text
stringlengths 4
3.53M
| meta
dict |
---|---|
Get Bounty to Find Data-Abusing Android & Chrome Apps
"If data abuse is identified related to an app or Chrome extension, that app or extension will accordingly be removed from Google Play or Google Chrome Web Store," Google says in its blog post published today.
"In the case of an app developer abusing access to Gmail restricted scopes, their API access will be removed."
Bug Bounty On All Android Apps With 100 Million+ Downloads
"These apps are now eligible for rewards, even if the app developers don't have their own vulnerability disclosure or bug bounty program," Google says.
"If the developers already have their own programs, researchers can collect rewards directly from them on top of the rewards from Google."
In the wake of data abuse scandals and several instances of malware app being discovered on the Play Store, Google today expanded its bug bounty program to beef up the security of Android apps and Chrome extensions distributed through its platform.The expansion in Google's vulnerability reward program majorly includes two main announcements.First, a new program, dubbed 'Developer Data Protection Reward Program' (DDPRP), wherein Google will reward security researchers and hackers who find "verifiably and unambiguous evidence" of data abuse issues in Android apps, OAuth projects, and Chrome extensions.Second, expanding the scope of its Google Play Security Rewards Program (GPSRP) to include all Android apps from the Google Play Store with over 100 million or more installs, helping affected app developers fix vulnerabilities through responsibly disclosures.'The data abuse bug bounty program aims to avoid scandals like Cambridge Analytica that hit Facebook with $5 billion in fines for failing to identify situations where user data is being used or sold unexpectedly or repurposed illegitimately without user consent.Google has not yet announced any reward table for the DDPRP program but ensured that a single report could net up to $50,000 in bounty depending on the impact.On the other hand, the GPSRP Program, which was initially launched in 2017, was until today limited to only reporting vulnerabilities in popular Android apps in Google Play Store.With the latest announcement, Google will now work with developers of hundreds of thousands of Android apps, each with at least 100 million downloads, helping them to receive vulnerability reports and instructions on how to patch them over their Play Consoles.Part of Google's App Security Improvement (ASI) program, this existing initiative has already helped over 300,000 developers fix more than 1,000,000 apps on the Google Play Store.Hopefully, both measures will now allow Google to prevent malicious Android apps and Chrome extensions from abusing its users' data, as well as to beef up the security of apps distributed through Play Store. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process of producing palladium-alkali or palladium/promoter metal/alkali metal catalysts useful in the oxacylation of olefins or diolefins. In particular, effecting the production of vinyl acetate from ethylene, acetic acid and an oxygen containing gas. More particular, the present invention relates to the process of producing palladium-gold-potassium fluid bed catalyst useful in the manufacture of vinyl acetate.
The production of vinyl acetate by reacting ethylene, acetic acid and oxygen together in the gas-phase in the presence of a catalyst containing palladium, gold and an alkali metal acetate promoter is known. The catalyst components are typically supported on a porous carrier material such as silica or alumina.
In early examples of these catalysts, both the palladium and gold were distributed more or less uniformly throughout the carrier (see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,275,680, 3,743,607 and 3,950,400 and GB 1333449). This was subsequently recognized to be a disadvantage since it was found that the material within the inner part of the carrier did not contribute to the reaction since the reactants did not diffuse significantly into the carrier before reaction occurred. In other words, a significant amount of the palladium and gold never came into contact with the reactants.
In order to overcome this problem, new methods of catalyst manufacture were devised with the aim of producing catalysts in which the active components were concentrated in the outermost shell of the support (shell impregnated catalysts). For example, GB Patent No.1500167 claims catalysts in which at least 90% of the palladium and gold is distributed in that part of the carrier particle which is not more than 30% of the particle radius from the surface. GB Patent No. 1283737 teaches that the degree of penetration into the porous carrier can be controlled by pretreating the porous carrier with an alkaline solution of, for example, sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide.
Another approach which has been found to produce particularly active catalysts is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,096. In this patent shell impregnated catalysts are produced by a process comprising the steps of (1) impregnating a carrier with aqueous solutions of water-soluble palladium and gold compounds, the total volume of the solutions being 95 to 100% of the absorptive capacity of the catalyst support, (2) precipitating water-insoluble palladium and gold compounds on the carrier by soaking the impregnated carrier in a solution of an alkali metal silicate, the amount of alkali metal silicate being such that, after the alkali metal silicate has been in contact with the carrier for 12 to 24 hours, the pH of the solution is from 6.5 to 9.5; (3) converting the water-soluble palladium and gold compounds into palladium and gold metal by treatment with a reducing agent; (4) washing with water; (5) contacting the catalyst with alkali metal acetate and (6) drying the catalyst. Using this method, catalysts having a specific activity of at least 83 grams of vinyl acetate per gram of precious metal per hour measured at 150.degree. C. can allegedly be obtained. Shell impregnated catalyst are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,622. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,308 also discloses shell impregnated Pd-Au catalyst and the process of manufacture. Each of the above patents is primarily concerned with the manufacture of fixed bed catalyst useful in the manufacture of vinyl acetate.
It would be economically beneficial if the oxacylation of olefins or diolefins, in particular the manufacture of vinyl acetate from ethylene, acetic acid and oxygen could be performed in a fluid bed process. However, until the discovery of the process of the present invention, the preparation of Pd-Au-alkali metal catalyst in fluid bed form has not led to a catalyst having the necessary properties which can lead to an economically viable fluid bed process for the manufacture of vinyl acetate. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Q:
glBindBuffer : Buffer name does not refer to an buffer object generated by OpenGL
After switching from SFML to GLFW for window management, trying to bind my vbo leads to OpenGL error GL_INVALID_OPERATION (1282) with detail "Buffer name does not refer to an buffer object generated by OpenGL".
I manually checked my vbo and it seems to be assign a correct value.
Here is the working example I can produce, using glew-2.1.0 and glfw-3.3.0.
if (!glfwInit())
{
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
std::cout << glfwGetVersionString() << std::endl;
glfwWindowHint(GLFW_CONTEXT_VERSION_MAJOR, 4);
glfwWindowHint(GLFW_CONTEXT_VERSION_MINOR, 6);
glfwWindowHint(GLFW_OPENGL_DEBUG_CONTEXT, GL_TRUE);
auto window = glfwCreateWindow(g_width, g_height, "An Other Engine", nullptr, nullptr);
if (window == nullptr)
{
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
glfwMakeContextCurrent(window);
if (glewInit() != GLEW_OK)
{
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
GLint flags;
glGetIntegerv(GL_CONTEXT_FLAGS, &flags);
if (flags & GL_CONTEXT_FLAG_DEBUG_BIT)
{
glEnable(GL_DEBUG_OUTPUT);
glEnable(GL_DEBUG_OUTPUT_SYNCHRONOUS);
glDebugMessageCallback(glDebugOutput, nullptr);
glDebugMessageControl(GL_DONT_CARE, GL_DONT_CARE, GL_DONT_CARE, 0, nullptr, GL_TRUE);
}
GLuint vao;
glGenVertexArrays(1, &vao);
glBindVertexArray(vao);
GLuint vbo;
glGenVertexArrays(1, &vbo);
glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, vbo);
A:
In a core profile OpenGL Context, the buffer object (name) value has to be generated (reserved) by glGenBuffers. This is not necessary in a compatibility profile context.
You wrongly tried to generate the buffer name by glGenVertexArrays rather than glGenBuffers.
glGenVertexArrays(1, &vbo);
glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, vbo);
That causes an INVALID_OPERATION error when you try to generate the buffer object by glBindBuffer.
Use glGenBuffers to solve the issue:
glGenBuffers(1, &vbo);
glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, vbo);
Note, you do not specify the profile type (glfwWindowHint(GLFW_OPENGL_PROFILE, ...)), by default the profile type is GLFW_OPENGL_ANY_PROFILE and not specified.
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a memory system, and more particularly to a memory system having a media quality aware Error-Correcting Code (ECC) decoding selection and operating method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of computer systems has been rapidly increased in the digital era. Due to this fact, the reliability of digital data storage, such as a memory system, is critical.
Electrical or magnetic interference inside the computer system can cause a single bit of memory cells of the memory system to spontaneously flip to the opposite state to cause errors and result in internal data corruption.
Bit errors of a memory system can be caused by degradation of internal NAND memory structures from previous repeated accesses. In this case, the NAND is wearing out and not getting high energy particle disturbance like a Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (SDRAM) type of memory.
The memory system, or storage devices having an ECC controller is a type of computer data storage that can detect and correct the most common kinds of the internal data corruption. The memory system having the ECC controller is used in most computers where data corruption cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.
Typically, the ECC controller maintains the memory system immune to single-bit errors, the data that is read from each word is always the same as the data that has been written to, even if one or more bits actually stored have been flipped to the wrong state. While the memory system having the ECC controller can detect and correct the errors, most non-ECC memory system cannot correct errors although some may support error detection but not correction.
Thus, there remains a need for a memory system having the ECC controller and the operating method thereof. In view of the ever-increasing need to improve performance and security, it is more and more critical that answers be found to these problems. Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The hypothesis is that R108512 dose dependently accelerates colonic transit in patients with functional constipation or constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. The specific aim of this study is to measure gastric, small bowel, and colonic transit in 40 patients with functional constipation or constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome randomized to placebo, 0.5, 2.0, or 4.0 mg per day as a single dose of R108512. | {
"pile_set_name": "NIH ExPorter"
} |
<?xml version='1.0'?>
<xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
xmlns:fo="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Format"
xmlns:exsl="http://exslt.org/common"
exclude-result-prefixes="exsl"
version='1.0'>
<!-- ********************************************************************
$Id: xref.xsl,v 1.1 2005/08/28 00:35:05 cbauer Exp $
********************************************************************
This file is part of the XSL DocBook Stylesheet distribution.
See ../README or http://nwalsh.com/docbook/xsl/ for copyright
and other information.
******************************************************************** -->
<!-- Create keys for quickly looking up olink targets -->
<xsl:key name="targetdoc-key" match="document" use="@targetdoc" />
<xsl:key name="targetptr-key" match="div|obj"
use="concat(ancestor::document/@targetdoc, '/', @targetptr)" />
<!-- ==================================================================== -->
<xsl:template match="anchor">
<fo:wrapper id="{@id}"/>
</xsl:template>
<!-- ==================================================================== -->
<xsl:template match="xref" name="xref">
<xsl:variable name="targets" select="key('id',@linkend)"/>
<xsl:variable name="target" select="$targets[1]"/>
<xsl:variable name="refelem" select="local-name($target)"/>
<xsl:call-template name="check.id.unique">
<xsl:with-param name="linkend" select="@linkend"/>
</xsl:call-template>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$refelem=''">
<xsl:message>
<xsl:text>XRef to nonexistent id: </xsl:text>
<xsl:value-of select="@linkend"/>
</xsl:message>
<xsl:text>???</xsl:text>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="@endterm">
<fo:basic-link internal-destination="{@linkend}"
xsl:use-attribute-sets="xref.properties">
<xsl:variable name="etargets" select="key('id',@endterm)"/>
<xsl:variable name="etarget" select="$etargets[1]"/>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="count($etarget) = 0">
<xsl:message>
<xsl:value-of select="count($etargets)"/>
<xsl:text>Endterm points to nonexistent ID: </xsl:text>
<xsl:value-of select="@endterm"/>
</xsl:message>
<xsl:text>???</xsl:text>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:apply-templates select="$etarget" mode="endterm"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</fo:basic-link>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="$target/@xreflabel">
<fo:basic-link internal-destination="{@linkend}"
xsl:use-attribute-sets="xref.properties">
<xsl:call-template name="xref.xreflabel">
<xsl:with-param name="target" select="$target"/>
</xsl:call-template>
</fo:basic-link>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<fo:basic-link internal-destination="{@linkend}"
xsl:use-attribute-sets="xref.properties">
<xsl:apply-templates select="$target" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="."/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle">
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="@role and not(@xrefstyle) and $use.role.as.xrefstyle != 0">
<xsl:value-of select="@role"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:value-of select="@xrefstyle"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:with-param>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</fo:basic-link>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
<!-- Add standard page reference? -->
<xsl:if test="not(starts-with(normalize-space(@xrefstyle), 'select:') != ''
and (contains(@xrefstyle, 'page')
or contains(@xrefstyle, 'Page')))
and ( $insert.xref.page.number = 'yes'
or $insert.xref.page.number = '1')
or local-name($target) = 'para'">
<fo:basic-link internal-destination="{@linkend}"
xsl:use-attribute-sets="xref.properties">
<xsl:apply-templates select="$target" mode="page.citation">
<xsl:with-param name="id" select="@linkend"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</fo:basic-link>
</xsl:if>
</xsl:template>
<!-- ==================================================================== -->
<xsl:template match="*" mode="endterm">
<!-- Process the children of the endterm element -->
<xsl:variable name="endterm">
<xsl:apply-templates select="child::node()"/>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="function-available('exsl:node-set')">
<xsl:apply-templates select="exsl:node-set($endterm)" mode="remove-ids"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:copy-of select="$endterm"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="*" mode="remove-ids">
<xsl:copy>
<xsl:for-each select="@*">
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="name(.) != 'id'">
<xsl:copy/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:message>removing <xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/></xsl:message>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:for-each>
<xsl:apply-templates mode="remove-ids"/>
</xsl:copy>
</xsl:template>
<!--- ==================================================================== -->
<xsl:template match="*" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:message>
<xsl:text>Don't know what gentext to create for xref to: "</xsl:text>
<xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/>
<xsl:text>"</xsl:text>
</xsl:message>
<xsl:text>???</xsl:text>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="title" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<!-- if you xref to a title, xref to the parent... -->
<xsl:choose>
<!-- FIXME: how reliable is this? -->
<xsl:when test="contains(local-name(parent::*), 'info')">
<xsl:apply-templates select="parent::*[2]" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:apply-templates select="parent::*" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="abstract|article|authorblurb|bibliodiv|bibliomset
|biblioset|blockquote|calloutlist|caution|colophon
|constraintdef|formalpara|glossdiv|important|indexdiv
|itemizedlist|legalnotice|lot|msg|msgexplan|msgmain
|msgrel|msgset|msgsub|note|orderedlist|partintro
|productionset|qandadiv|refsynopsisdiv|segmentedlist
|set|setindex|sidebar|tip|toc|variablelist|warning"
mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<!-- catch-all for things with (possibly optional) titles -->
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="author|editor|othercredit|personname" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:call-template name="person.name"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="authorgroup" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:call-template name="person.name.list"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="figure|example|table|equation" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="procedure" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="cmdsynopsis" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="(.//command)[1]" mode="xref"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="funcsynopsis" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="(.//function)[1]" mode="xref"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="dedication|preface|chapter|appendix" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<fo:inline text-decoration="underline" color="blue">
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</fo:inline>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="bibliography" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="biblioentry|bibliomixed" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<!-- handles both biblioentry and bibliomixed -->
<xsl:text>[</xsl:text>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="string(.) = ''">
<xsl:variable name="bib" select="document($bibliography.collection,.)"/>
<xsl:variable name="id" select="@id"/>
<xsl:variable name="entry" select="$bib/bibliography/*[@id=$id][1]"/>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$entry">
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$bibliography.numbered != 0">
<xsl:number from="bibliography" count="biblioentry|bibliomixed"
level="any" format="1"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="local-name($entry/*[1]) = 'abbrev'">
<xsl:apply-templates select="$entry/*[1]"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:value-of select="@id"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:message>
<xsl:text>No bibliography entry: </xsl:text>
<xsl:value-of select="$id"/>
<xsl:text> found in </xsl:text>
<xsl:value-of select="$bibliography.collection"/>
</xsl:message>
<xsl:value-of select="@id"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$bibliography.numbered != 0">
<xsl:number from="bibliography" count="biblioentry|bibliomixed"
level="any" format="1"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="local-name(*[1]) = 'abbrev'">
<xsl:apply-templates select="*[1]"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:value-of select="@id"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
<xsl:text>]</xsl:text>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="glossary" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="glossentry" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$glossentry.show.acronym = 'primary'">
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="acronym|abbrev">
<xsl:apply-templates select="(acronym|abbrev)[1]"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:apply-templates select="glossterm[1]" mode="xref-to"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:apply-templates select="glossterm[1]" mode="xref-to"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="glossterm" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:apply-templates/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="index" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="listitem" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="section|simplesect
|sect1|sect2|sect3|sect4|sect5
|refsect1|refsect2|refsect3|refsection" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<fo:inline text-decoration="underline" color="blue">
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</fo:inline>
<!-- What about "in Chapter X"? -->
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="bridgehead" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
<!-- What about "in Chapter X"? -->
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="qandaset" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="qandadiv" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="qandaentry" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="question[1]" mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="question|answer" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="part|reference" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="refentry" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="refmeta/refentrytitle">
<xsl:apply-templates select="refmeta/refentrytitle"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:apply-templates select="refnamediv/refname[1]"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
<xsl:apply-templates select="refmeta/manvolnum"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="refnamediv" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="refname[1]" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="refname" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates mode="xref-to">
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="step" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:call-template name="gentext">
<xsl:with-param name="key" select="'Step'"/>
</xsl:call-template>
<xsl:text> </xsl:text>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="number"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="varlistentry" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="term[1]" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="varlistentry/term" mode="xref-to">
<!-- to avoid the comma that will be generated if there are several terms -->
<xsl:apply-templates/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="co" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="callout-bug"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="book" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="para" mode="xref-to">
<xsl:param name="referrer"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:variable name="context" select="(ancestor::simplesect
|ancestor::section
|ancestor::sect1
|ancestor::sect2
|ancestor::sect3
|ancestor::sect4
|ancestor::sect5
|ancestor::refsection
|ancestor::refsect1
|ancestor::refsect2
|ancestor::refsect3
|ancestor::chapter
|ancestor::appendix
|ancestor::preface
|ancestor::partintro
|ancestor::dedication
|ancestor::colophon
|ancestor::bibliography
|ancestor::index
|ancestor::glossary
|ancestor::glossentry
|ancestor::listitem
|ancestor::varlistentry)[last()]"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="$context" mode="xref-to"/>
<!--
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="object.xref.markup">
<xsl:with-param name="purpose" select="'xref'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="xrefstyle" select="$xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:with-param name="referrer" select="$referrer"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
-->
</xsl:template>
<!-- ==================================================================== -->
<xsl:template match="link" name="link">
<xsl:variable name="targets" select="key('id',@linkend)"/>
<xsl:variable name="target" select="$targets[1]"/>
<xsl:call-template name="check.id.unique">
<xsl:with-param name="linkend" select="@linkend"/>
</xsl:call-template>
<fo:basic-link internal-destination="{@linkend}"
xsl:use-attribute-sets="xref.properties">
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="count(child::node()) > 0">
<!-- If it has content, use it -->
<xsl:apply-templates/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<!-- else look for an endterm -->
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="@endterm">
<xsl:variable name="etargets" select="key('id',@endterm)"/>
<xsl:variable name="etarget" select="$etargets[1]"/>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="count($etarget) = 0">
