing through the circuit using Ohm's law. Due to parameters of the internal resistor and the maximum energy consumption of the sensor node, the smallest amount of energy to be measured is 26 µAh. The LTC4150 module generate impulse on an output pin each time 0.1707 mAh is absorbed by the sensor node. These impulses are counted by an additional microcontroller to evaluate the energy consumption over a long period of time. It was assumed that all sensor nodes have the same battery capacity of 700 mAh.
When designing smart sensor nodes, two families of microcontrollers were taken into account: ARM and AVR. Both can switch off unused functional blocks, but differ in the approach to energy saving. The microcontrollers of AVR family (ATTiny, ATMega) by default have all modules such as $ADC$, $I^{2}C$, $SPI$ enabled. Different approach is used in ARM systems. Here, initially all modules are switched off. It is also possible to turn off the power supply to individual input/output ports, which in the case of the aforementioned AVR family of microcontrollers is not possible. In this research the ARM microcontroller was used (STM32F103), which is clocked at 72 MHz frequency and offers greater accuracy of timers, enabling better synchronization of sensor nodes, while maintaining compact dimensions of the device.
The wireless communication module installed in sensor nodes is based on ZigBee technology (xBee S2C), which provides wireless end-point connectivity to devices. These modules use DigiMesh firmware developed by Digi. DigiMesh simplifies network configuration and increases reliability in conditions where devices required for network operation may fail. Moreover, this technology is easy to use. The xBee modules support multiple network topologies such as point to point, point to multi-point, mesh, and cluster tree. The system includes an implemented data retransmission mechanism. The electrical diagram of the test environment for single sensor node was shown in [Figure 3](#sensors-19-04060-f003){ref-type="fig"}.
As shown in [Figure 3](#sensors-19-04060-f003){ref-type="fig"}. an additional node (microcontroller without wireless communication module) is included in the experimental testbed to measure the energy consumption for all sensor nodes. The measurements collected by the additional nodes are not available for the sensor nodes and are used only for evaluation of the WSN lifetime. Thus, the sensor nodes cannot use these measurements for making decisions about CH rotation.
Initial research was conducted to verify the possibility of evaluating both the energy consumption and the WSN lifetime with use of sensor nodes powered from batteries. However, when repeating the measurement with the same settings, significantly different results were obtained. This problem occurs due to the fact that the batteries are never charged exactly in the same level. To solve this problem a power supply unit, Mean Well APV-12-5 \[[@B35-sensors-19-04060]\], was used during experiments. The lifetime of WSN was determined for each analyzed scenario by the additional node, which performs measurements of energy consumption. Death of sensor node was detected each time the sensor node has consumed a predetermined amount of energy (3500 mWh). This approach has ensured repeatability of the conducted experiments.
The considered WSN was designed for indoor detection of moving objects, e.g., people passing through a corridor in a building. Therefore, each sensor node was equipped with a light sensor \[[@B36-sensors-19-04060]\], which converts the lighting level into a proportional value of the voltage at its output. This voltage is then measured through one of the ADC (Analogue-to-Digital Converter) channels of the microcontroller. An example of lighting level measurement is shown in [Figure 4](#sensors-19-04060-f004){ref-type="fig"}. It should be noted that the designed sensor nodes recognize important events as significant changes in the voltage level at the light sensor output. To be detected as event, the registered changes must be above a threshold, which is determined dynamically by using a moving average filter \[[@B37-sensors-19-04060]\]. Determining the threshold in this way guarantees correct detection of objects in various lighting conditions. The moving average filter is used with time window of 100 samples.
The smart sensor nodes were programmed to perform the algorithms presented in [Section 3.2](#sec3dot2-sensors-19-04060){ref-type="sec"}. In this implementation, one step of the WSN operation corresponds to 0.5 s. It means that the sensor data are collected, event occurrence is verified, and result is reported to the sink two times per second. This enables detection of fast-moving objects.