<xsl:message>
<xsl:value-of select="count($etargets)"/>
<xsl:text>Endterm points to nonexistent ID: </xsl:text>
<xsl:value-of select="@endterm"/>
</xsl:message>
<xsl:text>???</xsl:text>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:apply-templates select="$etarget" mode="endterm"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:message>
<xsl:text>Link element has no content and no Endterm. </xsl:text>
<xsl:text>Nothing to show in the link to </xsl:text>
<xsl:value-of select="$target"/>
</xsl:message>
<xsl:text>???</xsl:text>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</fo:basic-link>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="ulink" name="ulink">
<fo:basic-link xsl:use-attribute-sets="xref.properties">
<xsl:attribute name="external-destination">
<xsl:call-template name="fo-external-image">
<xsl:with-param name="filename" select="@url"/>
</xsl:call-template>
</xsl:attribute>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="count(child::node())=0">
<xsl:call-template name="hyphenate-url">
<xsl:with-param name="url" select="@url"/>
</xsl:call-template>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:apply-templates/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</fo:basic-link>
<xsl:if test="count(child::node()) != 0
and string(.) != @url
and $ulink.show != 0">
<!-- yes, show the URI -->
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$ulink.footnotes != 0 and not(ancestor::footnote)">
<xsl:text> </xsl:text>
<fo:footnote>
<xsl:call-template name="ulink.footnote.number"/>
<fo:footnote-body font-family="{$body.fontset}"
font-size="{$footnote.font.size}">
<fo:block>
<xsl:call-template name="ulink.footnote.number"/>
<xsl:text> </xsl:text>
<fo:inline>
<xsl:value-of select="@url"/>
</fo:inline>
</fo:block>
</fo:footnote-body>
</fo:footnote>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<fo:inline hyphenate="false">
<xsl:text> [</xsl:text>
<xsl:call-template name="hyphenate-url">
<xsl:with-param name="url" select="@url"/>
</xsl:call-template>
<xsl:text>]</xsl:text>
</fo:inline>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:if>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template name="ulink.footnote.number">
<fo:inline font-size="90%">
<!-- FIXME: this isn't going to be perfect! -->
<xsl:text>[</xsl:text>
<xsl:number level="any"
from="chapter|appendix|preface|article|refentry"
format="{$ulink.footnote.number.format}"/>
<xsl:text>]</xsl:text>
</fo:inline>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template name="hyphenate-url">
<xsl:param name="url" select="''"/>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$ulink.hyphenate = ''">
<xsl:value-of select="$url"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="contains($url, '/')">
<xsl:value-of select="substring-before($url, '/')"/>
<xsl:text>/</xsl:text>
<xsl:copy-of select="$ulink.hyphenate"/>
<xsl:call-template name="hyphenate-url">
<xsl:with-param name="url" select="substring-after($url, '/')"/>
</xsl:call-template>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:value-of select="$url"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="olink">
<xsl:param name="target.database"
select="document($target.database.document, /)"/>
<xsl:variable name="localinfo" select="@localinfo"/>
<!-- Olink that points to internal id can be a link -->
<xsl:variable name="linkend">
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="@targetdoc and not(@targetptr)" >
<xsl:message>Olink missing @targetptr attribute value</xsl:message>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="not(@targetdoc) and @targetptr" >
<xsl:message>Olink missing @targetdoc attribute value</xsl:message>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="@targetdoc and @targetptr">
<xsl:if test="$current.docid = @targetdoc">
<xsl:if test="id(@targetptr)">
<xsl:value-of select="@targetptr"/>
</xsl:if>
</xsl:if>
</xsl:when>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$linkend != ''">
<fo:basic-link internal-destination="{$linkend}"
xsl:use-attribute-sets="xref.properties">
<xsl:call-template name="olink.hottext">
<xsl:with-param name="target.database" select="$target.database"/>
</xsl:call-template>
</fo:basic-link>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:call-template name="olink.hottext">
<xsl:with-param name="target.database" select="$target.database"/>
</xsl:call-template>
<!-- Append other document title if appropriate -->
<xsl:if test="@targetdoc and @targetptr and $olink.doctitle != 0
and $current.docid != '' and $current.docid != @targetdoc">
<xsl:variable name="doctitle">
<xsl:variable name="seek.targetdoc" select="@targetdoc"/>
<xsl:for-each select="$target.database" >
<xsl:value-of select="key('targetdoc-key', $seek.targetdoc)/div[1]/ttl" />
</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:if test="$doctitle != ''">
<xsl:text> (</xsl:text><xsl:value-of select="$doctitle"/><xsl:text>)</xsl:text>
</xsl:if>
</xsl:if>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template name="olink.hottext">
<xsl:param name="target.database"/>
<xsl:choose>
<!-- If it has elements or text (not just PI or comment) -->
<xsl:when test="child::text() or child::*">
<xsl:apply-templates/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="@targetdoc and @targetptr">
<!-- Get the xref text for this record -->
<xsl:variable name="seek.targetdoc" select="@targetdoc"/>
<xsl:variable name="seek.targetptr" select="@targetptr"/>
<xsl:variable name="xref.text" >
<xsl:for-each select="$target.database" >
<xsl:value-of select="key('targetptr-key', concat($seek.targetdoc, '/', $seek.targetptr))/xreftext"/>
</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$use.local.olink.style != 0">
<!-- Get the element name and lang for this targetptr -->
<xsl:variable name="element" >
<xsl:for-each select="$target.database" >
<xsl:value-of select="key('targetptr-key', concat($seek.targetdoc, '/', $seek.targetptr))/@element"/>
</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:variable name="lang">
<xsl:variable name="candidate">
<xsl:for-each select="$target.database" >
<xsl:value-of select="key('targetptr-key', concat($seek.targetdoc, '/', $seek.targetptr))/@lang"/>
</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$candidate != ''">
<xsl:value-of select="$candidate"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:value-of select="'en'"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:variable name="template">
<xsl:call-template name="gentext.template">
<xsl:with-param name="context" select="'title'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="name" select="$element"/>
<xsl:with-param name="lang" select="$lang"/>
</xsl:call-template>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:call-template name="substitute-markup">
<xsl:with-param name="template" select="$template"/>
<xsl:with-param name="title">
<xsl:for-each select="$target.database" >
<xsl:value-of select="key('targetptr-key', concat($seek.targetdoc, '/', $seek.targetptr))/ttl"/>
</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:with-param>
<xsl:with-param name="label">
<xsl:for-each select="$target.database" >
<xsl:value-of select="key('targetptr-key', concat($seek.targetdoc, '/', $seek.targetptr))/@number"/>
</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:with-param>
</xsl:call-template>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="$xref.text !=''">
<xsl:value-of select="$xref.text"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:message>Olink error: no generated text for targetdoc/targetptr = <xsl:value-of select="@targetdoc"/>/<xsl:value-of select="@targetptr"/></xsl:message>
<xsl:text>????</xsl:text>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:text>????</xsl:text>
<!--
<xsl:call-template name="olink.outline">
<xsl:with-param name="outline.base.uri"
select="unparsed-entity-uri(@targetdocent)"/>
<xsl:with-param name="localinfo" select="@localinfo"/>
<xsl:with-param name="return" select="'xreftext'"/>
</xsl:call-template>
-->
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template name="olink.outline">
<xsl:message terminate="yes">Fatal error: what is this supposed to do?</xsl:message>
</xsl:template>
<!-- ==================================================================== -->
<xsl:template name="title.xref">
<xsl:param name="target" select="."/>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="local-name($target) = 'figure'
or local-name($target) = 'example'
or local-name($target) = 'equation'
or local-name($target) = 'table'
or local-name($target) = 'dedication'
or local-name($target) = 'preface'
or local-name($target) = 'bibliography'
or local-name($target) = 'glossary'
or local-name($target) = 'index'
or local-name($target) = 'setindex'
or local-name($target) = 'colophon'">
<xsl:call-template name="gentext.startquote"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="$target" mode="title.markup"/>
<xsl:call-template name="gentext.endquote"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<fo:inline font-style="italic">
<xsl:apply-templates select="$target" mode="title.markup"/>
</fo:inline>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template name="number.xref">
<xsl:param name="target" select="."/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="$target" mode="label.markup"/>
</xsl:template>
<!-- ==================================================================== -->
<xsl:template name="xref.xreflabel">
<!-- called to process an xreflabel...you might use this to make -->
<!-- xreflabels come out in the right font for different targets, -->
<!-- for example. -->
<xsl:param name="target" select="."/>
<xsl:value-of select="$target/@xreflabel"/>
</xsl:template>
<!-- ==================================================================== -->
<xsl:template match="title" mode="xref">
<xsl:apply-templates/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="command" mode="xref">
<xsl:call-template name="inline.boldseq"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="function" mode="xref">
<xsl:call-template name="inline.monoseq"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="*" mode="page.citation">
<xsl:param name="id" select="'???'"/>
<fo:inline keep-together.within-line="always">
<xsl:call-template name="substitute-markup">
<xsl:with-param name="template">
<xsl:call-template name="gentext.template">
<xsl:with-param name="name" select="'page.citation'"/>
<xsl:with-param name="context" select="'xref'"/>
</xsl:call-template>
</xsl:with-param>
</xsl:call-template>
</fo:inline>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="*" mode="pagenumber.markup">
<fo:page-number-citation ref-id="{@id}"/>
</xsl:template>
<!-- ==================================================================== -->
<xsl:template match="*" mode="insert.title.markup">
<xsl:param name="purpose"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:param name="title"/>
<xsl:choose>
<!-- FIXME: what about the case where titleabbrev is inside the info? -->
<xsl:when test="$purpose = 'xref' and titleabbrev">
<xsl:apply-templates select="." mode="titleabbrev.markup"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:copy-of select="$title"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="chapter|appendix" mode="insert.title.markup">
<xsl:param name="purpose"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:param name="title"/>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$purpose = 'xref'">
<fo:inline font-style="italic">
<xsl:copy-of select="$title"/>
</fo:inline>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:copy-of select="$title"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="*" mode="insert.subtitle.markup">
<xsl:param name="purpose"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:param name="subtitle"/>
<xsl:copy-of select="$subtitle"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="*" mode="insert.label.markup">
<xsl:param name="purpose"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:param name="label"/>
<xsl:copy-of select="$label"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="*" mode="insert.pagenumber.markup">
<xsl:param name="purpose"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:param name="pagenumber"/>
<xsl:copy-of select="$pagenumber"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="*" mode="insert.direction.markup">
<xsl:param name="purpose"/>
<xsl:param name="xrefstyle"/>
<xsl:param name="direction"/>
<xsl:copy-of select="$direction"/>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
Q:
Is this Possible to retrieve a report names specific to object reference. Ex:Like for account object how many reports/dashboards are associated
Requirement:-I want to fetch a report and Dashboard names which using Account ,contact,Opportunity,Lead And some custom object reference(Fields)).
Is this Possible to retrieve a report name specific to object reference.
Ex:Like for account object how many reports/dashboards are associated.
As this is business requirement early response is more appriciated
A:
As far as I know it can't be done with SOQL.
You probably could try with Analytics API but it has some limitations.
The "old school" way would be to download all report types and report definitions to Eclipse IDE (or with any other tool of your choice). If you'd have > 5,000 reports the retrieval would have to be split into chunks - for example fetch few folders at a time.
Report definitions will be shown as XML files (sample is at the bottom of Metadata API page for Report object).
You'll then be able to run text searches on the XML files (Ctrl+H in Eclipse but you could also use Windows "Find in files" or anything really). Search for your custom object's API name (Xyz__ - ideally without the c at the end because you might see Xyz__r sometimes).
Personally I like Notepad++ "find in files" - easy to select the search results and paste to text file or Excel...
If that's too much work - go to the object's definition, clear the "allow reports" checkbox and soon your users will tell you which reports are related to that object ;)
Source : Link
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
E-mail this image
1. Ray Lewis and the city of Baltimore still have a lot of love left to give each other.
The celebration had already started as Ray Lewis and fellow linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo made the short drive to M&T Bank Stadium for the last time that Lewis, at least as an active player, would ever walk into the house he has protected all these years. Ravens fans all across the spectrum dusted off their No. 52 jerseys, leaving newer, less-faded ones of teammates a decade younger in their closets. A billboard thanking Lewis for 17 years of passion was erected within walking distance of the stadium. On his way into his house, Lewis passed through a tunnel of purple, dozens of fans yelling out his name while reaching out to put their fingertips on the living legend's crisp black suit.
As he warmed up on the field before the game, the stadium was uncharacteristically filled as fans folded up their tailgates early to take in the scene. After bumping into offensive linemen Matt Birk and Marshal Yanda, he walked over to the sideline, where he wrapped his arms, glistening with sweat, around the greatest Olympian of our -- and probably any -- lifetime, Michael Phelps, who credits Lewis for inspiring him to win another half dozen gold medals last year. Lewis crouched in the middle of a ring of Ravens players, screaming out a battle cry as young players such as Torrey Smith, Arthur Jones and Anthony Allen listened intently. After hugging Smith, guard Bobbie Williams and linebacker Terrell Suggs, Lewis was the last of the Ravens off the field, and his descent to the locker room was stalled by more embraces with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith and Under Armour founder Kevin Plank. An NFL Films camera crew, which strapped a microphone to Lewis Sunday, trailed him all the way.
About an hour later, nearly every cell phone in the bleachers was being held in the air as the defensive starters were announced. Finally, after safety Ed Reed bolted out of the tunnel, it was time for maybe the most anticipated moment the stadium had ever seen. Nelly blared. Fireworks burst. Goosebumps crept their way up the arms and legs of everyone in the building, from fans -- including Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Orioles All-Star Adam Jones, Phelps, and actor Josh Charles -- and impartial media members to his Ravens teammates and their opponents. As Lewis did his signature pre-game dance one last time, the stadium was as loud as it has ever been, at least before an opening kickoff had been booted.
And believe it or not, Lewis played better than expected, especially considering the 37-year-old had missed the past three months with a torn right triceps, one that was supported Sunday by a black arm brace that looked like something out of "Iron Man." The Indianapolis Colts felt his presence early when Lewis barged into the backfield and tackled running back Vick Ballard for a loss. He would record a game-high 13 tackles and he would later lament dropping an easy interception on a tipped pass. But his return no doubt inspired his teammates one more time, though it won't be the last. With the 24-9 win, the Ravens advance to play the Denver Broncos in the divisional round Saturday. Fifty-two ain't done yet.
But this was the last time we will see Lewis, up close and personal, at M&T Bank Stadium, where he has poured his heart out for years. Because of that night in Atlanta more than a decade ago, Lewis will leave behind a complicated legacy, but it has been an honor to cover Lewis the player, arguably the greatest middle linebacker in football history. And you can't deny the impact that Lewis has had on the city of Baltimore, which said goodbye the right way Sunday. It was obvious that the outcry of love, thanks and appreciation touched Lewis, as a combination of sweat and tears smeared his eye black as he did a victory lap around the stadium after the game. "Everything I did to get back, if it wasn't for my team, it was for my city," Lewis said after the game. "If my effort can give you hope, faith or love, then so be it. I'll give everything I have." You have, Ray, and your city, inspired one last time, loves you for it. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Baqerabad, Bardsir
Baqerabad (, also Romanized as Bāqerābād) is a village in Mashiz Rural District, in the Central District of Bardsir County, Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 22, in 6 families.
References
Category:Populated places in Bardsir County | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of graphics processing and more specifically to a system and method for switching between graphical processing units.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical computing system includes a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a system memory, a display device, and an input device. A variety of software applications may run on the computing system. The CPU usually executes the overall structure of the software application and configures the GPU to perform specific tasks in the graphics pipeline (the collection of processing steps performed to transform 3-D images into 2-D images). Some software applications, such as web browsers and word processors, perform well on most computing systems. Other software applications, such as modern 3-D games and video processors, are more graphics-intensive and may perform better on computing systems which include a relatively high performance GPU with a rich graphics feature set.
GPUs typically exhibit a trade-off between graphics performance and power consumption; GPUs with higher performance usually consume more power than GPUs with lower performance. This trade-off is exemplified by two types of GPUs: discrete GPUs (DGPUs) and integrated GPUs (IGPUs). A DGPU is often part of a discrete graphics card that includes dedicated memory and is plugged into a slot in the computing system. An IGPU is part of the main chipset that is wired into the motherboard of the computing system and may share the system memory with the CPU. Typically, a DGPU has higher performance, but consumes more power than an IGPU. For running graphics-intensive software applications, a DPGU may be preferred. However, for running less demanding software applications on a laptop, an IGPU may provide adequate performance while maximizing the battery life.
Some computing systems include both a DGPU and an IGPU, allowing the user to tune the graphics performance and the power consumption of the computing system based on the situation. In such a computing system, the user may choose to maximize graphics performance by using the DGPU or to minimize power consumption by using the IGPU. In one approach to setting the desired graphics performance, the user attaches the display to the desired GPU. In such an approach, to switch from the high-performance DGPU to the power-saving IGPU, the user manually unplugs the display device from the video connector for the DGPU and subsequently the user plugs the display device into the video connector for the IGPU. One drawback to this approach, however, is that it is manually intensive and time consuming. In addition, the display will be blank during the GPU transition. In another approach, a manual switch is used to select between the DGPU and the IGPU, then the computing system is rebooted to effect the GPU change. This solution reduces the manual effort, but such a solution does not necessarily reduce the time required to switch between the GPUs. Furthermore, any running applications will terminate when the computing system is rebooted.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is a more flexible technique for switching between an IGPU and a DGPU in a computing system. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This turned out great! I did not add the butter and used nonfat cottage cheese to reduce the calories so it wasn't as rich as it probably should have done. But, it was still tasty and the leftovers are great wrapped up in a tortilla as a breakfast burrito!
We couldn't realy taste the egg and cheese part because the garlic was so overwhelming! My husband said he will be tasting the garlic all day. The garlic smell was way too strong when it was cooking. Tone it down a little???! I'm not quite sure why there would be garlic in an egg dish anyway.
Normally I love garlic, but it came off a bit strong in this dish. My husband asked me if this was made with cornmeal, he thought it tasted a bit cornbread*y. But, it was good, we both liked it. We put a bit of habanero hot-sauce on top.
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Google Group Inc. <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 1:31 PM
Subject: Notice!
To:
--
There are so many Spam emails coming into our Google database from your University of Nairobi email account affiliated and register with Google Group, Provide the information below for verification as there has been an unauthorized access of your email by someone and it was use to send unsolicited messages. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Rotary wing aircraft can be either powered or unpowered. The unpowered version saw substantial development first. Its practical development came at the hands of Juan de la Cierva working in France shortly after the Wright Brothers. Mr. Pitcaren, an American, purchased a French gyroplane and continued to advance the state of the art. The first production models included a horizontally disposed unpowered rotor having a hub mounted upon the top of a rigid mast that was in turn rigidly affixed atop a small airplane. The airplane portion of the autogyro also employed an engine and tractor propeller for propulsion. Vertical and horizontal stabilizers as well as the wings were necessary for attitude and direction control.
Takeoff was accomplished by the Pitcaren machine by taxiing the craft at an angle of attack to allow air to pass upwardly through the rotor thus causing rotation. As the aircraft continued to move forward, rotation increased until enough lift was produced for takeoff. In reality, the distance required for takeoff was excessive. As is shown in ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL AERODYNAMICS by Bradley Jones, M.S., John Wiley and Sons, Inc., N.Y., 1936, the rotor blade was brought up to speed prior to ground roll by a power takeoff shaft that was clutched to the propulsion engine. As rotor lift neared vehicle weight, the body of the craft would begin to rotate in response to rotor torque. At this point the power takeoff clutch was disengaged, brakes released and thrust applied to produce a reasonably short takeoff run.
A jump takeoff was accomplished by the Pitcaren machine by adding collective pitch control to the rotor blades, permitting the rotors to come up to full speed with zero lift. Since a gyroplane has no means for counteracting powered rotor torque, it was still necessary to disengage the power takeoff clutch before leaving the ground. With the rotor spinning at top speed, the collective pitch control was moved from zero to maximum lift to accelerate the craft vertically into the air using the stored energy of the rotor, while forward propulsion accelerated the craft into horizontal flight with normal autorotation ensuing.
Pitcaren also discovered that pitch and roll control could be accomplished by supporting the aircraft below the rotor like a pendulum, thus eliminating the necessity for wings and horizontal stabilizer. This brought attractive simplicity and the gyroplane became an autogyro.
As is described in the aforementioned reference, ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL AERODYNAMICS, the gimbaled and hinged rotor with powered spin-up was the state of the art in 1936 pertaining to autogyros. Cyclic pitch was apparently added shortly thereafter. During the 1940's the Armed Forces became interested in an aircraft that could hover and even fly backward. At that time Igor Sikorsky was flying a powered rotor machine or helicopter but was blocked in development efforts because Pitcaren owned the dominating patents on rotary wing aircraft. The government subsequently ordered Pitcaren to allow Mr. Sikorsky the use of his patents in order to bring helicopter technology to the level of government objectives. As a consequence helicopters and not autogyros came into common use and remain so to this date. The fact that a helicopter can hover and an autogyro cannot hover contributed to this trend.
Now a helicopter is a powered rotary wing aircraft employing collective and cyclic pitch for stability and control and a tail rotor for antitorque and directional control. As in the autogyro, hinged rotor blades are also employed to reduce or eliminate cyclic stresses developed during forward flight. The antitorque rotor represents a sizeable power loss and developers over the years have sought to eliminate it. This can be accomplished by employing propulsion means on the rotor tips or by using counter-rotating rotors.
With respect to propulsion means on the rotor tips, a European company built an aircraft called to Rotodyne during the 1950's. It was a gyroplane that employed ramjet engines on the rotor tips for powered takeoff, hovering and descent if desired. Since ramjets cannot start themselves, propulsion engine bleed air was ducted up the mast and out the blades to activate the ramjets. During the 1960's Hughes Aircraft Co. was building a hot cycle research helicopter according to "Aviation Week and Space Technology", June 22, 1964, page (cover). Also, Hiller Aircraft Co. was testing a tip-mounted turbojet according to "Aviation Week and Space Technology," Aug. 10, 1964, page 10.
With respect to counter-rotating rotors the following U.S. Patents are representative of the prior art: 1,403,909, 1/17/1922, G. E. Moir; 1,849,943, 3/15/1932, R. J. McLaughlin; 3,395,876, 8/6/1968, J. B. Green. The U.S. Navy flew a counter-rotating coaxial shaft drone helicopter as a torpedo delivery system before rocket launched torpedoes came into use. The only practical counter-rotating helicopters utilize separate shafts for each rotor disc.
The idea of combining counter-rotating rotors and tip propulsion has also been explored in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,611, 5/20/1986, Ramme.
The above described methods for eliminating the tail rotor of a helicopter involve considerable complexity and expense and as yet have not in commercial practice replaced the standard single rotor helicopter having a tail rotor.
The present invention seeks to achieve the simplicity of the autogyro and the performance capabilities of a helicopter. Earlier workers appreciated how difficult this was to do. If a counter-rotating rotor assembly were gimbal mounted atop an autogyro then power could be applied to or deleted from the rotor without any torque problems. Assymetric lift would cease to be a problem. The rotor blades would still have to be hinged to reduce or eliminate cyclic stresses at the hub. The blades would not be as long as those of a single rotor assembly, but would still be long enough to require a substantial vertical separation between the counter-rotating blade discs to keep the tips from running into each other. The U.S. Navy counter-rotating helicopter drone demonstrated this reality very clearly with substantial vertical separation between the rotor discs. Combining such a tall rotor assembly with a gimbal mounted fuselage gives rise to many questions concerning control forces and to my knowledge has not been attempted. I reasoned that if the vertical separation could be reduced, or for all practical purposes eliminated, and a round disc supported structure provided, then an attractive hovering autogyro efficient in forward flight could be envisioned. Elimination of the vertical separation between rotor discs would require stiff rotor blades fixedly attached to a hub. A stiff rotor blade tends to look like the wing of an aircraft in order to resist root bending moments which are cyclic. Consequently long stiff blades are not desirable.
This invention provides an autogyro incorporating a pair of closely spaced rigid counter-rotating circular planform wings or disc structures integral with closely spaced sets of peripherally distributed rotor blades with means for applying power to the rotors for vertical takeoff, landing and hovering. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Manassas Prostitution Lawyer
By their nature, prostitution charges are personal and can be very stressful to deal with. With the help of a Manassas prostitution lawyer, however, you can successfully move past your charges and minimize the impact they may have on your professional and personal life.
Our attorneys in Manassas understand what it’s like to work with clients accused of prostitution, and they use the power of that experience to fight for the best possible outcome for every client. This page provides a brief overview of certain prostitution charges in Manassas and elsewhere in Virginia, but the best way to learn more is to call our firm today.
Working with a Manassas Prostitution Attorney
There are certain distinct advantages that come from working with a Manassas prostitution lawyer. The legal advocates at our private criminal defense firm are professional and discrete and can both investigate and litigate your case with the least possible intrusion and interference. Some other benefits of working with our prostitution attorneys include:
Having responsive counsel who will keep you updated on any case developments and answer emails and phone calls promptly
Knowing that your lawyer has a presence within the Manassas court system and understands the nuances of practicing there
The peace of mind that your attorney has your best interests at heart and can work to negotiate a lesser penalty if the charges cannot be dropped completely
Time is often important when dealing with sensitive legal matters, so please contact us quickly to conduct your free initial legal consultation.
Prostitution Charges in Manassas
Prostitution offenses refer to the illegal practice of commercial sexual conduct [Virginia Criminal Code § 18.2-346] and can include a variety of charges, depending on the circumstances of the crime. If someone performs any sex act for money or an equivalent return (such as drugs or any sort of compensation), they can be charged with prostitution. This is charged as a class 1 misdemeanor, and the accused can face up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500.
If prostitution offenses involve the crossing of state lines, or abduction for the purposes of prostitution, federal charges are possible, with penalties much more punitive than Commonwealth laws. Those accused need the experienced counsel of a seasoned Manassas prostitution lawyer.
Additionally, all who are arrested for offering money to a prostitute to perform any sexual favor is charged with a class 1 misdemeanor of solicitation of prostitution, regardless of whether the act was performed or not [VA Code 18.2-346(B)] (maximum $2,500 fine and/or up to a year in jail).
Soliciting prostitution from a minor is charged against those who seek sexual favors from someone who is 16 years old. It is a class 6 felony [VA Code 18.2-346(B)(i)]. The punishment upon conviction is one to five years in prison, though a discretionary maximum of 12 months in jail for a first-time offense is possible. Once convicted, a fine of up to $2,500 may also be ordered [VA Code 18.2-10(f)].
On the other hand, if an individual is found guilty of soliciting prostitution from a minor under 16 years of age, it’s a class 5 felony [VA Section 18.2-346(B)(ii)]. The penalty for this conviction is one to 10 years in prison, with the same discretionary reduction of 12 months in jail, plus a possible fine of up to $2,500 [VA Section 18.2-10(e)].
The Commonwealth’s “pimping law” [VA Section 18.2-348] covers those who transport anyone to any place for the purpose of prostitution. This is a class 1 misdemeanor with a sentence upon conviction of a maximum 12 months in jail and/or a fine up to $2,500. Those who share information with others that aid them in finding a prostitute can also be found guilty of a pimping and receive the same penalty.
Other Prostitution-Related Charges
Keeping, living in, or visiting a “bawdy place” [VA Code 18.2-347] – These constitute any location (indoors or outdoors) used to perform prostitution. One who keeps, lives in, or visits a bawdy place for the purposes of prostitution is charged. The maximum is $2,500 and/or up to a year in. Each day that the bawdy place is kept, lived in, or visited can be charged as a separate offense (and the corresponding penalty for each count).
Receiving money for procuring prostitution [VA Code 18.2-356] – One who accepts money or something of pecuniary value in exchange for placing someone in a bawdy place, or any location where prostitution is performed is alleged to have committed a class 4 felony, which is punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a possible fine of up to $100,000 upon conviction [VA Code 18.2-10(d)].
Receiving money from a prostitute’s earnings [VA Code 18.2-357] – If someone is knowingly “paid” money or anything of value from a prostitute, under any circumstances which may or may not have involved the activity itself, they can be charged with a class 4 felony and face a sentence of two to 10 years in prison and a possible fine of up to $100,000. For example, if a prostitute shares her income with a boyfriend or roommate who is not involved in her “profession” (like helping to pay rent on an apartment they share), that person could be charged.
Retain an Experienced Prostitution Lawyer in Manassas
All who are alleged to have committed any prostitution-related offense in Virginia are best served by an experienced Manassas prostitution lawyer. Contact our legal team today in order to complete your initial consultation, completely free of charge. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Framework for assessment and monitoring of amphibians and reptiles in the Lower Urubamba region, Peru.
Populations of amphibians and reptiles are experiencing new or increasing threats to their survival. Many of these threats are directly attributable to human activity and resource development. This presents the increasing need for worldwide amphibian and reptile assessments and effective, standardized monitoring protocols. Adaptive management techniques can assist managers in identifying and mitigating threats to amphibian and reptile populations. In 1996, Shell Prospecting and Development, Peru initiated a natural gas exploration project in the rainforest of southeastern Peru. The Smithsonian Institution's Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program worked closely with Shell engineers and managers to establish an adaptive management program to protect the region's biodiversity. In this manuscript, we discuss the steps we took to establish an adaptive management program for amphibian and reptile communities in the region. We define and outline the conceptual issues involved in establishing an assessment and monitoring program, including setting objectives, evaluating the results and making appropriate decisions. We also provide results from the assessment and discuss the appropriateness and effectiveness of protocols and criteria used for selecting species to monitor. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Q:
Is it possible to connect to Node.js's net moudle from browser?
i want to make TCP server with Node.js and then connect it from browser without http , express and socket.io moudles. something like what i do in java or c# but this time from browser.
A:
The browser does not contain the capability for Javascript in a regular web page to make a straight TCP socket connection to some server.
Browser Javascript has access to the following network connection features:
Make an http/https request to an external server.
Make a webSocket connection to an external server.
Use webRTC to communicate with other computers
In all these cases, you must use the libraries built into the browser in order to initiate connections on these specific protocols.
There is no capability built into the browser for a plain TCP socket connection. A webSocket (which can only connect to a webSocket server) is probably the closest you can come.
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
A network packet carries data via protocols that the Internet uses, such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol/Ethernet Protocol (TCP/IP/Ethernet). A typical switch is able to modify various fields of incoming packets prior to sending the packets out to a destination or to another switch. Incoming packets are modified for various reasons, such as where the packets are being forwarded to, the protocol the destination supports, priority of the packets, incoming format of the protocol header, etc. Since network protocols are evolving, one or more fields of a protocol header can be optional, which complicates the hardware of the switch as a given field within a protocol header may not be always at a fixed offset.
During modification of a packet, the prior art switch linearly processes each protocol layer in the packet. Such processing can create network related performance issues, including latency, which can cause an implementation to overprovision processing resources. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
John Brice
John Brice may refer to:
John Brice, Jr. (1705–1766), early American settler and Loyalist politician in colonial Maryland
John Brice III (1738–1820), American lawyer, businessman, and political leader from Maryland
John Brice (MP), British politician, Member of Parliament for Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency) | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
Paul Rudd's EXCLUSIVE "Anchorman 2" Clip
Paul is filming the "Anchorman" sequel in Atlanta and brought an awesome clip with him. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Sign up for our COVID-19 newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest coronavirus news throughout New York City
By Phil Corso
While readers of the satirical news source The Onion may be tearing up with laughter, one Bayside native said he wanted to take that reading experience one step further.
Last Thursday night, 25-year-old Adam Gassman took to Manhattan to celebrate the launch party of newsmakeup.com, his own satirical news network with a twist. According to Gassman, News Makeup takes stories from a range of subjects, including politics, media, entertainment, sports and more and presents them in ways that leave readers both entertained but also informed and aware.
“We are a fact-based satire that walks that middle ground between real news and comedy,” Gassman said. “Hopefully, people will read our articles and think about an issue in ways they never have before, and maybe want to find out more.”
Though the news articles are written to make jokes out of real-life stories, Gassman said News Makeup strives to create a relevant political conversation through a nonpartisan voice that plays off what he called the absurdity that dominates American news media.
Gassman said he was unhappy with what was being discussed in mainstream news and wanted to find his own way to go after partisan media, which he said has become partly responsible for political polarization in the United States.
“While the primary goal of a comedy website is entertainment, newsmakeup.com is also dedicated to providing insightful assessments of political developments and promoting thoughtful discussion among its readers,” he said. “For this reason, newsmakeup.com generates stories that forces people to confront the disturbing realities of politics and culture.”
The site also features satirical blogs and recurring segments, Gassman said, including the “Weekly Fast Forward,” which reveals news stories one week before they happen.
As the site grows, Gassman said important political and social issues would be discussed through satirical, but fact-based, news stories that also include additional interactive videos and links so users could learn more about what they read.
“If we can do this, our other hope would be that businesses see this as a way to do a lot of good work with different charities and groups,” Gassman said.
Newsmakeup.com, based in Bayside, currently operates with about 14 writers Gassman hired from different parts of the country, Vice President Conor Biller and a small team handling the technology end. The writers, Gassman said, possess a healthy mix of both journalistic and comedic prowess with a passion for shedding light on the things mainstream media neglect.
“In starting this, we wanted to figure out a way to have a good time while going after partisan media and political hypocrisy while still informing people,” Gassman said. “This idea would be worthless without the people who have helped execute it and there is much more to come.”
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 718-260-4573. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
[[File:Cory Gardner Donors 2012.JPG|right|375px|thumb|Breakdown of the source of Gardner's campaign funds before the 2012 election.]]
[[File:Cory Gardner Donors 2012.JPG|right|375px|thumb|Breakdown of the source of Gardner's campaign funds before the 2012 election.]]
−
Gardner won re-election to the [[U.S. House]] in 2012. During that election cycle, Gardner's campaign committee raised a total of $2,295,599 and spent $1,849,386.<ref>[http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00030780&cycle=2012 ''Open Secrets'' "Cory Gardner 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed February 19, 2013]</ref>
+
Gardner won re-election to the [[U.S. House]] in 2012. During that election cycle, Gardner's campaign committee raised a total of $2,295,599 and spent $1,849,386.<ref>[http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00030780&cycle=2012 ''Open Secrets'' "Cory Gardner 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed February 19, 2013]</ref> This is more than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.<ref>[http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/06/2012-overview.html ''Open Secrets,'' "Election 2012: The Big Picture Shows Record Cost of Winning a Seat in Congress," June 19, 2013]</ref>
Gardner began his political career as a member of the staff of U.S. Senator Wayne Allard from 2002 to 2005. He was then elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, where he served from 2005 to 2010.
Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Gardner is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills.
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of Gardner's academic, professional and political career:[4]
1997: Graduated from Colorado State University, Fort Collins with B.A.
For details and a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House site.
House Resolution 4899 opposition
Gardner and 38 other Republican Colorado state lawmakers sent a strongly worded letter of opposition to Capitol Hill to thwart a proposal tacked on to House Resolution 4899. The proposal would require state and local governments to participate in collective bargaining with labor groups representing police officers, firefighters, and emergency responders. The letter claimed the proposal would stifle economic recovery in Colorado.
Gardner wrote the letter, addressed to all members of Colorado’s congressional delegation, which characterized the bill as a "dangerous amendment" to House Resolution 4899 offered by Rep. David Obey, D-Wisconsin.
Citing economic considerations, the letter stated that the proposed amendment would cause more harm than good to Colorado’s economy. Gardner said now is not the time to fiddle with the equilibrium currently maintained between labor unions and government.
"Particularly with all of the uncertainty currently surrounding the economy, now is not the time to be making radical changes to the balance between labor unions and local governments," said Gardner. "The amendment that has been attached to this bill will cause further harm to our economy and hinder our economic recovery."
One Democratic lawmaker, Sen. Lois Tochtrop of Thornton, said she wholeheartedly supports the proposal.
“I would support any amendment that would that would help in the process of collective bargaining whether in government, or in the private sector. I do not see any economic harm in allowing employees to have a place at the table,” said Tochtrop.[9][10]
Redistricting
Under the new map approved in 2011, Gardner no longer represents Larimer County as of 2013. “I will work as hard as ever to represent Larimer County through the end of 2012, and I will work as hard as ever in the new district,” Gardner stated.[11]
Larimer County was moved out of the 4th and into the 2nd District. Meanwhile, parts of Douglas, Huerfano, Las Animas, and Otero counties were added to the 4th. The newly configured district gives Republicans a slightly higher advantage.
Campaign themes
2012
Excerpt: "We’ve got to get this country moving again, and the best way to accomplish that is to get government out of the way. Private businesses generate wealth, not the government. By cutting government and cutting spending, we will allow the marketplace to do its job. "
Fiscal Responsibility
Excerpt: "Our nation is facing historic debt and high unemployment. Washington’s spending spree has to stop. An important step towards regaining the trust of the American people starts by placing this nation on a path to a balanced federal budget. Immediately after being sworn-in, I formally added my name as a co-sponsor of the Balanced Budget Amendment."
Energy
Excerpt: "Energy development at home is the key to powering our nation’s future. Not only is energy independence essential to our national security, but it will help create jobs for American workers. I have always advocated for an “all of the above” approach to energy. That includes development of traditional energy resources, renewable resources and even nuclear power."
Healthcare
Excerpt: "Despite being ruled constitutional, the President’s health care bill still makes it difficult for our economy to grow and takes away the ability of patients to pursue their own health care decisions. The real issue, however, is not whether the law is constitutional or unconstitutional. It is whether it is good or bad for the country. "
Education
Excerpt: "The importance of education cannot be understated. Schools need the resources to be successful, but let’s not also forget that results matter."
Specific votes
Fiscal Cliff
Gardner voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[13]
Elections
2014
Gardner is set to run for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. If he runs, he will seek the Republican nomination in the primary election on June 24, 2014. The general election took place November 4, 2014.
Full history
To view the full congressional electoral history for Cory Gardner, click [show] to expand the section.
2010
On November 2, 2010, Cory Gardner won election to the United States House. He defeated incumbent Betsy Markey (D), Doug Aden (American Constitution) and Ken Waszkiewicz (Unaffiliated) in the general election.[16]
Campaign donors
Comprehensive donor information for Gardner is available dating back to 2010. Based on available campaign finance records, Gardner raised a total of $4,722,190 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 22, 2013.[19]
2012
Breakdown of the source of Gardner's campaign funds before the 2012 election.
Gardner won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Gardner's campaign committee raised a total of $2,295,599 and spent $1,849,386.[23] This is more than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[24]
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Gardner paid his congressional staff a total of $750,753 in 2011. He ranked 26th on the list of the lowest paid Republican Representative Staff Salaries and he ranked 28th overall of the lowest paid Representative Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Colorado ranked 14th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[29]
Net worth
2011
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Gardner's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between -$34,984 and $249,999. That averages to $107,507, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2011 of $7,859,232. His average net worth increased by 1.90% from 2010.[30]
2010
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Gardner's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $-10,987 and $221,999. That averages to $105,506, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[31] | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The present invention relates to an improvement of the method of analysis by on-line gas phase chromatography of a substantially gaseous phase produced by an industrial olefin polymerisation plant.
The literature describes methods of analysis by chromatography. There will be cited, as an example, BOMBAUGH Karl, J. Chromatography, Gas and Liquid. MacKetta Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and Design. 1979, Vol. 8, pages 270-285.
The major problem encountered with said known methods consists in the difficulty of implementing the method on line on an industrial scale, and also in the reliability of the resulting analyses over time.
For example, drifts of the analyses of the gas phase frequently have to be dealt with, which are due in part to partial blockages of the chromatography analysis lines used in industrial plants for producing polyethylene in gas phase in a fluidised bed reactor. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
package cdn
//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.