For detailed evaluation of the proposed CH rotation algorithm it was necessary to conduct experiments with various probabilities of event detection by particular sensor nodes. It would be difficult to control the light intensity to achieve a desired probability of event detection. Therefore, a function was programmed, which allows the sensor nodes to randomly generate the events with a given probability. lAs a result, the smart sensor node performs transmission when an event is randomly generated. If no event is generated then the data transmission is suppressed. The simple suppression procedure does not require any additional parameters. This approach has significantly facilitated the experimental evaluation.
During tests of the elaborated WSN it was observed that increased energy consumption is caused by retransmissions that occurs in case of incorrectly synchronized sensor nodes. It should be noted that the cluster members send data to CH node according to TDMA schedule and their timers need synchronization to avoid transmission errors due to collisions. Moreover, if cluster member is not correctly synchronized their messages can be not received by the CH node. In such situations, when frame transmission is not finished successfully, the xBee modules perform retransmissions. The impact of synchronization period on energy consumption by sensor node is illustrated in [Figure 5](#sensors-19-04060-f005){ref-type="fig"}. The results presented in [Figure 5](#sensors-19-04060-f005){ref-type="fig"} were obtained for two synchronization periods: 5 min and 10 min. In the first case the CH node consumed 265 mWh of energy on average, while cluster member used 189 mWh. After extending the synchronization period to 10 min, the average energy consumption increased to 268 mWh for CH node, and to 195 mWh for cluster member. The sensor nodes consume less energy when the synchronization is performed every 5 min since in this case fewer retransmissions are necessary. The number of retransmissions is reduced as the sensor nodes are better synchronized and send their data in the TDMA slots allocated to them, exactly when the CH is waiting for the data. In case when the synchronization is performed every 10 min, the number of transmissions executed out of the specified time slots increases at the last phase of the synchronization period. Such transmissions cannot be completed correctly and the data are retransmitted at the next opportunity. Based on these results, a short synchronization period was used in further experiments.
Additionally, [Figure 5](#sensors-19-04060-f005){ref-type="fig"} shows changes of energy consumption as a function of the probability of event occurrence. When analyzing these results, it should be noted that for cluster member the energy consumption increases with the probability of event occurrence. The reason behind this dependency is that the smart sensor nodes suppress transmissions to CH if no important event is detected. Thus, if the event probability is higher, the cluster member must perform the transmission more frequently. In contrast, CH member reports the aggregated results to the sink at each step of the WSN operation and its energy consumption does not change significantly with the event probability.
The network lifetime can be determined with the different assumptions described in the previous section. Due to the nature of the detected data, which is implemented in a relatively small area, the network lifetime is defined in this study as the time from the start of all nodes to the discharge of one of them. This is due to the exponential drop in detection quality after any of the nodes are switched off. Battery discharge is indicated by the blinking LED that was attached to the microcontroller module.
4.2. Results and Discussion {#sec4dot2-sensors-19-04060}
---------------------------
Tests of the CH rotation algorithms were divided into two parts. The first part is devoted to the situation where the probability of event occurrence is constant in time. In this case, the event probabilities for sensor nodes 1--3 were set to 0.2, 0.3, and 0.5, respectively. The second part of tests deals with a more realistic case in which the event occurrence probability varies with time. For instance, the probability of detecting person in an office building is high during working hours and low throughout the remaining part of the day. During experiments the probabilities were changed every 5 min in cycles of 15 min. In case of the first sensor node the probability for three successive 5-min intervals was 0.2, 0.2, and 0.3. In a similar way, the probabilities of 0.6, 0.7, and 0.9 were assigned to sensor node 2. Finally, sensor node 3 was detecting the events with probabilities of 0.1, 0.4, and 0.1.