//
// Code generated by Alibaba Cloud SDK Code Generator.
// Changes may cause incorrect behavior and will be lost if the code is regenerated.
// HttpCodeData is a nested struct in cdn response
type HttpCodeData struct {
UsageData []UsageDataInDescribeDomainHttpCodeData `json:"UsageData" xml:"UsageData"`
}
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
/*
* Copyright 2018 StreamSets Inc.
*
* 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.
*/
package com.streamsets.pipeline.stage.processor.parser.sql;
import com.streamsets.pipeline.api.base.BaseEnumChooserValues;
public class JDBCTypeChooserValues extends BaseEnumChooserValues<JDBCTypes> {
public JDBCTypeChooserValues() {
super(JDBCTypes.class);
}
}
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
Event listener infrastructure : The next question is who will forward events to the controller. We have vehicle sensors at multiple points of entry and exit. These sensors are able to scan a vehicle's props such as plate, height, type etc. and notify entry and exit event listeners about entry and exit. Note that this enables a real time feel and reduces waiting for vehicles (as spots can be made async available) if slots are full.Sensors run on their own threads.We have the flexibility of having sensors:listeners in a m:n relationship through the use of the composite listener pool.
Further note: SensorData is inner for enhanced encapsulation.
ParkingLot : Facade for the parking lot subsystem. Manages parkingSpot assignments. Validates vehicles to ensure that they follow parking policy (for eg max height).
A parking spot encapsulates level, spot no and vehicle types it is suitable for. This enables a vehicle to enter through a different level(floor) and park at a completely different floor (in case there was no space available on the entry floor.)Validators are strategy objects to ensure flexibility around different parking policies that might arise. Spot assignment is again based on strategy objects which decide which spot goes to which vehicle based on parameters.
Additionally, it would be easy to add timekeeping as shown. This would aid billing.
@soumyadeep2007 Appreciate your answer. In Interview , are they expect class diagrams or coding for this problem? just want to know how to answer design related questions, if they gave time for 30-40 mn how to approach to these kind of questions?
@rlmadhu There is no substitute for code on the whiteboard, that is what they want. If they ask you to do a class diagram, then do it, but its more of an adjunct. If you are asked such a question, take the initiative and get on the whiteboard and narrate your decision making. And not pseudo-code, actual code. You can obviously shorten syntax and stuff, but communicate that to the interviewer.
@rlmadhu honestly, I have never been asked to write the complete code of a system/oo design question in an interview.
I have always started with clarifying questions to understand all the use cases and restrictions. Then start my design with drawing class diagrams. I usually start with small components and try to connect them together to build dependencies and associations and finally the whole system. I usually come up with new classes once I'm trying to connect pieces together.
Then, the interviewer probably finds some parts of my design interesting and asks me to write code for a use case or two. Then I will do.
And mostly the interview is followed by some follow up questions such as how to add a new component/use case to the system and [almost always] how I'm gonna test the application.
For testing my design, I will start with a small component and test it alone. Try to remove the dependencies for the mentioned component/function (look up unit testing/mock/fake/stub). Then I'll test two or more components that are building a workflow together (integration testing) and finally the system as a whole (system testing).
Appreciate effort of this post. But I think there's no time to write so much code or think such detail. This looks like production code. I think design interview is more of high level.
What do you think? | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
AP
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — When Case Keenum sat down at his locker, Teddy Bridgewater flashed a smile and said he was talking trash about his fellow Vikings quarterback.
Bridgewater had nothing but glowing reviews of Keenum, who has led Minnesota on a five-game winning streak to sit atop the NFC North at 7-2. But now that Bridgewater is healthy and active 14½ months after a career-threatening knee injury, coach Mike Zimmer has a decision to make at the QB position.
He's not ready to reveal anything just yet.
"I've got a plan, and we'll just see how it goes," Zimmer said. "Sometimes plans change but we'll see how it goes. We'll sit down this week and we'll visit about it and kind of go from there."
With the high-scoring Los Angeles Rams up next, the Vikings could stick with the status quo after Keenum threw touchdown passes to four different receivers in a 38-30 victory Sunday over the Washington Redskins. Bridgewater said a silent prayer to himself, let out a scream and cried during the national anthem in his first game in uniform since Jan. 10, 2016. Then he watched Keenum put on a solid performance with the four scores and two interceptions.
"He's awesome," Bridgewater said. "He's the ultimate competitor, he fights hard. He has great energy. It's what you want in a quarterback."
If the Vikings were losing, the clouds of a QB controversy could hang over them. But there doesn't seem to be any animosity between Keenum and Bridgewater.
"I'm a big fan of Teddy Bridgewater," Keenum said. "I may have a Teddy Bridgewater jersey at home. He's a great dude, great teammate."
Wide receiver Adam Thielen heaped all sorts of praise on Keenum, who replaced injured veteran Sam Bradford as Minnesota's starter and has thrived after a rough start. Thielen also thinks it's a huge positive to have Bridgewater back, especially after the 25-year-old came back from a complete tear of the ACL in his left knee in August 2016.
"I knew if there was one person that was going to do it, it was going to be Teddy," Thielen said. "It's fun to see him just prepare. The way that he practices, he gets a lot of reps. It's just fun to have him out there because he loves it."
___
Some things learned in the Vikings' 38-30 victory over the Redskins:
SO-SO SKINS
So much for building a little momentum. Now the Redskins (4-5) need to try to stay within shouting distance of the NFC playoff race, and they'll have to beat a rising New Orleans Saints club to do it. Washington travels to New Orleans next weekend to face a host that is leading the NFC South at 7-2 thanks to a seven-game winning streak. The Redskins, meanwhile, haven't won more than two in a row all season. "It seems like we've got this roller-coaster right now, where we're up, down," cornerback Josh Norman said.
'TRASH' SECONDARY
Washington has to hope its defensive backs put on a better showing against Drew Brees and Co. than they did against Keenum. "We played trash in the secondary," Norman said. "We really did." The Redskins allowed completions of 51, 49 and 38 yards, as well as four TDs through the air. "We failed on the back end," Norman said.
THIELEN-DIGGS DUO
Thielen and Stefon Diggs give the Vikings quite a 1-2 punch — no matter who their QB is. Each caught a TD against the Redskins, and Thielen finished with eight catches for 166 yards, while Diggs finished with four receptions for 78 yards, including a tone-setter that went for 51 on Minnesota's third play. Keenum loves throwing to Thielen, saying: "He continues to find ways to get open and make catches — and make catches even when he's not open."
GRIFFEN OUT: Despite DE Everson Griffen missing two practices with a foot injury, Zimmer thought he'd be able to play against the Redskins. Instead, he was a late scratch.
"We worked him out before the game and he just couldn't push off at full speed," said Zimmer. "The smart, prudent thing to do was to not play him because we didn't want to lose him for more than one week."
Griffen was the third player since the NFL began tracking sacks in 1982 to have one in each of his team's first eight games of the season. He has 10.
___
AP Pro Football Writer Howard Fendrich and freelance writer Bobby Bancroft contributed to this report.
___
More AP NFL: http://pro32.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
WARNING: The above report contains images some may find distressing.
At least 58 people, including 11 children, have been killed in a "toxic gas" bombing raid on a rebel-held Syrian town, doctors and a monitor said, in an attack the United Nations quickly said it would investigate as a possible war crime.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack on Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province caused many people to choke or faint, and some to foam from the mouth, citing medical sources who described the symptoms as possible signs that gas was used.
The Edlib Media Centre, a pro-opposition group, posted images that were widely shared on social media, showing people being treated by medics and what appeared to be dead bodies, many of them children.
It would mark the deadliest chemical attack in Syria since sarin gas killed hundreds of civilians in Ghouta near the capital in August 2013. Western states said the Syrian government was responsible for the 2013 attack. Damascus blamed rebels.
Locals said the attack began in the early morning, when they heard planes in the sky followed by a series of loud explosions, after which people very quickly began to show symptoms. They said they could not identify the planes. Both Syrian and Russian jets have bombed the area before.
READ MORE: Syria's civil war explained
Russia's defence ministry denied it was responsible, telling the state-run RIA news agency that it carried out no bombing runs in the area on Tuesday.
The Syrian government has repeatedly denied using such weapons in the past. On three previous occasions, though, United Nations investigations have found it guilty of using chemical weapons.
The Observatory monitoring group, which tracks the war through a network of contacts on the ground, was unable to confirm the nature of the substance used.
In a statement, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said the use of chemical weapons, as well as any deliberate targeting of medical facilities, "would amount to war crimes and serious violations of human rights law".
"It is imperative for perpetrators of such attacks to be identified and held accountable," said the independent panel led by Brazilian expert Paulo Pinheiro.
'Fainting, vomiting'
The attack came from the air, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Tuesday at an international conference in Brussels aimed at shoring up ailing peace talks.
The European Union's top diplomat, Federica Mogherini, said: "Obviously there is a primary responsibility from the regime because it has the primary responsibility of protecting its people."
Opposition activists and the AFP news agency, citing one of its journalists on the scene, said a rocket later slammed into a hospital where the victims were being treated, bringing rubble down on medics as they struggled to deal with victims.
Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Beirut, said locals on the ground expected that the number of dead would increase and that many of the wounded were children.
"There were people fainting, they were vomiting, they were foaming at the mouth," Fisher said.
READ MORE: Air raid destroys hospital in Idlib's Maaret al-Numan
"In that situation, the treatment tends to be to try and strip people off, to get the chemicals away from their bodies, to hose them down as quickly as possible. But even then some of the pictures that have been posted on social media in the last couple of hours show very young people struggling for breath, many people dead where they fell."
'Disgusting act'
Fisher reported that hospitals in the area were overwhelmed with the scale of the apparent attack and that footage showed them struggling to cope with the number of victims.
"Al Jazeera has no way of independently confirming the stories that are coming from there but the reality is there are a number of sources who are saying so many similar things," Fisher said.
"It appears that what we're being told is a fair reflection of the current events in Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province in Syria."
A member of the White Helmets, a rescue group that operates in rebel-held areas, told Al Jazeera that up to 300 people had been injured.
READ MORE: What next for Turkey in Syria?
Reaction to the attack was swift as it drew outrage from both Syrian and foreign groups, governments and members of the public on social media.
The White House called it "reprehensible" and said it could not be ignored.
"A new and particularly serious chemical attack took place this morning in Idlib province. The first information suggests a large number of victims, including children. I condemn this disgusting act," France's foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, said in a statement.
"In the face of such serious actions that threaten international security, I ask for everyone not to shirk their responsibilities," he added.
Britain's foreign minister, Boris Johnson, said if it were proved the government had carried out the raid, President Bashar al-Assad would be guilty of a war crime.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the "inhuman" attack could endanger peace talks, AFP reported, citing sources.
Hospitals bombed
On Sunday, suspected Russian fighter jets bombed a hospital in another city in Idlib, wounding several people, the White Helmets said.
At least ten people were wounded when three air raids targeted the main hospital in Maaret al-Numan, destroying the building, a White Helmets official told Al Jazeera.
READ MORE: US says Assad's overthrow no longer a priority
"For the past week, Idlib has been targeted by ongoing air strikes, and after yesterday's attack, one of its main hospitals has been mostly destroyed and can no longer function," Majid, another member of the group, also known as the Syrian Civil Defence, said.
Over the past year, Doctors Without Borders has received reports of at least 71 attacks on at least 32 different health facilities which it runs or supports in Syria.
With reporting by Diana Al Rifai. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Digital Innovations for Patient Safety
Our Digital Innovations for Patient Safety theme is working to develop digital solutions that address threats to patient safety. We will design and evaluate a number of targeted interventions that address well-known threats to safety whilst addressing the challenges of successfully incorporating digital innovations alongside complex human and organisational needs.
Digital technologies have transformed many industries but progress in healthcare has been less rapid. So whilst digital innovations offer considerable potential to enhance patient safety, progress remains challenging. A key constraint to safety improvement has been the disconnect between developers of digital solutions and patients, clinicians and the complex clinical context. Our research strategy recognises that digital innovations are complex interventions in complex adaptive health systems and, as such, need careful human interface design to support safe human decision making and appropriate behaviour change if they are to be successful in enhancing patient safety. Moreover, we propose to digitally exploit the power of the sense making capabilities of humans in complex adaptive systems, to better understand the patient safety climate.
Our approach therefore moves beyond multidisciplinary (where people from different disciplines work together) to an interdisciplinary approach where knowledge and methods from different disciplines interact and are synthesised into a learning health system framework. The key disciplines that we will synthesize include computer science, informatics, human interface co-design, behaviour change, improvement science, systems theory, human factors, complex adaptive systems (human sense making) and implementation science. We aim to develop innovative approaches to enhancing patient safety across this journey, from early diagnosis through to discharge into primary and community care. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Saw the film Manila Kingpin yesterday afternoon! The expert cutters turned Tikoy’s opening scene [Viray-Asiong] into a trailer spoiling the whole thing by intercutting with the preparations being undertaken by Asiong’s gang vs Viray himself. Obviously, they just looked at the images and edited the scene without understanding the script or without feeling it. They do not know what parallel or simultaneous editing is. By intercutting two scenes NOT happening at the same time, they completely destroyed our original intention, even the use of silence at the end of it. They do not know what silence in cinema means. They cut the whole film as if they were cutting an MTV. In lighting, mood and treatment the opening scene is reminiscent of Bagong Bayani, if they did not spoil it…Some of my edits were left quite intact though.
Jump Cut to the Ending Scene. Horrendous with all the senseless fade ins and fade outs.. what for? To say that the film was re-edited? Or you, I mean the producers, were still in the trailer cutting mode because of the 100+K viewers the trailers got from Youtube? Or, because the espesyalistas could not have done any better? Come on!! Your work had just been to put those damn transitions, insert Amay Bisaya, and deleting the shots that helped in building up the “calm before the storm” effect [to make the pacing fast?]; Worst is using inappropriate music that tremendously reduced the impact of the scene. That’s the Producer’s call I suppose.
More later….on the Producer’s Cut that was based on the film’s first or rough cut. I am busy preparing for the launch this afternoon of my slow-paced, quiet short film ULTIMO ADIOS at the most appropriate place, the Rizal Shrine in Fort Santiago.
By the way, Tikoy watched the film too almost at the same as I watched it but in another cinema house. I only came to know when he texted to say that I must see the film and what they did to his baby. He later called me up … mad of course, very mad. What do you expect? Seeing footage we did not want. Deleting sequences deemed necessary. He made the right decision: to have his name removed from Manila Kingpin.
Teka—tama ba nabasa ko?:
“Manila Kingpin” bagged 10 awards last night, including Best Production Design, Best Editing, Best Sound Recording, Best Original Theme Song, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Gatpuno Villegas Cultural Award, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director and Best Festival Picture. Article.aspx?articleId=763092&publicationSubCategoryId=200 | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Backend Engineer
Company: Hired
Location: Vacaville
Posted on: May 18, 2020
Job Description:
Join Hired and find your dream job as a Backend Software
Engineer at one of 10,000+ companies looking for candidates just
like you.Companies on Hired apply to you, not the other way
around.You'll receive salary and compensation details upfront -
before the interview - and be able to choose from a variety of
industries you're interested in, to find a job You'll love in less
than 2 weeks.Being a backend engineer means that you are
responsible for the construction and the efficiency of all the
b
Didn't find what you're looking for? Search again!
Other Engineering Jobs
AI Research EngineerDescription: AI Research Engineer -- You Have: Ph.D. or Master's degree in computer Vision, Deep Learning or relevant subjects. 2 years of experience in a deep learning and computer vision research. Proficiency in (more...)Company: MoTek TechnologiesLocation: San FranciscoPosted on: 06/7/2020
Hired: Front end engineer guinda caDescription: Job Description Join Hired and find your dream job as a Front-End Engineer at one of 10,000 companies looking for candidates just like you. Companies on Hired apply to you, not the other way around. (more...)Company: HiredLocation: CapayPosted on: 06/7/2020
Hired: Front end engineer isleton caDescription: Job Description Join Hired and find your dream job as a Front-End Engineer at one of 10,000 companies looking for candidates just like you. Companies on Hired apply to you, not the other way around. You'll (more...)Company: HiredLocation: IsletonPosted on: 06/7/2020
Hired: Front end engineer guinda caDescription: Job Description Join Hired and find your dream job as a Front-End Engineer at one of 10,000 companies looking for candidates just like you. Companies on Hired apply to you, not the other way around. (more...)Company: HiredLocation: DunniganPosted on: 06/7/2020
Hired: Backend engineer redwood city caDescription: Job Description Join Hired and find your dream job as a Backend Software Engineer at one of 10,000 companies looking for candidates just like you. Companies on Hired apply to you, not the other way around. (more...)Company: HiredLocation: Fair OaksPosted on: 06/7/2020
Solutions Engineer - Cloudflare for TeamsDescription: About UsAt Cloudflare, we have our eyes set on an ambitious goal: to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world's largest networks that powers trillions of requests per month. (more...)Company: Cloudflare, Inc.Location: San FranciscoPosted on: 06/7/2020
Front-End Engineer - Wilton, CADescription: Job Description:Join Hired and find your dream job as a Front-End Engineer at one of 10,000 companies looking for candidates just like you. Companies on Hired apply to you, not the other way around. (more...)Company: HiredLocation: WiltonPosted on: 06/7/2020
Lead DevOps EngineerDescription: Lead DevOps Engineer br Lead DevOps Engineer - SaaS product firm in the Peninsula, NorCal Are you interested in working for a fully funded new technology product firm We are seeking a strong Lead DevOps (more...)Company: CyberCodersLocation: San CarlosPosted on: 06/7/2020
Hired: Backend engineer suisun city caDescription: Job Description Join Hired and find your dream job as a Backend Software Engineer at one of 10,000 companies looking for candidates just like you. Companies on Hired apply to you, not the other way around. (more...)Company: HiredLocation: Suisun CityPosted on: 06/7/2020
Backend Engineer - Birds Landing, CADescription: Job Description:Join Hired and find your dream job as a Backend Software Engineer at one of 10,000 companies looking for candidates just like you. Companies on Hired apply to you, not the other way around. (more...)Company: HiredLocation: Birds LandingPosted on: 06/7/2020 | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Q:
Left/Right Mouse Click Function VB.NET
I'm trying to make my own auto-clicker (settable to left or right, depending on the radio button selection) and I can't seem to make the mouse click. In order to be able to set the delay wished for the auto-clicker, I've put it within the Timer1 (one for left click, one for right click). My questions are:
a) How can I make the mouse click when a certain key is pressed (e.g, F6).
b) How can I make it have the delay of Timer1/Timer2 for each click.
For the record, I wish for this auto-clicker to work EVERYWHERE, not just within the form.
A:
You can use user32.dll lib.
Private Declare Sub mouse_event Lib "user32" (ByVal dwFlags As Integer, ByVal dx As Integer, ByVal dy As Integer, ByVal cButtons As Integer, ByVal dwExtraInfo As Integer)
&H2 means left mouse button down.
&H4 means left mouse button up.
mouse_event(&H2, 0, 0, 0, 0)
mouse_event(&H4, 0, 0, 0, 0)
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
Richard Smith (fl. 1584)
Richard Smith (fl. 1584) was an English politician.
He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Cricklade in 1584.
References
Category:Year of birth missing
Category:Year of death missing
Category:People of the Tudor period
Category:English MPs 1584–1585
Category:Members of Parliament for Cricklade | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
factor of 10223727?
False
Does 61 divide 127673963?
False
Does 2118 divide 63537882?
True
Is 187101144 a multiple of 4397?
True
Does 86 divide 91952610?
False
Does 40 divide 68372120?
True
Does 12 divide 311773733?