[Figure 6](#sensors-19-04060-f006){ref-type="fig"} shows the results obtained for the simplest approach, which permanently assigns the CH role to one of the sensor nodes at the initialization stage. The sensor node with ID = 1 acts as CH during the considered period of time, as shown in [Figure 6](#sensors-19-04060-f006){ref-type="fig"}(top). In this case, the CH node (node 1) depletes its battery faster than the cluster members (node 2 and node 3). The WSN lifetime has not exceeded 13 h and 27 min. When the CH node dies, the remaining nodes have over 661 mWh of unused energy (see [Figure 6](#sensors-19-04060-f006){ref-type="fig"}(bottom)). It should be noted that in case of the fixed CH node the same results are observed for both analyzed scenarios (with constant and variable event occurrence probability) because the energy consumption of CH node, which has to send detection results to sink at each step, does not depend on the probability of event occurrence (as presented in [Figure 5](#sensors-19-04060-f005){ref-type="fig"}).
The second examined method uses the round-robin CH rotation (RRCR) algorithm \[[@B38-sensors-19-04060],[@B39-sensors-19-04060]\], which is based on the time-driven approach. This algorithm allocates fixed time interval to each sensor node in a cyclic way. Thus, all sensor nodes take the CH role for the same time. During experiments this time interval was set to one minute, based on results of preliminary tests. The WSN lifetime and energy consumption by sensor nodes for the RRCR algorithm are presented in [Figure 7](#sensors-19-04060-f007){ref-type="fig"} and [Figure 8](#sensors-19-04060-f008){ref-type="fig"}. When comparing these results with those of the fixed CH approach ([Figure 6](#sensors-19-04060-f006){ref-type="fig"}) it is apparent that the introduction of CH rotation significantly extends the network lifetime. In the scenario with fixed probability of event occurrence the WSN lifetime was 16 h 31 min ([Figure 7](#sensors-19-04060-f007){ref-type="fig"} bottom), while in the second scenario with variable probabilities, the lifetime decreased to 16 h 5 min. It should be noted that at the end of the network operation, two sensor nodes still have 73 mWh and 144 mWh of unused energy on average ([Figure 8](#sensors-19-04060-f008){ref-type="fig"} bottom). This shows that the energy resources in WSN are used in a not optimal way. The reason lays in the RRCR algorithm, which inherently assumes that the sensor nodes consume energy with the same rate. This assumption is not met in case of the smart sensor nodes that transmit data only when an important event is detected.
Further improvement of the WSN lifetime was achieved by using the energy-driven CH rotation algorithm (EDCR) \[[@B40-sensors-19-04060],[@B41-sensors-19-04060]\], which takes into account the energy consumption of CH node. According to this algorithm the CH role is moved to the next node in sequence if a given percent of residual energy is consumed by the current CH node. After calibration process, the energy threshold of 5% was used. Results of the EDCR algorithm for fixed and variable event probability are shown in [Figure 9](#sensors-19-04060-f009){ref-type="fig"} and [Figure 10](#sensors-19-04060-f010){ref-type="fig"}. The left charts in [Figure 9](#sensors-19-04060-f009){ref-type="fig"} and [Figure 10](#sensors-19-04060-f010){ref-type="fig"} show changes of CH nodes. It can be observed that the CH changes are performed relatively rarely at the beginning of the network operation, when the residual energy of sensor nodes is high. As energy level decreases, the changes of CH node are made more frequently. In the final stage the change is made every minute. In case when the event occurrence probability is constant, the network lifetime is 16 h and 38 min ([Figure 9](#sensors-19-04060-f009){ref-type="fig"}). As shown in [Figure 10](#sensors-19-04060-f010){ref-type="fig"}, if the event probability is variable, the network lifetime reduces to 16 h and 12 min. The EDCR algorithm adapts CH rotation to the differences of residual energy between particular nodes that are caused by the unequal probabilities of event detection. However, this adaptation is performed with a larger delay, when compared to the proposed approach. The reason is that the decision about CH change in EDCR is taken after the predetermined amount of node's energy is consumed. In contrast, the proposed method adapts the CH rotation much faster as it directly takes into account the event probabilities and predicts the energy consumption of sensor nodes.