False
Does 394 divide 60225264?
True
Does 19 divide 727971434?
True
Is 1484 a factor of 2594032?
True
Is 29221727 a multiple of 80?
False
Does 67 divide 3526600811?
True
Does 146 divide 232190808?
True
Is 37471168 a multiple of 64?
True
Is 115475363 a multiple of 29?
False
Is 169 a factor of 27923532?
True
Does 3 divide 23337718?
False
Does 764 divide 16693400?
True
Is 606 a factor of 163662768?
False
Does 3425 divide 403739000?
True
Is 1313689740 a multiple of 220?
True
Is 388259140 a multiple of 5?
True
Is 1216880 a multiple of 4?
True
Is 63 a factor of 936766?
False
Does 36 divide 1798458?
False
Is 89 a factor of 864451?
False
Is 1573128795 a multiple of 310?
False
Does 13 divide 410882935?
False
Is 197 a factor of 1551602617?
False
Is 2325125494 a multiple of 455?
False
Is 23271042 a multiple of 209?
False
Does 28 divide 12013337?
False
Does 401 divide 376996541?
True
Is 21574132 a multiple of 43?
True
Does 26 divide 237495554?
False
Does 3724 divide 162898932?
True
Does 82 divide 2287381897?
False
Is 97344548 a multiple of 3522?
False
Is 7401 a factor of 1123107355?
False
Does 5 divide 22393344?
False
Is 82730944 a multiple of 32?
True
Does 717 divide 10936016?
False
Does 6 divide 2839918?
False
Is 174944787 a multiple of 9?
False
Is 7087044283 a multiple of 11?
True
Is 10 a factor of 20734356?
False
Is 38 a factor of 101811272?
True
Is 51960615 a multiple of 519?
False
Is 68834049 a multiple of 26?
False
Does 532 divide 113773520?
True
Is 13 a factor of 891919054?
True
Is 15 a factor of 59856240?
True
Is 1350798623 a multiple of 7?
False
Does 158 divide 30195287?
False
Is 92 a factor of 744050623?
False
Is 39 a factor of 20595354?
True
Is 257976202 a multiple of 118?
True
Is 3536257400 a multiple of 20?
True
Does 12 divide 45991101?
False
Does 420 divide 132212619?
False
Is 135011250 a multiple of 11?
True
Is 996 a factor of 134401368?
False
Is 357 a factor of 51596496?
True
Is 15633564 a multiple of 15?
False
Is 123 a factor of 15184104?
True
Is 4 a factor of 211591332?
True
Does 551 divide 86039201?
True
Is 5 a factor of 40534080?
True
Is 11921790 a multiple of 1504?
False
Is 14 a factor of 21391312?
False
Does 33 divide 61091682?
False
Is 10 a factor of 145349271?
False
Is 254 a factor of 20112078?
False
Is 167167131 a multiple of 12?
False
Does 99 divide 10871406?
False
Is 175109497 a multiple of 2126?
False
Is 56 a factor of 2363845959?
False
Does 33 divide 610747735?
False
Does 14 divide 61593840?
True
Does 560 divide 1557745280?
True
Does 1275 divide 24536478?
False
Does 547 divide 255320519?
False
Is 21015207 a multiple of 27?
True
Does 4 divide 17529006?
False
Does 216 divide 30755667?
False
Does 693 divide 82317312?
True
Is 10564997 a multiple of 2361?
False
Is 227078336 a multiple of 103?
False
Does 8 divide 110268035?
False
Is 3899 a factor of 125630027?
False
Is 4796998 a multiple of 8?
False
Does 1622 divide 154662566?
True
Is 61430127 a multiple of 31?
True
Is 2337 a factor of 404279967?
True
Is 15 a factor of 298131180?
True
Does 17 divide 365222632?
False
Is 759829590 a multiple of 15?
True
Is 27948781 a multiple of 22?
False
Does 84 divide 5913216?
False
Does 158 divide 81982324?
False
Is 604 a factor of 385067006?
False
Is 1605032529 a multiple of 23?
True
Is 3144 a factor of 92176192?
False
Does 11 divide 127137286?
False
Does 13 divide 5434461256?
False
Does 735 divide 245710628?
False
Is 471 a factor of 342866908?
False
Is 83 a factor of 9573915?
False
Is 166 a factor of 7603132?
True
Is 234 a factor of 64851930?
True
Is 5658612379 a multiple of 669?
False
Is 25 a factor of 328187596?
False
Is 261697077 a multiple of 13?
False
Does 42 divide 14579166?
True
Is 20 a factor of 5933860?
True
Is 215 a factor of 146117652?
False
Is 3219291135 a multiple of 253?
False
Does 490 divide 398429708?
False
Does 145 divide 908984845?
True
Is 61 a factor of 4213121679?
False
Is 9214724 a multiple of 144?
False
Is 3 a factor of 359786029?
False
Is 6 a factor of 17977734?
True
Is 1094429549 a multiple of 13?
False
Is 69 a factor of 19230438?
True
Does 378 divide 79496424?
True
Does 485 divide 41350130?
True
Is 925429094 a multiple of 99?
False
Is 19306918 a multiple of 28?
False
Is 269344826 a multiple of 82?
True
Does 525 divide 495937196?
False
Is 885 a factor of 1200589230?
True
Is 536 a factor of 1329635904?
True
Does 60 divide 1714027620?
True
Is 57 a factor of 418728669?
True
Is 554784689 a multiple of 5865?
False
Does 19 divide 1437407?
True
Is 387 a factor of 71034520?
False
Is 543872628 a multiple of 69?
True
Does 12 divide 268586253?
False
Is 41 a factor of 174985622?
True
Is 13767576 a multiple of 435?
False
Does 19 divide 62504442?
False
Does 45 divide 32409990?
True
Does 8 divide 2862155049?
False
Does 1475 divide 756595350?
True
Is 629313504 a multiple of 24?
True
Is 1571934080 a multiple of 32?
True
Is 3177383 a multiple of 68?
False
Is 29902795 a multiple of 883?
True
Does 6 divide 7353640?
False
Is 18 a factor of 15719352?
False
Is 31 a factor of 381021?
True
Does 210 divide 174267660?
True
Is 222 a factor of 461662166?
False
Is 46856445 a multiple of 33?
False
Does 352 divide 68022592?
True
Is 57181784 a multiple of 44?
True
Does 11 divide 3890370?
True
Is 153 a factor of 150516810?
True
Is 5471270 a multiple of 35?
True
Does 46 divide 245995396?
True
Does 2 divide 173241268?
True
Is 3142415 a multiple of 1802?
False
Is 6 a factor of 115589750?
False
Does 17 divide 6252515?
True
Does 12 divide 1012262016?
True
Is 12503195 a multiple of 160?
False
Is 17 a factor of 49361646?
False
Is 2247677 a multiple of 114?
False
Does 689 divide 365329405?
False
Is 10139139 a multiple of 127?
False
Is 85 a factor of 10887310?
True
Is 18491760 a multiple of 16?
True
Is 3637434040 a multiple of 1940?
True
Does 13 divide 431106351?
True
Is 105254676 a multiple of 2740?
False
Does 111 divide 7434434?
False
Is 1317 a factor of 511581378?
False
Is 12 a factor of 38735851?
False
Is 47 a factor of 95188771?
True
Is 23535156 a multiple of 6?
True
Does 3 divide 1061355456?
True
Does 419 divide 334169679?
True
Is 1003772717 a multiple of 83?
False
Is 657690 a multiple of 11?
True
Is 164084565 a multiple of 1865?
True
Is 126 a factor of 53328114?
True
Is 107 a factor of 7922708?
True
Does 1373 divide 24222466?
True
Does 314 divide 17532504?
True
Is 881257433 a multiple of 167?
False
Is 10 a factor of 5869590?
True
Does 18 divide 81862164?
True
Is 30 a factor of 776489970?
True
Does 7 divide 179385147?
False
Is 3 a factor of 66484328?
False
Is 241714720 a multiple of 10?
True
Is 97064376 a multiple of 7?
False
Is 29498044 a multiple of 7?
False
Is 92 a factor of 70146872?
True
Is 24674814 a multiple of 1242?
True
Is 20 a factor of 197872598?
False
Is 240 a factor of 1309568798?
False
Does 53 divide 145849110?
True
Is 273 a factor of 810286113?
True
Is 16 a factor of 5295424?
True
Does 10 divide 3715050?
True
Is 8 a factor of 35662256?
True
Is 188311580 a multiple of 230?
True
Does 2 divide 534725482?
True
Does 12 divide 92207957?
False
Does 1196 divide 50507450?
False
Is 734 a factor of 27293790?
True
Is 270 a factor of 286204487?
False
Is 428821062 a multiple of 28?
False
Does 464 divide 8731342?
False
Is 396 a factor of 8902277?
False
Does 158 divide 533847398?
True
Is 34 a factor of 39292287?
False
Does 25 divide 314172080?
False
Is 503121476 a multiple of 52?
True
Is 22831242 a multiple of 155?
False
Is 4350759 a multiple of 119?
True
Does 30 divide 2639818594?
False
Does 24 divide 2584457952?
True
Does 34 divide 236705042?
True
Does 2 divide 421750622?
True
Is 226 a factor of 602336705?
False
Is 337379778 a multiple of 6?
True
Is 78177295 a multiple of 5231?
True
Is 1644929440 a multiple of 13?
False
Does 4029 divide 1758466219?
False
Does 3 divide 10797190?
False
Does 33 divide 1894617064?
False
Is 3053 a factor of 1239285972?
True
Does 2299 divide 110492239?
True
Does 38 divide 123032804?
False
Is 146395135 a multiple of 840?
False
Is 296738244 a multiple of 1021?
False
Is 897756715 a multiple of 9?
False
Is 44226603 a | {
"pile_set_name": "DM Mathematics"
} |
Oh, Edith. Edith, Edith, Edith. When we left off last time, a mere double-episode after your older sister’s wedding, you had finally become betrothed to older gent Sir Anthony Strallan. Even the mousy—and sometimes downright mean, though we empathize with her plight—middle Crawley sister was to have her day in the sun. And this week’s Downton Abbey, the rare Edith-centric episode, also shines a light on the challenges the show will need to overcome this season.
We begin (not including Laura Linney, natch) with the unmistakable sight of Downton Abbey going into full party mode: the carpet rolled up, the floor scrubbed, the long tracking shot centered on the bride-to-be. Edith may not believe it’s all for her—and her granny, the Dowager Countess, may not think it should be—but her chance has finally come.
And just in time: the question of finding the money to save the estate remains unresolved, and it looks like there’s no resolution in sight, as Matthew remains stubbornly unwilling to spend Reggie Swire’s money on Lavinia’s former rival’s family. (Mary is also stubbornly unwilling to understand his decision—but can you blame her? She’s always felt the familial duty to the house, and she’s more eloquent on the subject than she is on anything else, including her love of her new husband.) Downton will have to be sold, and the wedding is its last hurrah. There’s discussion of the family moving to a smaller home they own in the north of England—Lord Grantham jokes that they can call it “Downton Place,” which would really complicate the merch side of things—while they look for a more permanent situation. The family plans a picnic to visit the house. In case you forgot this was Downton, a picnic = white linens, centerpieces, champagne flutes and a footman serving the meal. But it’s outside! It’s a picnic!
While at the picnic, Mary learns that Matthew has received a letter written by Reggie Swire before the latter died, but doesn’t plan to open it, anticipating that it would be addressed as if Matthew were Swire’s son-in-law. Blurgggggh. Mattttttthew. So annnooooyyying. Mary reads the letter herself and tells Matthew what it said: Lavinia told her father that the wedding was off, but Mr. Swire still had great respect for Matthew. Matthew, however, suspects that someone—perhaps even Mary—has forged the letter, because there was no time for Lavinia to have sent a letter before she died. Maaaaaaaaaatthew! Mary, again stopping her husband from being totally stupid, asks the servants if anyone mailed the letter for Lavinia. And this time, it wasn’t the butler who did it—it was Daisy. Matthew finally believes that the money is his to do with what he pleases, and Downton will be saved! They decide to tell the family after the wedding.
So the wedding day has arrived. Less bunting this time, but Edith does get to have a gorgeous version of her normal hairdo and to wear a gown with a floor-length satin cape; plus, even Lady Mary is nice to her. If only that were the case for everyone at the wedding: at the altar, just as the bride smiles through her veil at the groom, after they whisper a formal “good afternoon” to one another, Sir Anthony Strallan has a change of heart. He can’t lead Edith to a life as a nurse to an older, disabled man, even though she wants to be with him. In front of the whole village, she begs him to change his mind—but the Dowager Countess tells her to save herself and her pride, to “wish him well and let him go.” Strallan walks up the church aisle, alone, and out of the Crawley family’s life. Edith is left to return to the house, where everything is set up for a party, where both her sisters are happily married, to throw her veil over the bannister of the grand staircase and collapse on her bed, with her perfect hair now tiara-rumpled and a cry-face to rival Claire Danes’.
In the aftermath, Matthew tells Robert about Reggie’s money, which Robert accepts on the condition that Matthew invest in the estate rather than just giving the money to his father-in-law. Thus concludeth the latest challenge to the continuity of the Crawley line at Downton, and any chance that the show might become Downton Place.
It also concludes what would probably have been, in a 22-episode American network television season, a ten-episode plot. The ability to condense the question of whether Matthew will accept the inheritance into just three is one of the most appealing qualities of Downton and its British brethren. Matthew’s hesitancy is annoying enough as it is; drawing it out would make the show’s romantic male lead absolutely unbearable to watch. But, at the same time, just because the season is only eight episodes long doesn’t mean it doesn’t need an arc in every story. With the main couple tying the knot in the first episode of the season and the secondary couple married off last season, last week’s premiere—despite scoring four times the average PBS viewership numbers—probably prompted some groans and whispered talk of the show j-ing the s.
What’s happening, though, is less a case of the Fonz on waterskis than it is a normal growing pain for any show that chooses not to depend entirely on what’s often known as UST: unresolved sexual tension. Whether or not Matthew and Mary would get together was the big question for two seasons, and many more years than that in Downton-land. A lesser show might well have drawn it out longer, or at least left Sybil and Tom or Anna and Mr. Bates in limbo. If the only reason you were watching was to see Matthew and Mary hook up, of course you’re finding this season boring, even with shirtless Matthew hanging out last week. It’s really, really easy to mess up a show by allowing the characters to get married and we’re used to giving up on them when the honeymoon is over—but it doesn’t have to be bad. And there’s a reason this show is not called The Crawley Smooch Hour. It’s not about romance; it’s about the estate. It can handle the resolution of major romantic tensions because there’s always more tension lurking in one of the house’s innumerable rooms. For example:
Tom and Sybil are back in town for the wedding, which is mostly exciting because of the chance for more Tom-n-Matthew BFF fun-times. Men! In tuxes! Playing pool! Sorry—I mean, billiards! (Sybil, however, doesn’t get a single chance to look dashing: she of the fab harem pants has gone to frump town, which we’ll choose to blame on Irish maternity-wear styles of 1920, which are beyond her control.)
The well-meaning Isobel Crawley, who gets nothing but a hard time from the ladies of the night—clearly identified by being the only people in England with frizzy hair—whom she has decided to help, has another run-in with Ethel the ex-maid.
Anna visits Mrs. Bartlett to get her story about the first Mrs. Bates. In her very poetic recounting of the last moments of Vera’s life, Mrs. Bartlett tells of a fearful Vera walking away into the mist, on a night lit by gaslights, after nervously scrubbing pastry from underneath her fingernails, even though Anna thinks the information is worthless.
Bates, who’s getting pretty scary, is warned that his cellmate has planted contraband in his bed. Hard to tell exactly what it is—a little packet of drugs of some sort, something about which a 1920s-era drugs expert might enlighten us in the comments section?—but Bates finds it in time and stashes it away.
And the real heart of the episode is downstairs anyway, with Mrs. Hughes: she still has not heard back about her biopsy. Carson overhears that she’s ill and—while looking très Magritte in his little hat—tricks Dr. Clarkson into spilling the beans that something’s going on. Carson’s concern for his colleague, all while he remains in the dark about why he can’t hire another footman and while he deals with Thomas tricking Mr. Molesley into spreading a rumor that Miss O’Brien plans to quit, is touching. That non-romantic love is more genuine and less fraught than perhaps any of the other relationships at Downton. Cora’s promise to Mrs. Hughes that, should she be ill, she won’t be left to fend for herself is an idealized version of an employer-employee relationship but it’s weep-worthy nonetheless. And Carson’s joy when the biopsy comes back as “a benign something or other” is one of the sweetest moments in the show’s history—and one more reason why, even robbed of UST, there’s plenty of reason to keep watching.
Dowager Zinger of the Week: “No bride wants to look tired at her wedding. It either means she’s anxious or she’s been up to no good.”
History Lesson of the Week: The Dowager Countess mentions that she would have been happy to pay if Edith wanted a wedding dress from Patou, which Cora says would have run the risk that Edith would look like a chorus girl. But if Edith had gone with a Patou, she would have had a wedding dress that was a part of fashion history: Jean Patou was a French fashion designer whose first couture collection, in 1919, helped move European fashion toward the sleek lines of the 1920s.
There's a reason so many of us love this show - sure, there are plot inconsistencies and illogical twists, plus plenty of boring rich prigs and two-dimensional villains (like Thomas) but it's an ideal combination of mass-appeal soap opera and highbrow historical romance! In fact, we fans deserve our own theme song, "Hooked On Downton Abbey" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdt0JmGj6to | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Addition and Subtraction of 2-Digit Numbers
Books for Children and Families
Katy and the Big Snow
Literature
by Virginia Lee Burton
Houghton 1982 (40p)
A picture book about a snow shovel that can be connected to place-value and money.
Perfect Pancakes If You Please
by William Wise
Dial 1997 (32p)
When a king's daughter refuses to marry an evil inventor who wins a contest to make a perfect pancake, the spurned inventor buries the kingdom under piles of pancakes.
The Cats of Mrs. Calamari
by John Stadler
Orchard 1997 (32p)
Mr. Gangplank hates cats but suspects that his new tenant, Mrs. Calamari, has lots of them in her apartment.
How Many Stars in the Sky?
Multicultural
by Lenny Hort
Morrow 1991 (32p)
A boy and his father who are unable to sleep go out into the night to count stars.
17 Kings and 42 Elephants
by Margaret Mahy
Dial 1987 (32p) also paper
Rhyming verse tells how 17 kings and 42 elephants make their way through the
jungle on a wet, wild night.
How Much Is That Guinea Pig in the Window?
Multicultural
by Joanne Rocklin
Scholastic 1995 (48p)
A class figures out how many bottles and cans they need to collect on their recycling drive to raise the money for a class pet.
Calico Picks a Puppy
by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
Charlesbridge 1997 (32p)
A calico cat introduces readers to over 30 breeds of dogs as she searches for a puppy playmate.
The Boy Who Was Followed Home
by Margaret Mahy. Dial 1986 (32p) also paper
Every day, Robert is followed home from school by a hippo, until there are 27 of them on his family's front lawn.
Anno's Math Games
by Mitsumasa Anno
Philomel 1987 (112p)
Pictures, puzzles, and games take children through basic mathematical concepts, including addition and subtraction.
Books for Teacher Reference
Read Any Good Math Lately?
by David J. Whitin and Sandra Wilde
Heinemann 1992 (205p)
This resource helps teachers access and use children's books in the classroom for mathematical learning.
It's the Story That Counts
by David J. Whitin and Sandra Wilde
Heinemann 1995 (224p)
The authors explain the importance of children's literature in the teaching and learning of mathematics.
The Wonderful World of Mathematics
by Diane Thiessen and Margaret Mattias
NCTM 1992 (241p)
An annotated bibliography of children's books appropriate for developing math skills.