The results achieved for the proposed method are shown in [Figure 11](#sensors-19-04060-f011){ref-type="fig"} and [Figure 12](#sensors-19-04060-f012){ref-type="fig"}. In case when the probability of event occurrence is constant, the network lifetime was prolonged to 16 h and 48 min ([Figure 11](#sensors-19-04060-f011){ref-type="fig"}). Moreover, the average residual energy at the end of WSN lifetime is only 7 mWh. It means that the energy resources of sensor nodes are almost fully used when using the proposed approach. [Figure 12](#sensors-19-04060-f012){ref-type="fig"} shows results obtained for the second scenario where probability of event occurrence is changing. In this scenario the WSN lifetime reaches 16 h and 35 min. In the left chart of [Figure 12](#sensors-19-04060-f012){ref-type="fig"} it is possible to observe length differences of the horizontal bars that depict time intervals in which particular nodes take the CH role. These differences are caused by adaptation of the proposed CH rotation algorithm to currently estimated probabilities of event occurrence for each sensor node. As a result, all sensor nodes consume their energy resources at similar rates. Please note that the sloping lines, depicting energy level in [Figure 11](#sensors-19-04060-f011){ref-type="fig"} and [Figure 12](#sensors-19-04060-f012){ref-type="fig"} (right chart) for nodes 1, 2, and 3, are very close to each other. Such observation confirms that the rate of energy consumption by sensor nodes is approximately equal when using the proposed method. The longer WSN lifetime is achieved as the cluster of nodes uses the available energy more effectively in comparison with the state-of-the-art methods. It should be noted that the obtained solution is very close to the optimal one, where all sensor nodes dies exactly at the same time.
Additionally, [Figure 13](#sensors-19-04060-f013){ref-type="fig"} shows the dependency between the percent of time when node gets CH role and the probability of event detection. These aggregated results relate to the example presented in [Figure 11](#sensors-19-04060-f011){ref-type="fig"}, where each node has fixed event occurrence probability. It can be observed that the more events are detected by a node, the shorter is its time of performing CH role. This leads to balanced energy consumption of the three nodes. In case of node 3, for which the events are detected with the highest probability (0.5), the percent of time when the node acts as CH takes the lowest value (27.5%). In contrast, node 1 has lower probability of event detection than the other nodes (0.3) and takes the CH role for the longest time (37.5%).
For comparison purposes, another CH rotation method called FDCR (Frame Driven Cluster-head Rotation) was tested. This simple method also takes into account the number of events detected and reported to CH by sensor nodes, but does not involve computations of the CH time limit $TCH_{i}$, thus is slightly easier in implementation. According to this method, the CH role is moved to next sensor node if the number of frames, received by current CH node from cluster members, reaches a predetermined threshold. The threshold of frame number was calibrated independently for both the fixed ([Figure 14](#sensors-19-04060-f014){ref-type="fig"}) and the variable ([Figure 15](#sensors-19-04060-f015){ref-type="fig"}) probability of event detection. Based on the calibration process, the threshold was set to 1100 and 700 frames, respectively. However, results of the experiments in [Figure 16](#sensors-19-04060-f016){ref-type="fig"} and [Figure 17](#sensors-19-04060-f017){ref-type="fig"} show that the WSN lifetime for FDCR algorithm is shorter than for the proposed method (16 h 32 min in case of constant event probability, and 16 h 6 min in case of variable event probability). These results are comparable with those of the RRCR algorithm. The lower performance of FDCR is related to the fact that this method ignores the differences between number of events reported by particular sensor nodes.
It should be noted here that the results shown in [Figure 6](#sensors-19-04060-f006){ref-type="fig"}, [Figure 7](#sensors-19-04060-f007){ref-type="fig"}, [Figure 8](#sensors-19-04060-f008){ref-type="fig"}, [Figure 9](#sensors-19-04060-f009){ref-type="fig"}, [Figure 10](#sensors-19-04060-f010){ref-type="fig"}, [Figure 11](#sensors-19-04060-f011){ref-type="fig"}, [Figure 12](#sensors-19-04060-f012){ref-type="fig"}, [Figure 13](#sensors-19-04060-f013){ref-type="fig"}, [Figure 14](#sensors-19-04060-f014){ref-type="fig"}, [Figure 15](#sensors-19-04060-f015){ref-type="fig"}, [Figure 16](#sensors-19-04060-f016){ref-type="fig"} and [Figure 17](#sensors-19-04060-f017){ref-type="fig"} were obtained using the data suppression approach to reduce the number of transmissions for each considered method.