Picturing Math
by Carol Otis Hurst and Rebecca Otis
SRA Media 1996 (152p)
A variety of math concepts are introduced through the use of picture books for preschoolers through second graders.
Connecting Mathematics Across the Curriculum
edited by Peggy A. House
NCTM 1995 (248p)
This volume emphasizes how math can be connected to subjects across the curriculum and to the everyday world.
Child's Play Around the World
by Leslie Hamilton
Perigree 1996 (224p)
A collection of 170 crafts, games, and projects from around the world. Activities are coded to indicate difficulty. Includes an index and a bibliography.
The Multicultural Math Classroom: Bringing in the World
by Claudia Zaslavsky
Heinemann Publishers, 1996 (238 p)
A great source for teachers of elementary mathematics. Includes historical background information as welll as suggested activities.
The Maya
by Jacqueline Dembar Greene
Franklin Watts, 1992 (63 p)
Description of the Mayan civilization, helpful for giving children the context for the scientific and mathematical discoveries of this ancient people.
Math World Bibliography
Child's Play Around the World
by Leslie Hamilton
Perigee 1996 (224p)
A collection of 170 crafts, games, and projects from around the world. Activities are coded to indicate difficulty. Includes an index and a bibliography. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
52 F.Supp.2d 420 (1998)
UNITED STATES of America, ex rel. Robert J. MERENA, Plaintiff,
v.
SMITHKLINE BEECHAM CORPORATION, Smithkline Beecham Clinical Laboratories, Inc., Defendants.
United States of America, ex rel. Glenn Grossenbacher, and Charles W. Robinson, Jr., Plaintiffs,
v.
Smithkline Beecham Clinical Laboratories, Inc., Defendant.
United States of America, ex rel. Kevin J. Spear, The Berkeley Community Law Center, Jack Dowden, Plaintiffs,
v.
Smithkline Beecham Laboratories, Inc., Defendant.
Nos. Civ.A. 93-5974, Civ.A. 95-6953, Civ.A. 95-6551.
United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.
April 8, 1998.
*421 Russell B. Kinner, James E. Ward, Dept. of Justice, Civ. Div., Washington, DC, for USA.
*422 Marc S. Raspanti, David Laigaie, Miller Alfano & Raspanti, P.C., Philadelphia, PA, for Robert J. Merena, Plaintiff.
John Clark, Rand J. Riklin, San Antonio, TX, for Robinson & Grossenbacher, Plaintiffs.
Thomas H. Lee, II, Dechert, Price & Rhoads, Philadelphia, PA, for Smithkline Beecham Corporation, defendant.
OPINION
VanARTSDALEN, Senior District Judge.
A. BACKGROUND
1. Preliminary
The basic remaining issue for determination in this complex litigation is the amount to be awarded to the qui tam relators as their share in the proceeds obtained from the defendants in the settlement of the qui tam Civil Actions 93-5974 (Merena action), 95-6953 (Robinson action) and 95-6551 (Spear action). The Government, with the consent of all of the qui tam relators in the three enumerated actions, settled and dismissed with prejudice all three actions that had been filed by the qui tam relators against the defendants, SmithKline Beecham Corporation and SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories, Inc. (SBCL). The qui tam actions were filed under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. งง 3729-3733. The total amount of the settlement was $325,000,000, plus interest that had accrued on the settlement funds that were deposited in escrow pending final settlement and dismissal of the actions. The accrued interest amounted to $8,976,266.40, making the total recovery $333,976,266.40. The Settlement Agreement expressly provided for dismissal with prejudice of the three above noted qui tam actions, the court retaining jurisdiction over enforcement of the settlement agreement and determination of attorney fees and relators' share issues. Prior to dismissal, the Government expressly and without limitation intervened in each of the actions pursuant to 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(b)(4).
The statute provides that if the Government proceeds with an action brought by an individual under the qui tam statute, the qui tam relator shall "receive at least 15 percent but not more than 25 percent of the proceeds of the action or settlement of the claim, depending upon the extent to which the person substantially contributed to the prosecution of the action or settlement of the claim." 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(d)(1). If that section of the statute is applicable, superficially at least, the qui tam relator/relators should be entitled to a minimum of $50,096,439.96 and a maximum of $83,494,066.60.
The separate qui tam relators (hereafter sometimes referred to as the "Consolidated Plaintiffs" or the "Relators") in all three actions have agreed among themselves as to how they will divide any qui tam share awarded to any or all of them. In addition, the Government has agreed with the Spear qui tam Relators to pay those Relators a qui tam award of 15 percent on an allocated share, including interest, of $13,297,829 of the total settlement proceeds. The Government attributes this sum to the separate allegations contained in the Spear complaint. The Merena and Robinson qui tam Relators agree that this allocated share of the proceeds may be deducted from the total settlement proceeds before determining their respective qui tam share or shares. Thus, only the qui tam share or shares to be paid to the Merena and Robinson Relators remains to be decided in this litigation.
2. Basic Contentions of the Parties
The Government contends that in addition to subtracting the amount allocated to the Spear complaint, there also must be subtracted $14,507,107 which was paid out of the total proceeds to various states for losses under the state Medicaid programs resulting from the alleged false claims by *423 SBCL that were included in the settlement.[1]
In addition, the Government contends that the qui tam Relators are entitled to no share of the proceeds recovered for certain so-called "automated chemistry" false claim allegations that were settled. The Government contends that as of the time of the filing of the qui tam actions, the "automated chemistry" allegations were under active investigation by the Government, had been publicly disclosed in the news media, and the qui tam Relators were not "original sources" of the information. The qui tam Relators dispute each of these contentions and assert that they are entitled to a minimum is percent share of the total amount obtained by the settlement including earned interest less the agreed amount allocated to the Spear complaint allegations.
The Government ascribes and allocates the sum of $241,283,471 (including interest) for the so-called "automated chemistry" allegations (see Government's Exhibit G-108), that the Government claims it recovered as a result of its LABSCAM[2] investigation. The Government contends that the qui tam Relators are entitled to no share of that allocated amount. However, because the Merena and Robinson complaints each made allegations that would, at least arguably, be encompassed within the "automated chemistry" allegations that were settled, the Government now seeks to have all of the "automated chemistry" allegations of the complaints in both 93-5974 and 95-6953 dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and/or failure to be the "first to file" the qui tam action under 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(b)(5). The Government seeks presently to have these allegations dismissed even though approximately ten months prior to filing the present motion to dismiss, the Government intervened in both actions without limitation and with the consent of all parties and in conformity with the Settlement Agreement moved the court to enter an order dismissing all three qui tam actions with prejudice. The order was entered on February 24, 1997 (filed document # 33)[3]. No appeal has ever been taken by any of the Merena, Robinson or Spear qui tam Relators, nor has there been any request by any of them to reconsider or to vacate the order of dismissal[4].
The issues appear to be, therefore, (1) determination of the total fund upon which a qui tam award to the Merena and/or Robinson qui tam relators should be based and (2) determination of the percentage of that total to be awarded to the qui tam relators. Sub-issues of (1) above, are: (a) whether the qui tam relators are entitled to any proportionate share of the $14,507,107 distributed to the individual states, (b) whether any of the allegations of the *424 Merena and/or Robinson complaints can and should be dismissed and (c) whether the allocation which the Government assigns to the separate claims is binding on the qui tam relators in determining the total fund upon which they are entitled to receive a proportionate share. In determining the appropriate percentage share, it would appear that this depends, in the words of the statute, solely "upon the extent to which the person [qui tam relator/relators] substantially contributed to the prosecution of the action."
3. History of the Litigation
The three above-captioned qui tam actions were filed under a seal as required by statute by Merena (Civil Action 93-5974), Glenn Grossenbacher and Charles W. Robinson, Jr. ("Robinson") (Civil Action 95-6953), and Kevin J. Spear, The Berkeley Community Law Center, and Jack Dowden ("Spear") (Civil Action 95-6551) (collectively "the Consolidated Plaintiffs")[5]. The Consolidated Plaintiffs brought their respective lawsuits pursuant to the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. งง 3729-3733. After granting multiple requests by the Government to extend the time for the Government to elect whether to intervene and to retain the seal in these qui tam actions, the Government formally intervened in these cases on September 27, 1996 and took over the litigation pursuant to 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(b)(4)(A), (c)(1), and (c)(2)(A). The Government, prior to formally intervening, negotiated the settlement with SBCL on behalf of itself and the Consolidated Plaintiffs. An agreement in principle was reached by the parties in February, 1996. I issued an agreed upon Order on February 24, 1997, dismissing with prejudice all the claims settled by the Settlement Agreement and Release (filed document # 33). In that Order I retained jurisdiction over, inter alia, enforcement of the Settlement Agreement and determination of the relators qui tam shares, costs and attorney fees.
The settlement funds of $325,000,000 had earlier been placed in a court-supervised interest-bearing escrow account upon the Government's insistence, pending final execution of the Settlement Agreement. While the settlement proceeds were held in the escrow account, they earned interest and the fund grew from $325,000,000 to $333,976,266.40. On February 24, 1997, as requested by the Government, I ordered that the settlement proceeds together with the earned interest be disbursed immediately from the court-supervised escrow account at the CoreStates Bank.[6] After the funds were disbursed from the interest-bearing escrow account, no additional interest has been earned on the settlement proceeds.
On April 1, 1997, I issued an Order directing that, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. *425 ง 3730(c)(2)(B), if necessary, a hearing would be held to determine if the proposed settlement was fair, adequate, and reasonable. Such a hearing would allow any interested party to contest the fairness, adequacy, and/or reasonableness of the settlement. On September 18, 1997, the Government and the Consolidated Plaintiffs filed a Stipulation and Proposed Order (filed document # 61) stipulating their "mutual interest in pursuing discussions regarding settlement of relators' shares of the settlement proceeds under the False Claims Act," and that the parties were in agreement that there was no need to conduct a hearing to determine the fairness, adequacy, and/or reasonableness of the settlement. An Order was entered to reflect this stipulation. The Consolidated Plaintiffs had expressly consented to the terms of the Settlement Agreement and Release, and the formal agreement was signed and dated on September 25, 1996. Neither the Settlement Agreement, the Release nor the Order of February 24, 1997 made any reference to a specific dollar or percentage allocation for any particular claim or claims made by any of the Consolidated Plaintiffs, or sought to quantify any separate Claim or claims beyond the total settlement figure of $325,000,000.
There is no dispute among the Consolidated Plaintiffs as to the fairness, adequacy, and reasonableness of the Settlement Agreement (filed document # 61). As previously noted, the Consolidated Plaintiffs, have agreed among themselves as to how they will divide whatever is awarded as the Relators, qui tam share of the settlement proceeds. What is currently at issue is the exact percentage to be awarded to the Consolidated Plaintiffs and the exact amount of the settlement proceeds upon which that percentage is to be based. At the present time, the only remaining interest SBCL has in this litigation is the issue of attorneys' fees that may be recoverable by Relators against SBCL.[7]
More than six months after the Government and SBCL reached a settlement in principle, and while the Consolidated Plaintiffs complaints remained under a seal, three other plaintiffs (the "Additional Plaintiffs") filed under seal separate qui tam actions pursuant to the "qui tam" provisions of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. งง 3729-3733. Dr. William St. John LaCorte filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on April 22, 1996. Jeffrey Scott Clausen filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on September 3, 1996, and Donald Miller filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on July 15, 1996. All of these cases were transferred by agreement to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania during 1996 and 1997, and docketed in this court as Civil Actions 96-7768 (LaCorte), 97-1186 (Clausen) and 97-3643 (Miller).
The Additional Plaintiffs filed Memoranda in support of their claims to the settlement proceeds, in which they contended that their claims were settled in the Settlement Agreement reached between the Government and SBCL, and that they, therefore, were entitled to a qui tam share in the $325,000,000 settlement (filed documents # 39, # 40, # 41). The original qui tam plaintiffs (the Consolidated Plaintiffs) filed oppositions to the three Additional Plaintiffs' claims to share in the settlement proceeds (filed documents # 45, # 52). Defendant SBCL took the position that the Settlement Agreement was intended to settle and release all claims asserted in the LaCorte, Clausen, and Miller actions and, in addition, that those actions were barred by the "first-to-file bar" of 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(b)(5) by reason of the Consolidated Plaintiffs' prior filings. The Government contended that three claims raised by LaCorte were not included in the Settlement *426 Agreement and therefore could be separately litigated.[8]
On July 23, 1997, 1 issued a Memorandum and Order dismissing all of Clausen's and Miller's claims, and all but one of LaCorte's claims โ the urinalysis claim โ on the grounds that these claims, in fact, were settled by the Settlement Agreement between the Government and SBCL (filed document # 57). LaCorte's urinalysis claim was severed from his other claims. Equally important, was my conclusion that Clausen, LaCorte and Miller were barred from seeking any portion of the Relators' share of the $325,000,000 settlement, based primarily on the "first to file bar" to intervention under 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(b)(5).
I retained jurisdiction over LaCorte's severed urinalysis claim, over the enforcement of the Corporate integrity agreement, and over the determination of relators, share issues and the issue of attorneys, fees and costs. LaCorte, Clausen and Miller have appealed my dismissal of their claims to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(a)[9]. All three Additional Plaintiffs also filed motions to stay the execution of my Order of July 23, 1997, pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 8(a), pending the outcome of their appeals (filed documents # 60, # 67, # 62). The Consolidated Plaintiffs opposed granting a stay, contending that a stay of the ongoing proceedings would cause "irreparable delay and further harm to the Consolidated Plaintiffs" by possibly reducing the amount of the Relators' share of the settlement proceeds. Further, the Consolidated Plaintiffs argued that none of the Additional Plaintiffs had "posted a bond, the prerequisite for obtaining a stay, in order to compensate the Consolidated Plaintiffs for the lost use of their expected relators' share ... during the lengthy delay occasioned by their appeals" (filed document # 65, Relators' opposition to motions for stay, p. 2). I denied all of the motions for a stay. I held further, that the Consolidated Plaintiffs were free to move at any time for a hearing for the purpose of determining the amount to be awarded to the Consolidated Plaintiffs for their qui tam share/shares (filed document # 80).
The Consolidated Plaintiffs filed a motion to deem interest and/or to segregate settlement funds for the purpose of earning interest (filed documents # 53). Relator LaCorte filed a similar motion (filed document # 66). The Consolidated Plaintiffs and Relator LaCorte argued that at least the statutory minimum of the total settlement proceeds should be set aside in escrow for the purpose of earning interest during the pendency of the litigation. The motion requested the court to segregate, or set aside, twenty-five percent (25%) of the $333,976,266.40 of settlement funds (the maximum that could be awarded under the statute).
The Consolidated Plaintiffs argued in this motion that they were prejudiced by strategic moves by the Government that resulted, and continue to result, in lengthy delays in the disbursement of their relators' shares. As a result of these delays, the Consolidated Plaintiffs claimed that they had lost and were losing use of the money due them and had lost interest they would have earned had the money been deposited into an interest-bearing account at the time of the disbursement from the escrow account. The Consolidated Plaintiffs contended that the Government's strategic *427 move of repeatedly asking for extensions of time to intervene and to extend the seal period in the qui tam actions unduly prejudiced them in that during these delays, the Consolidated Plaintiffs were forced (and continue to be forced) to engage in months of litigation with the Additional Plaintiffs "who filed their qui tam actions during the latter stages of the protracted seal period." (filed document # 53, Motion of Consolidated Plaintiffs to Deem Interest or to Segregate Settlement Funds for the Purpose of Earning Interest, p. 6) The Consolidated Plaintiffs contended that the Government could have and should have promptly raised the first-to-file bar against all potential later-filed qui tam actions including the actions of the three Additional Plaintiffs by intervening in the Consolidated Plaintiffs' actions before the first Additional Plaintiff, LaCorte, filed his suit on April 22, 1996 (after the Government and SBCL had agreed in principle to the settlement). Furthermore, they claimed they were prejudiced by the delays the Additional Plaintiffs caused by way of filing their claims in the first place, and by their subsequent appeals of the dismissals of the Additional Plaintiffs claims. The Consolidated Plaintiffs contended that they have fully complied with the Government's requests throughout the litigation of these cases, including extensions of the period of the sealed filings, and resolving any differences that may have existed among themselves, only to be stonewalled by the Government and the Additional Plaintiffs.[10]
The 25 percent of the total settlement proceeds which the Consolidated Plaintiffs moved the court to segregate represents the maximum percentage, or share, of the proceeds to which they could be entitled under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(d). Although, they conceded that they probably will not be awarded the maximum share, the Consolidated Plaintiffs asserted that setting aside the maximum amount that could be awarded, fully protects the Government. If the Relators' share is ultimately determined to be less than 25 percent, the Government would collect the balance, including accrued interest on the balance (filed document # 53, Motion of Consolidated Plaintiffs to Deem Interest or to Segregate Settlement Funds for the Purpose of Earning Interest, p. 14, n. 2).
In support of its request that the Government be ordered to deposit the settlement proceeds in an interest-bearing account, the Consolidated Plaintiffs alleged that because of the nature of the relationship between qui tam plaintiffs and the Government in qui tam suits, the Government acts as a fiduciary over any settlement proceeds recovered. The settlement proceeds, they argued, can be likened to a trust fund, and by statute, all money held in trust by the Government must be deposited in an interest-bearing account, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. ง 1321 and 31 U.S.C. ง 9702.[11] In an order dated October 28, 1997, I denied these motions on the ground that the Government is not a fiduciary of the settlement proceeds (filed document # 80). The Government neither expressly nor impliedly agreed to act as a fiduciary of these funds. Characterizing the settlement *428 funds as a trust fund is inappropriate. I ruled, therefore, that there is no requirement that the Government deposit the proceeds in an interest-bearing account.
Relator LaCorte moved to sever his urinalysis claim from the remainder of his claim. This motion was granted, and LaCorte, in turn, filed a motion to retransfer the severed urinalysis claim back to the Eastern District of Louisiana (filed document # 81). Citing the pending appeals of the dismissed claims and the possible effect of the outcome of these appeals on the overall litigation, I denied both LaCorte's motion for retransfer (filed document # 98) and his motion for reconsideration of my earlier denial (filed document # 111).
On December 2, 1997, 1 met with the parties in chambers, and the parties agreed informally to a proposed scheduling order. The parties have complied with this informal agreement. Both the relators and the Government have filed in camera proposed procedural orders, but no formal procedural order was issued.
On January 23, 1998, Relator Merena filed a motion for partial summary judgment, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c), requesting that judgment be entered for him in the amount of $10,385,412, which is 16 percent (the percentage suggested by the Government as being appropriate) of those settlement proceeds that the Government has conceded should be utilized for purposes of determining the qui tam share based on what the Government contended were the six "Merena only" claims. Merena further argued that entry of partial summary judgment would streamline litigation of the remaining issues (filed document # 110)[12]. Because of the Government's alleged concession on this issue, Merena argued that there was no genuine issue as to any material fact, and that he, therefore, was entitled to a partial judgment as a matter of law.
The Government opposed this motion on the grounds that Merena had placed at issue whether the Government's allocation of the settlement proceeds among the various claims was proper. The Government contended that although it recommended the allocation and award of 16 percent of the settlement proceeds as to the so-called non-LABSCAM or six Merena-specific allegations, Merena's claim for a larger share effectively put the determination of his share at issue. Because of this, the Government argued that there was a genuine dispute as to material facts and therefore the motion for partial summary judgment should be denied.[13]
I issued a Memorandum and Order on February 23, 1998 entering judgment in favor of Relator Merena and against the Government in the amount of $9,736,324, which represents the minimum 15 percent of the $64,908,828 the Government allocated to Merena's six non-LABSCAM claims (filed document # 124)[14]. This judgment was entered without prejudice to the right of any of the Consolidated Plaintiffs, including Merena, to seek and to claim, in this litigation, additional compensation as a qui tam share in the total proceeds of the settlement between the Government and SBCL.
*429 4. Motions for Determination
Currently there are four motions outstanding: 1) the Consolidated Plaintiffs' motion for the determination of relators' share (filed document # 86); 2) the Government's motion with respect to the distribution of settlement proceeds (filed document # 105); 3) the Government's motion to dismiss the Relators' "automated Chemistry" allegations and to dismiss any of the relators' claims to any share of the state recoveries (filed document # 101); and 4) a motion by SBCL regarding attorneys, fees (filed document # 117). The Government filed in camera proposed findings of fact and a reply to the Consolidated Plaintiffs' proposed allocation of the proceeds. The Government also filed a status report regarding discovery (filed document # 118). Both the Government and Relators Merena and Robinson, filed witness lists (filed documents # 115 and # 116). A seven-day evidentiary hearing was held beginning on March 16, 1998, to resolve all of the outstanding motions, including the issue of relators' share.[15] Both the Government and the Relators have filed post-trial motions to support and supplement arguments made in open court during the seven-day hearing.
a. Consolidated Plaintiffs' Motion to Determine Relators' Share
The Relators contend, as they have throughout the litigation, that they are entitled to an award between 15 and 25 percent of the entire proceeds of the settlement and accrued interest. They contend a percentage in excess of the statutory minimum of 15 percent is justified because of their substantial contributions to the investigation as well as the significant risks they have taken in their efforts to supply information to the Government during its investigation. Based on 15 percent of an allocation of $13,297,829 of the settlement fund to the spear Relators those Relators have agreed to settle their claims to a qui tam share. The Merena-Robinson Relators do not contest this award and agree that the $13,297,829 allocation should be deducted from the proceeds in determining their qui tam shares. Specifically, the other Consolidated Plaintiffs, Merena and Robinson, are requesting an award of 18 percent of the total recovery, including interest earned on the escrow account, after deducting the Spear Relator allocation.[16]
b. Government's Motion Regarding the Distribution of Settlement Proceeds
In the Government's motion regarding the distribution of settlement proceeds (filed document # 105), the Government argues that the Relators may not presently raise objections to the Government's allocation of the settlement funds to Relators, specific claims for purposes of determining Relators' share. The Government takes this position because, it argues, the Relators agreed that the terms of the settlement with SBCL were fair, adequate and reasonable, and they knew exactly the allocations utilized by the Government for purposes of the settlement with SBCL. The Government argues that the Relators effectively waived their right to challenge the Government's allocation because they did not challenge the fairness of the Settlement Agreement and, therefore, the Government's allocation of the proceeds between and among the various claims is now binding against the Relators.
The Relators, on the other hand, contend that they were never put on notice that by agreeing to the Settlement Agreement, they were also agreeing to the Government's *430 allocations for purposes of determining the Relators' qui tam share. Their contention is that they agreed to the overall settlement amount and terms, but that the determination of the Relators, share was an issue totally separate and outside the scope of the Settlement Agreement. They contend that they understood that the determination of Relators' share was reserved until after the Government settled the qui tam actions with SBCL. The Government's conduct after the settlement and until just recently supports this understanding, they claim. For example, the Consolidated Plaintiffs cite several instances in which the Government represented to them and to the court that it had not yet determined the allocation of Relators, shares.
The Government contends that for purposes of negotiating the settlement with SBCL, the so-called automated chemistry allegations were valued at $234,798,505. After adding interest earned on the escrow account, that sum amounted to $241,283,471, or approximately 72 percent of the total proceeds including earned interest. (See Government's Motion to Dismiss the Automated Chemistry Allegations, etc., Exhibit # 2, filed document # 101). In addition, the Government allocated $14,507,107 with interest included for payment to various states as their "Medicaid share" of the settlement. The Government contends that these two sums, i.e., the $241,283,471 (automated chemistry) and the $14,507,107 (states Medicaid proceeds) plus the $13,297,829 agreed allocation to the Spear Relators must be deducted from the total proceeds for purposes of determining the Relators' share. Therefore, based on total proceeds of $333,976,266.40, the Government contends that Relator Merena is entitled to a qui tam share of $10,385,412, which represents 16 percent of the net balance of $64,908,828[17] allocated by the Government's calculations to the "Merena non-LABSCAM" allegations.[18] The Government alternatively contends that the Consolidated Plaintiffs, at most, are entitled to no more than 10 percent of the recovery for the Relator's automated chemistry claims.
c. Motion to Dismiss Relators An to the "Automated Chemistry" Claims
The Government has moved to dismiss all of the so-called "automated Chemistry" allegations of the Relators, complaints pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, 12(b)(1) as to whichever Relator the court deems to have been the "first to file" the automated chemistry allegations settled between the Government and SBCL under 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(b)(5)[19].
First, the Government seeks to bar Relators from any share in the recovery for the automated chemistry claims, pursuant to the jurisdictional bar in 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(e)(4), because of allegedly widespread public disclosures of the automated chemistry allegations against SBCL and the Government's ongoing investigation of SBCL prior to any Relator filing a qui tam action.
The Government argues that the Relators' complaints are jurisdictionally barred as to any "automated chemistry" allegations because the investigation into these claims commenced by the Government prior to, and independent of, any contact with *431 the Relators.[20] Specifically, the Government argues that because of the high-profile media coverage of the investigation into the automated chemistry claims prior to the Relators, filing their qui tam actions, the Relators' claims are jurisdictionally barred pursuant to the False Claims Act's public disclosure bar. 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(e)(4)(A). The Government's argument is that the Government was already aware of SBCL's illegal conduct and was in the process of investigating this conduct as part of its ongoing LABSCAM Task Force investigation before any of the Relators came forth with any information. Moreover, the Government points out that, prior to the filing of any of these qui tam actions, there were articles in the New York Times and various industry publications, as well as an expose on a CBS television broadcast of the show 60 Minutes on September 19, 1993, entitled "Blood Money," concerning the filing of false claims by three medical laboratories including SBCL.[21]
Second, the Government seeks to bar Relator Robinson and others because of the first-to-file bar rule in 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(b)(5). The Government argues that upon the court's determination of which Relator was the first to file an automated chemistry claim, the later filing Relators are barred from making any automated Chemistry claims because no person other than the Government may intervene in a qui tam action or "bring a related action based on the facts underlying the pending action." 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(b)(5).
In the alternative, the Government contends that even if the court had jurisdiction over the qui tam plaintiffs' automated chemistry claims, the Relators would still only be entitled to a relator's share in the range of zero to ten percent of the recovery allocated to the automated chemistry claims. It is the Government's contention that no Relator qualifies as an "original source" as to the automated chemistry allegations, but that even if a Relator was an original source, the qui tam share should be limited to a low percentage in the zero to ten percent range category for the amount of the proceeds allocated to the automated chemistry claims.
In response to the Government's motion, the Merena-Robinson Relators contend that 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(e)(4) "does not divest the court's jurisdiction over `parties' ... but instead over the entire action." (filed document # 113, Reply of Relators to Government's Motion to Dismiss Automated Chemistry Allegation, p. 16). Therefore, they argue, when the Government intervened in the actions, it "assured the court's jurisdiction over the Relators' `actions.'" (filed document # 113, Reply of Relators to Government's Motion to Dismiss Automated Chemistry Allegation, p. 16). By intervening, the Relators contend, the Government "establishes subject matter jurisdiction, whether or not, absent intervention, the Court would have had jurisdiction over the Relators." (filed document # 113, Reply of Relators to Government's Motion to Dismiss Automated Chemistry Allegation, p. 14).
The Relators contend that they are not jurisdictionally barred by the statute because none of the so-called public disclosures the Government references actually disclose the "allegations or transactions" of SBCL's fraud schemes as alleged in their respective qui tam actions and their actions were not based upon any public disclosures. The Relators allege that they were the original voluntary sources of the *432 information upon which their respective qui tam actions were based, including the so-called "automated chemistry" allegations. They contend that they had personal, direct and independent knowledge upon which they based all of their allegations. They contend that none of their claims or allegations were based upon or derived from already publicly disclosed information, but were all made upon their individual firsthand personal knowledge. The Relators assert, further, that because there was no public disclosure of their particularized claims or of the allegations or transactions upon which their actions were based including the automated chemistry claims, there is no issue as to whether they were an original source.
The Government requests, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) that the court dismiss the Relators' claims to a share of the state portion of Medicaid funds recovered by forty-three states from SBCL as a part of the overall settlement.[22] The $14,507,107 that was paid to the states was deducted from the total $325,000,000 plus accrued interest that the Government received. The Government argues that these state funds were not recovered under the federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. งง 3729-3733, and, therefore, the Relators are not entitled to a share of these state settlement proceeds. The Government claims that the federal statute does not entitle the Relators to any share of the state proceeds. Because these proceeds were paid directly by SBCL to the states and not to the Government, the Government contends it never had or received this money, and it is now the Relators' burden to deal directly with the states if they believe they are entitled to some portion of the "Medicaid" recoveries paid to the states.
It is the Relators' contention that they are entitled to a percentage share in the total "proceeds of the action or settlement of the claim," 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(d)(1), including that portion "unilaterally diverted to forty-three states." (filed document # 113, Reply of Relators to Government's Motion to Dismiss Automated Chemistry Allegation, p. 140). Therefore, Relators contend that the amounts paid to the states should not be deducted from the total fund of money from which their Relators' share should be calculated.
Despite the argument that the Relators should share less than the 15 percent statutory minimum on the "automated chemistry" claims, it appears that the Government concedes that Relator Merena is entitled to a qui tam share in the 15 to 25 percent range of all proceeds recovered based on Merena's "non-automated allegations" or his "new allegations." The total recovery for these new allegations has been valued by the Government at $64,908,828, including pro-rated earned interest. The Government suggests that an appropriate percentage for these non-automated chemistry claims should be 16 percent. Therefore, the total maximum recovery the Government contends Relators Merena and Robinson are entitled to receive would be $10,385,412.48.
The Relators differ with the Government in three major respects. First, they place a higher value on "the extent to which they substantially contributed to the prosecution of the actions." 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(d)(1). They claim that their Relators' share should be at least IS percent rather than 16 percent as suggested by the Government. Second, they contend that they are entitled to at least 18 percent of the total settlement fund, including the automated chemistry claims and the money paid to the states as part of the Settlement Agreement, less the $13,297,829 allocated for the Spear Relators, regardless of how the funds were allocated by the Government for the purposes of negotiating a settlement with SBCL or distributed *433 among the various federal and state agencies. Third, they contend that they are not, and cannot now, be jurisdictionally barred by the public disclosure bar and that they should not be limited to recovery on only the non-automated chemistry claims.
d. Motion of SBCL in regard to Attorney Fees and Costs
SBCL has advised that it has agreed to the amount of attorney fees and costs it will pay to Relator Merena, in Civil Action 95-6953. SBCL contends that it should not be required to pay any counsel fees or costs to the Robinson Relators in Civil Action 95-6953 or to the Spear Relators in Civil Action 95-6551, largely because of the "first to file law." However, all three civil actions, 93-5974, 95-6953 and 95-6551 were settled and dismissed with prejudice by agreement of all parties. The settlement expressly settled all claims asserted in the three qui tam actions and certain other additional claims as set forth in the Settlement Agreement and Release for $325,000,000. There was no allocation of the proceeds between or among the qui tam actions, or among the various claims. There was no motion filed by any party prior to the dismissal of the actions challenging the court's jurisdiction over any or all of the claims, nor any motion to dismiss any claim or claims. For this reason, it would appear that reasonable attorney fees and reasonable expenses necessarily incurred and costs should be awarded to the qui tam Relator in each of the three actions.
B. DISCUSSION
1. Irrelevant Considerations.
Before discussing the discrete legal and factual issues, several arguments advanced by one or more of the parties to this litigation may be briefly set aside.
Relator Merena, and perhaps other Relators, argue extensively as to the risk and hazard to their respective occupational reputations and future employment prospects, as well as to the disruption of their family life by reason of being "whistleblowers." Nothing in the statute remotely suggests that these are appropriate Considerations in determining the amount or proportionate share to be awarded qui tam relators. 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(d)(1) sets forth as the only guideline for the 15 to 25 percent range "the extent to which the person substantially contributed to the prosecution of the action or settlement of the claim," and, as to the "not more than 10 percent" range (if applicable), "the significance of the information and the role of the person bringing the action in advancing the case to litigation." The two tests, one for the 15 to 25 percent range and the other for the "not more than 10 percent" range appear to be essentially the same; namely, the extent to which the qui tam relator's information and assistance helped the successful prosecution and, in this case, settlement of the case. Apparently, Congress concluded that the proportionate share of the proceeds established by the statute was an adequate incentive and compensation to a qui tam relator for the economic and personal risks in filing a qui tam action, and that the primary guideline for the percentage to be awarded should be the aid and assistance the information provides toward the ultimate conclusion of the case.
The extensive arguments presented by both the Relators and the Government as to the Government's treatment of qui tam Relators in other actions in which a qui tam percentage share was awarded and/or paid by the Government, whether voluntarily by agreement or after litigation, would appear to have no relevance to the present issues except possibly as some precedence as to what might be an appropriate percentage in this case.
The Government, in various of its briefs and filings seems to argue that because of the ongoing LABSCAM investigation, the investigation of SBCL would have ultimately proved just as successful as the *434 investigation of NHL, at least as to the automated chemistry claims, without the aid and assistance of the Relators, and therefore, that the Relators are somehow barred from any recovery as to those claims. I find nothing in the statute that states or suggests that merely because the Government is carrying out an investigation, a qui tam action is barred. The necessary element under the statute is not an investigation but rather public disclosure. Government investigations are ordinarily not publicly disclosed until they are completed. Merely because a qui tam complaint may make allegations that correspond with or parallel allegations that a Government agency may be investigating, the qui tam action is not barred, nor is the qui tam Relator precluded from an appropriate statutory share of any resulting recovery.
The Government has also made some suggestions that because there was a very large recovery against SBCL[23], the percentage awarded should be on the lower rather than on the higher end of the appropriate statutory range. There is nothing in the statute to suggest that the amount of the total recovery is, or should be, an appropriate consideration in determining the percentage range or in calculating the total qui tam award. Had Congress intended the amount of the award to be a relevant factor in establishing the percentage of the recovery, it could have simply enumerated this as a relevant factor to be considered, or Congress could have directed a sliding scale of percentages depending on the dollar amount of the recovery. Obviously, Congress had to be well aware that a qui tam Relator could indeed recover a very large sum of money as a qui tam award if the civil recovery that Government obtained from the defendant was also very large. Therefore, I do not consider the amount of the total settlement to be a relevant factor in determining what percentage of the recovery should be paid to a qui tam relator.
Finally, both the Government and the Relators argued extensively about matters occurring after the date of the settlement, which for the purpose of deciding the qui tam Relators, share would be, at the latest, the date of the dismissal of the actions on February 24, 1997. The extent, if any, to which the Relators may have assisted or cooperated with the Government in any ongoing or further investigation seems to me to be wholly outside the scope of inquiry in determining the percentage and amount of the award to go to the qui tam Relators for their assistance in bringing about the settlement and the termination of these actions.
2. Justiciability of the percentage range
The statute makes no specific reference as to the procedure to be utilized in determining what percentage, within the statutory 15 to 25 percent range, should be awarded a qui tam Relator, nor does the statute expressly provide that the issue of the appropriate percentage is a matter to be decided by the courts in the absence of an agreement between the Government and the Relators.
In several sections the statute makes explicit that certain issues are subject to a court hearing, and, therefore by inference, subject to a court decision. As examples of such clearly justiciable issues are: (1) dismissal or settlement of qui tam actions by the Government over the objection by relators (31 U.S.C. ง 3730(c)(2)(A) (dismissal) and (B) (settlement); (2) limiting the litigation participation of a qui tam relator when the Government proceeds with the action, 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(c)(2)(C) and (D); (3) permitting the Government to intervene at a later date upon a showing of "good cause," (31 U.S.C. ง 3730(c)(3); (4) staying discovery on the application of the *435 Government (31 U.S.C. ง 3730(c)(4); (5) an award in the zero to ten percent range โ "the Court may award such sum as it considers appropriate" โ (31 U.S.C. ง 3730(d)(1)).
Curiously, the statute says nothing as to whether a court in a judicial proceeding may determine what percentage between the 15 and 25 percent range, where applicable, should be awarded. Having expressly provided for court decision as to some issues, but no mention as to the 15 to 25 percent range, it could be argued that the actual percentage is a matter committed solely to executive (prosecution) branch discretion, reviewable, possibly, only for an abuse of governmental discretion.
None of the parties to this litigation have contended that the court may not decide what percentage should be awarded. Case law, without discussing or mentioning the justiciable issue suggests that when the parties cannot agree as to the proper percentage, the matter is appropriate for court judicial decision,[24] to determine "the extent to which the person [qui tam Relator] substantially contributed to the prosecution of the action" (15 to 25 percent range) and "the significance of the information and the role of the person bringing the action in advancing the case to litigation." 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(d)(1).
I will proceed to first decide the justiciable issues, namely (1) the motion to dismiss the "automated chemistry" claims in Civil Actions 93-5974 and 95-6953; (2) the amount of the proceeds upon which the qui tam percentage award will be based; i.e., whether the state Medicaid recoveries of $14,507,107 should first be deducted from the fund upon which the percentage is calculated; (3) whether the allocations as to separate claims, including the Medicaid, the "automated chemistry" and the other "non-Merena only" claims utilized by the Government in negotiating the settlement with SBCL are binding on the qui tam Relators in determining their qui tam share; (4) whether the 15 to 25 percent range or the zero to ten percent range should be applied to the whole or to separate portions of the claims. Finally, assuming that establishing the actual percentage or percentages are justiciable, the percentage or percentages that should be applied will be decided and judgment will be entered for the amount of the qui tam award.
3. Dismissal of the "Automated Chemistry" Claims
The complaints in both Civil Actions 93-5974 and 95-6953 seem clearly to allege all of the so-called "automated chemistry" claims. The Government apparently concedes this and, for that reason, in order to prevent qui tam Relators from sharing any percentage of any recovery attributable properly to those claims, seeks to have those portions of the qui tam complaints dismissed.
I find no case that remotely suggests that a district court could now dismiss any of the particular claims made in any of the three qui tam complaints. To begin, all three qui tam complaints were dismissed, with prejudice, including all claims set forth in the complaints, upon the motion of the Government and with the joinder of qui tam Relators and SBCL. I retained jurisdiction over only enforcing the settlement agreement and determining the qui tam shares to be awarded out of the settlement and attorneys fees and Costs and expenses to be assessed against SBCL in favor of the qui tam Relators. Although not directly applicable, the case of Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, 511 U.S. 375, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994) makes it apparent, at least to me, that when a *436 case is finally dismissed with prejudice, the court loses all jurisdiction except to the extent that jurisdiction is expressly retained in the order of dismissal.
The Government seeks to have Relator Merena's automated chemistry allegations dismissed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) for failure to plead fraud as to those allegations with sufficient specificity. How or why this should be done at this time, long after the case was settled and dismissed with prejudice in its entirety is not explained. Even if a timely motion had been made, and granted, undoubtedly the plaintiff would have been afforded an opportunity to replead and specify in detail. I consider this argument by the Government to be frivolous. This assertion by the Government is perhaps one of the reasons why the qui tam Relators feel forced to argue that the Government is trying in every conceivable way possible to defeat their respective claims for the qui tam share that they believe they are entitled to receive under the law. To the extent that the Government is asking this court to dismiss Relator Merena's automated chemistry Claims for failure to specifically allege fraud, the motion will be denied.