Extensive experiments were conducted to compare the above-discussed methods for 10 different scenarios. The experiments involved dynamic scenarios, where the probability of event occurrence changes in time. Each dynamic scenario assumes different changes of the event occurrence probabilities during 15-min cycles, similarly to the second scenario, which is analyzed above in this section. Static scenarios were also included in the experiment. In this case, the event probability for a given node was constant, but different probabilities were assigned to particular nodes.
The plot in [Figure 18](#sensors-19-04060-f018){ref-type="fig"} show results of the extended experiments. The columns in this plot correspond to average values of the WSN lifetime for all considered scenarios, while the error bars show maximum and minimum lifetime observed during tests. The average lifetime values in [Figure 18](#sensors-19-04060-f018){ref-type="fig"} were determined by taking into account the experimental results of the 10 scenarios that were mentioned earlier in this section. Similarly, the maximum and minimum lifetimes were taken from the set of the results obtained for 10 scenarios.
The comparison presented in [Figure 18](#sensors-19-04060-f018){ref-type="fig"} additionally includes the basic versions of RRCH, EDCR, and FDCR algorithms without suppression of unnecessary transmissions. It can be observed that the suppression approach used by smart sensor nodes greatly contributes to the lifetime extension. At the same time, the proposed method allows us to take full advantage of the smart sensor node capabilities to suppress unnecessary transmissions for prolonging the WSN lifetime.
5. Conclusions {#sec5-sensors-19-04060}
==============
The method presented in this paper prolongs the lifetime of WSN with smart sensor nodes. The considered smart sensor nodes have extended computing capabilities and enable comprehensive data processing to transmit information about detected events instead of raw sensor readings. To detect events in larger areas, the smart nodes communicate and cooperate in clusters. One node in cluster must be selected as the CH. The introduced method allows the sensor nodes to decide how long they should take the role of CH to maximize lifetime of WSN. To this end a lightweight energy consumption model is used, which takes into account probabilities of event occurrences for particular nodes. The results obtained during long-term experiments conducted on the hardware testbed shows that the proposed solution gives better results than state-of-the-art approaches when the event probability is constant as well as when the probability changes over time. Thus, it can be concluded that the proposed algorithm enables effective adaptation of the CH rotation process to the current situation of events detection. As for future works, an interesting topic is to examine the CH rotation methods for WSNs with more hierarchy levels and for hybrid sensor nodes that are equipped with different sets of sensors. Other further research directions include evaluation of the method for more complex statistical models with different distributions of event probability and experiments with larger WSNs.
Conceptualization, M.L. and B.P.; Data curation, M.L. and B.P.; Formal analysis, M.L. and B.P.; Funding acquisition, M.L. and B.P.; Investigation, M.L. and B.P.; Methodology, M.L. and B.P.; Project administration, B.P.; Resources, M.L. and B.P.; Software, M.L. and B.P.; Supervision, B.P.; Validation, M.L. and B.P.; Visualization, M.L. and B.P.; Writing---original draft, M.L. and B.P.; Writing---review & editing, M.L. and B.P.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
{#sensors-19-04060-f001}
{#sensors-19-04060-f002}
{#sensors-19-04060-f003}
{#sensors-19-04060-f004}
{#sensors-19-04060-f005}
{#sensors-19-04060-f006}
{#sensors-19-04060-f007}
{#sensors-19-04060-f008}
{#sensors-19-04060-f009}
{#sensors-19-04060-f010}
{#sensors-19-04060-f011}
{#sensors-19-04060-f012}
{#sensors-19-04060-f013}
{#sensors-19-04060-f014}
{#sensors-19-04060-f015}
{#sensors-19-04060-f016}
{#sensors-19-04060-f017}
{#sensors-19-04060-f018}
[^1]: These authors contributed equally to this work.
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Q:
The secret behind Reversal badge
Reversal badge has an information about Provided answer of +20 score to a question of -5 score. I don't understand why -5 score for? So we have to wait untill the question get 5 down-votes which is looks like so mean .
A:
If you think about it, it makes sense. What you're doing is providing a stellar answer to a question that has already been knocked off of the front page and the community has already felt like isn't a very good question.
If you look at some of the badge holders, you'll see examples of the answers that earn them this sort of badge.
I wouldn't consider it "mean", per se - the question itself isn't all that great, but the emphasis is on the quality of answers instead.
That's why this badge makes sense to have at least -5 score on the question, and +20 on answer score. The answer outshined a question that the community didn't feel was very good.
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Vinyl,
12"
Download
Low-end hoodlum from San Fransisco, Eprom goes in cahoots with fellow bass botherer Slugabed for this launch off single for London label Bad Acid. Expect distorted synth riffage, phased out lead lines, flaming bass noise raved up bleeps and some juicy drops to tickle the soundsystem. |
Now, the people he knew and loved are remembering him the way he wanted.
"We've shed our tears for Kevin, we all have, and we're still going to be shedding tears," said Anderson's best friend, Eric Wyble. "But there's many a time that he told me on his passing, whatever the circumstances, he wanted a celebration of everyone he knew, come out and have a good time. Have a bonfire in his honor."
Laughter was the best medicine as people told stories of Kevin to remember the man known affectionately as a Cat Island Pirate.
"A group of friends getting together and going out to Cat Island, and having freedom of expression out there where there were no boundaries and you could just do whatever you, whatever you wanted," said Sandra Chapman. "Kevin was bigger than life. He was funny. Everyone who came into the salon loved him."
Wyble remembers the times he spent with Kevin on Cat Island.
"We enjoyed everything that was there," Wyble said. "Kevin facilitated that with his fishing and harvesting oysters on the island. Many a campfire, many a bonfire that we had there."
Long time client and friend Debra Gautier had a final message for Kevin.
"I love you with all my heart," she said. "and I going to miss from the bottom of my heart. So are all these wonderful people back here because he just had such a profound effect on people." |
Oestradiol plus progesterone treatment increases serum leptin concentrations in normal women.
Previous studies have alluded to a role for both oestradiol and progesterone in the secretion of leptin from fat cells in the human, although direct evidence has yet to be obtained. The study aim was to assess serum leptin concentrations in normally cycling women receiving exogenous oestradiol and progesterone. Normally cycling women were investigated in an untreated spontaneous cycle (control, n = 10), a cycle treated with oestradiol (oestradiol cycle, n = 10) and a cycle treated with oestradiol plus progesterone (oestradiol+progesterone cycle, n = 6). Oestradiol was given to the women through skin patches on cycle days 2, 3 and 4, and progesterone intravaginally on cycle days 3, 4 and 5. Serum concentrations of leptin, oestradiol, progesterone, FSH and LH were measured in daily blood samples. During the treatment, serum oestradiol and progesterone concentrations increased significantly. In the oestradiol cycles, leptin concentrations were not affected by treatment and did not differ from those in controls. In the oestradiol+progesterone cycles, leptin concentrations (mean +/- SEM) increased in all women from cycle day 3 (8.6 +/- 1.1 ng/ml) to days 5 (12.2 +/- 1.8 ng/ml, P < 0.01) and 6 (11.9 +/- 2.0, P < 0.05), and were at these points significantly higher than in the control cycles (P < 0.05). The mean percentage increase from day 3 to the peak concentration on days 5 or 6 was 62.6 +/- 6.8%. Leptin concentrations returned to the pretreatment value on day 7, together with the concentrations of oestradiol and progesterone. In the oestradiol+progesterone cycles, leptin concentrations correlated significantly with oestradiol and progesterone concentrations, but not with FSH and LH concentrations. These results show, for the first time, that leptin secretion can be stimulated in women by the administration of oestradiol plus progesterone. This may explain the increased concentrations of leptin during the luteal phase of the normal menstrual cycle. |