The Government's primary contention as to both Merena and Robinson's automated chemistry Claims is that these claims should be dismissed from both of the qui tam complaints because of lack of subject matter jurisdiction, pursuant to the bar of 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(e)(4)(A). The qui tam actions, including all claims asserted therein have already been dismissed with prejudice. They do not have to be re-dismissed. Perhaps of even more importance, the Government does not contend that the court lacked jurisdiction over the actions, but merely certain of the claims alleged in each of the actions.
The qui tam Relators contend that their automated chemistry claims were not "based upon" any public disclosures or obtained or copied from news reports or media, but were based upon their personal knowledge and information and that they were, in any event, "original sources" within the meaning of the statute 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(e)(4)(B). They also contend that irrespective of whether their respective actions, as to some of the claims might have been subject to dismissal under 31 U.S.C. ง 3730(e)(4)(A) and (B), no motion to do so was ever made, and upon the Government formally intervening in the action, the question of the court having subject matter jurisdiction was mooted. I agree.
On the motion to dismiss the automated chemistry claims, I conclude that the motion will be denied. In doing this, I do not decide whether those claims could have been barred because of preexisting public disclosures and whether either of the Relators were "original sources" if the motions had been made before the dismissals.
Even if the "automated chemistry" claims could have been, or may even now be subject to dismissal, this would not necessarily preclude the qui tam Relators from sharing within the 15 to 25 percent range on the "proceeds of the action or settlement of the claim." Where a qui tam action is filed, and the Government intervenes and expands the allegations of the complaint, or settles the action, including broader Claims than alleged in the qui tam action, this should not preclude the qui tam relator from receiving the minimum statutory qui tam share of 15 percent of the entire settlement, as well as a percentage above the 15 percent minimum up to the maximum of 25 percent "depending upon the extent to which the person [qui tam Relator] substantially contributed to the prosecution of the action."
4. Allocation of Values to Specific Claims
The denial of the Government's motion to dismiss all of the automated chemistry claims contained in the qui tam Relators' complaints does not necessarily mean that the Relators are entitled to a share in the 15 to 25 percent range, or indeed even in *437 the "not more than 10 percent" range. The Government contends that the court must consider the actions of the Relators on a claim by claim basis irrespective of whether the automated chemistry allegations are dismissed. As to those claims in which there was prior public disclosure and the Relators were not "original sources", the Government argues that the Relators are entitled to no qui tam share of the proceeds.
The qui tam statute involved makes no mention of treating a qui tam complaint as having distinct and divisible claims for the purpose of determining the qui tam Relator's share of the proceeds. The statute provides that where the Government intervenes and proceeds with the action, as it did in these cases, the qui tam Relator shall "receive at least 15 percent but not more than 25 percent of the proceeds of the action or settlement of the claim." (Underlining added). The statute speaks of the action and claim as a single unit or whole entity. It would seem almost inevitable to me that at least in most qui tam actions there would be allegations of multiple false claims alleged in a complaint. The qui tam actions involved here were settled as to all claims, whether or not validly pled or substantively valid, for a single overall sum of money. In determining the portion to be paid to qui tam Relators, I do not think the statute ever contemplated that a court should, after the fact of settlement, consider each separate claim to determine whether the claim was subject to dismissal because of pre-filing public disclosures and/or whether the Relators were an "original source." The Government never sought to have any of the Relators' qui tam allegations dismissed prior to entry of the order settling and dismissing each of the actions with prejudice. Neither did it ever seek leave to file an amended complaint, as it undoubtedly had the right to do.
Far more important, at least to me, is that in all three of the qui tam actions, the Government intervened, and settled with SBCL (with the consent of the Relators) for an overall settlement sum of $325,000,000. The signed Settlement Agreement and the executed Releases designated no monetary allocation or division among various claims, other than mention that the settlement included all enumerated claims by various Governmental agencies, and by the separate state claims for their respective Medicaid losses. Neither did the Settlement Agreement, the Releases or anything else filed of record seek to allocate or quantify a dollar amount between or among the three qui tam actions or the separate claims of each action.
The evidence is specific and clear that although the Government, in determining the reasonableness and adequacy of the overall settlement, evaluated the monetary value of certain distinct claims, the settlement between the Government and SBCL was an arbitrary "bottom line" figure of $325,000,000 for all of the claims that were set forth in the Settlement Agreement through the date of September 16, 1996. The settlement expressly included all of the claims set forth in the three qui tam actions and all claims for the states' Medicaid losses. SBCL certainly did not settle the qui tam actions or any specific claim or claims asserted therein for any specific sum other than the overall figure of $325,000,000.
Even if the court should consider the qui tam shares on a claim by claim basis, because the only quantified amount is the overall settlement of $325,000,000, it seems to me that, at the least, the Government would have the burden of proof to establish such allocation of the settlement proceeds it seeks to have the court make. The Government apparently contends that it has fully established this and met any burden of proof that it may have, because prior to the settlement being approved, the Government submitted to the Relators its proposed allocations that it would present to SBCL for the purpose of concluding settlement negotiations. The evidence is clear however, that no representative of *438 the Government ever informed any of the Relators that the Government would contend that these calculations would be binding on Relators in determining their respective qui tam shares. Neither did the Government ever inform any of the Relators that if the matter of the qui tam shares would ever be litigated, the Government would contend that the Relators had waived any right to contest such allocations because they had agreed to the overall settlement with SBCL with knowledge of the allocations assigned by the Government for purposes of negotiating the settlement.
To the extent that a finding on waiver is necessary or appropriate, I find as a fact that the Government's position that the Relators must accept and are bound by the Government's allocation was never expressed to the Relators prior to their agreeing to the settlement. Even in Court filings and representations to the court, long after the settlement was approved, and while the issues of the Additional Plaintiffs' right to share in the proceeds as qui tam relators was being litigated, the Government repeatedly stated that it had not yet calculated or determined what amount it would offer to the qui tam Relators, either individually or in total.
I find the Government's position that the Relators, by not objecting to the overall settlement somehow waived their right to challenge the Government's assigned allocations of proceeds to particular claims to be unacceptable. So far as the evidence discloses the allocations were unilaterally set by the Government. They were never expressly agreed to by any party, including SBCL. The Government now contends that not only the Relators, but also the court, must accept at face value those allocations. The Government used the allocations of proceeds among claims solely for purposes of negotiating a settlement and to calculate distribution of the proceeds among the various affected governmental agencies.
There is absolutely no evidence on the record before me, beyond the unacceptable waiver argument, to establish any allocation among various claims. The Relators repeatedly sought explanation from the Government, both informally and in discovery, as to the Government's allocation calculations. The Government's only response is, and always has been, that the calculations were based on rational estimates of losses and complex negotiations among the various governmental agencies and that the parties and the court are bound to accept the Government's calculations. It seems to me to be almost a "trust us, we are not wrong, we are correct" attitude. The Government tries, at a minimum, to require Relators to prove the allocations are in error without providing Relators with any discovery on the issue, although such discovery was requested. This I cannot accept.
I conclude on this issue, that the Relators are not bound by the allocations assigned by the Government as to the automated chemistry, the "new Merena-only" and the Spear qui tam allegations. It is the Government that attempts to reduce the individual and total qui tam award shares by assigning particular values to various claims. Even if dividing the proceeds among separate claims would be appropriate, there is no evidence upon which a fact-finder could rationally make such a determination on the record before me. All parties were provided with a full opportunity to develop the record on all issues.
In determining the qui tam share or shares to be paid to the Relators, the claims may not be allocated for dollar amounts between or among the automated chemistry, the "new Merena only" and other claims. First, neither the Settlement Agreement, the Release nor any statement or document on record at the time of the approval of the settlement ever mentioned any separate sum of money other than the $325,000,000. Second, the statute makes no suggestion that a qui tam award should be based on a claim by claim basis to *439 determine which claims are valid or what the individual monetary worth of separate claims were to the overall settlement. The percentage of the award above the minimum is to be based upon the extent to which the qui tam Relator substantially contributed to the prosecution of the action. Third, Relators did not waive their right to contest any governmental allocations of proceeds to particular claims. Finally, there is no basis in the evidence upon which a monetary allocation among claims could rationally be made.
5. Medicaid Fraud Payments Made to 42 States and the District of Columbia
The February 24, 1997 order of distribution from the escrow account directed that "$14,460,124.01 be distributed into the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units, for further distribution to the states with which SBCL had settled." The total amount of net proceeds recovered by the Government was $319,469,159 ($333,976,266 less $14,507,107).[25]
The evidence discloses that 42 states and the District of Columbia, who had made Medicaid payments under their respective state programs to SBCL, negotiated separate settlements with SBCL. Because SBCL sought a "global settlement" for the alleged billing fraud claims, the amount to be paid to the states was factored into the overall $325,000,000 settlement. It is clear that the Government never received and never intended to receive the full $325,000,000. All parties were well aware of this. Although there is no direct mention of separate payment amounts to the state Medicaid Fraud Control Units in the Settlement Agreement or the Release, the fact that the states were simultaneously settling their claims was expressly set forth in the Settlement Agreement. Preamble G of the Settlement Agreement specifically refers to the submission of Claims for payment by SBCL to the Medicaid programs of the expressly enumerated 42 states and the District of Columbia. Preamble Q, however, specifies that the Government contends that all of the alleged fraudulent payments, including the Medicaid program payments to the states constituted submission of false claims under the Federal False Claims Act. Paragraph 4 of the Settlement Agreement refers to "receipt of the payment described in Paragraph 1 above [$325,000,000] by the United States and the State Settlement Account, collectively." Paragraph 6 of the Settlement Agreement provides that the Relators (all of whom signed the Settlement Agreement) "will release, upon receipt of the payment described in Paragraph 1 above by the United States and the State Settlement Account, collectively, in accordance with the Court Order, SBCL...." Consequently, it is clear that the Relators were well aware that payment would be made directly to the enumerated states out of the total $325,000,000 settlement recovery. They knew, at least when the order of distribution was entered, if not before, the exact amount that was to be paid to the states.
I do not agree, however, with what I understand is the Government's present position, that a federal cause of action under the False Claims Act for the payments to the states for their share of the Medicaid payments, could not be maintained. That is inconsistent with the Government's contentions set forth in Preamble Q to the Settlement Agreement cited above.
Medicaid programs, although authorized by federal law and supported by federal contributions to the states, are not strictly federal government programs. They are state programs authorized and partially financed by federal law. A false claim *440 submitted to and paid by a state's Medicaid program indirectly results in a loss to the federal government, but it is not strictly speaking, a false claim submitted to the United States. A qui tam share may be obtained from the Government only out of the proceeds of the settlement received by the Government. The Government's net recovery was, as above noted, $319,469,159. That is the total proceeds upon which the qui tam shares will be determined.
I recognize that this determination is arguably inconsistent with the determination that the various claims against SBCL set forth in the qui tam complaints may not be subdivided and quantified as to amounts. The amounts that were paid to the states under the Medicaid programs are definite and they were incorporated in an order of court. They were funds that the Government never received and never were entitled to receive. The amounts paid to the states were negotiated separately and separate agreements and releases were signed by each of the effected states and SBCL.
I note that the Government, the Relators and SBCL entered into a stipulation, prior to the Relators agreeing to the settlement, that both the Government and the Relators reserved the right to contend, "that funds paid to any state are or are not subject to any claim for a relator's share." As to this issue, it appears that the Government's present position comes as no surprise to the Relators.
The Relators Contend that they are entitled to a qui tam share of that portion of the proceeds received by the states, because, in the words of the Relators, those payments were made as "a unilateral determination of the Government." I disagree with that characterization. The qui tam award that will be made will be calculated on the total proceeds received by the Government, after deducting the amount received by the states.
6. The "no more than 10 per cent qui tam share" issue
The most perplexing issue under the statute is whether the "no more than ten percent of the recovery" award is applicable. Neither the Relators nor the Government were clear as to their respective interpretations of this section of the statute.
31 U.S.C. ง 3730(d) provides in relevant part:
(d) Award to Qui Tam plaintiff. โ (1) If the Government proceeds with an action under subsection (b), [as it did in this case] such person shall, subject to the second sentence of this paragraph, receive at least 15 percent but not more than 25 percent of the proceeds of the action or settlement of the Claim, depending upon the extent to which the person substantially contributed to the prosecution of the action. Where the action is one which the court finds to be based primarily on disclosures of specific information (other than information provided by the person bringing the action) relating to allegations or transactions in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, in a congressional, administrative, or Government Accounting Office report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, the court may award such sums as it considers appropriate, but in no case more than 10 percent of the proceeds, taking into account the significance of the information and the role of the person bringing the action in advancing the case to litigation.
The problem arises, because the statute in almost identical language in sub-section (e)(4)(A) provides that unless the qui tam Relator is an "original source", as expressly defined in the statute, "no court shall have jurisdiction over" a qui tam action that is "based upon public disclosures" of the same type that triggers the "no more than 10 percent" award provision. The Government has argued that sub-section (e)(4)(A) forecloses both the Merena and Robinson Relators from any award on the *441 automated chemistry allegations and alternatively, but I believe inconsistently, alleges that sub-section (d), quoted above, limits any award on the automated chemistry allegations to the "no more than 10 percent" range, and suggests that the percentage should be in the low range between zero and ten percent.
Arguably, the "no more than 10 percent" award could apply in every case, if the court makes the finding that "the action [not specific allegations of the action] is based primarily on disclosures of specific information" (underlining added) of the type therein defined. The Government, in argument, suggested that the distinction between the two apparently conflicting sections, is that the "no more than 10 percent" subsection specifies "disclosures", whereas the jurisdictional bar sub-section refers to "public disclosures". I do not think this distinction is valid, because, for example, there could hardly be a disclosure "from the news media" that was not a public disclosure. To the extent that the Government suggests that there might be a non-public disclosure to the Government by some inter-governmental investigation, allowing a recovery of no more than 10 percent, the statute can not be reasonably so interpreted. One of the clearly enunciated purposes of the most recent 1986 amendments to the statute, was to prevent the harsh preclusive effect of mere governmental knowledge or investigation as occurred in United States ex rel, Wisconsin v. Dean, 729 F.2d 1100 (7th Cir.1984). See United States ex rel, Stinson v. Prudential Insurance Company, 944 F.2d 1149, 1163 (3d Cir.1991) (Scirica, J., dissenting).
The Relators explanation of the "no more than ten percent" clause in sub-section (d) appears to be that where an action would be subject to dismissal for lack of jurisdiction under the public disclosure bar, sub-section (e)(4)(A) and (B), but the Government nevertheless intervenes, the Relator would then be entitled to a percentage up to ten percent "taking into account the significance of the information and the role of the person bringing the action in advancing the case to litigation." Relators further contend that the jurisdictional "public disclosure" bar and the "original source" exception have no application once the Government intervenes. This is a plausible explanation for the seemingly contradictory clauses of the statute.
The Relators contend, as they have throughout this litigation, that, it any event the "public disclosure bar" has no application to their qui tam actions. Factually, they contest vehemently the nature of any public disclosures, including the broadcast in the television show 60 Minutes, of "allegations or transactions" on which their actions "are based." Both Relators Merena and Robinson deny that any of the allegations of fraud which they set forth in their respective complaints relied in any way upon any disclosures made by others, whether public or private. Both contend that their allegations were based upon their firsthand personal knowledge acquired while employees of SBCL: Relator Robinson as the Medical Director of an SBCL laboratory in San Antonio, Texas and Relator Merena, as a billing analyst and Supervisor of Response Development at SBCL's national headquarters. Although some of the allegations in both complaints may have been similar to those upon which the Government successfully prosecuted NHL, there were many allegations encompassed, even within the "automated chemistry" claims that had not been included in any Prior disclosures to the Government, whether or not public.
The purpose of the "public disclosure bar" would appear to be intended to prevent a person taking advantage of and using publicly disclosed information, and to prevent the filing of "copy cat" complaints. If "based upon" means or is similar in meaning to "relied upon", neither Relator's complaint was based upon any disclosures, other than those that they learned as employees of SBCL. Again I note that the "public disclosure bar" of sub-section *442 (e)(4)(A) and (B), refers to an "action" being barred, not to certain allegations. Certainly the qui tam complaints were not subject to dismissal, even had the Government timely so moved. As I have heretofore noted, I will not dismiss or separate out various claims, including the "automated chemistry" claims, in determining an appropriate qui tam share.
The "no more than ten percent" provision of subsection (d) requires that the court find that the "action" be based "primarily on disclosures of specific information (other than information provided by the person bringing the action) relating to allegations or transactions in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, in a congressional, administrative, or Government Accounting Office report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media." I decline to make such a finding, irrespective of whether the "disclosures" must be public.
I conclude that the Relators, whether singly or in combination are entitled to a qui tam award in the 15 to 25 percent range on the net proceeds of the settlement. Those net proceeds are calculated as follows: Total recovery of the settlement and accrued interest, $333,976,266.40, less the total amount paid to the states Medicaid Fraud Units, $14,507,107, leaving a net balance of $319,469,159.40. In computing the proceeds upon which the Merena-Robinson Relators will be entitled to receive a share, there must be further deducted the amount of the agreed allocation to the Spear Relators of $13,297,829. This leaves a balance of proceeds of $306,171,330 upon which the disputed qui tam shares will be Calculated.
7. Relators' Contribution to the Prosecution of the Action
At the seven-day hearing in March, 1996, Relators Merena and Robinson presented evidence supporting their claims for a larger percentage of relators' share. The Government presented evidence to support their own arguments that the Relators are barred from recovery on the automated chemistry claims, and that the Relators contributed only minimally to the investigation of and settlement with SBCL on their other allegations.
Relator Merena has worked voluntarily with the Government for the last four years to secure a settlement in the qui tam cases against SBCL. While he was still employed as the supervisor of Response Development at SBCL, he provided the Government with information and documents for eighteen months after he filed his qui tam action. He continued to assist the Government in its investigation of SBCL for two years after the unsealing of his qui tam action, and after he left his employment at SBCL in March of 1995. The Government does not dispute that Relator Merena spent literally hundreds of hours assisting the Government at the Philadelphia Task Force's Media, Pennsylvania headquarters.
Relator Merena alleges that he first contacted the Government about what he suspected were fraudulent billing practices at SBCL in mid-August 1993 when he voluntarily placed a call to a toll-free government fraud alert hotline. Apparently, Relator Merena's phone call was routed and re-routed until he finally was referred to the United States Patent Office. The United States Patent Office, in turn, directed Relator Merena to James Sheehan, Chief, Civil Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Sheehan testified at deposition[26] that he did not take any notes to memorialize this phone call, but that he recalled an anonymous caller phoning in about the alleged fraud at SBCL. At deposition, Mr. Sheehan testified that he remembered that during his telephone conversation with Relator Merena, Relator Merena discussed *443 the fact that he was an employee of SBCL, and that he had concerns about the way the company was operating. Mr. Sheehan testified that Relator Merena thought that there might have been grounds to address SBCL's activities under the False Claims Act. Mr. Sheehan recalled that Relator Merena expressed concern about identifying himself. Mr. Sheehan recalls at least two other telephone contacts with Relator Merena after the initial phone call and before Relator Merena's counsel, Mr. Marc Raspanti, became involved.
Prior to any face-to-face meeting between Relator Merena and Mr. Sheehan, Relator Merena's counsel, Mr. Raspanti, provided Mr. Sheehan with information concerning a number of schemes ongoing at SBCL. The information provided included schemes to maximize Medicare revenues by "unbundling" or "exploding" its various test panels, including its automated chemistry panels.
Relator Merena's first face-to-face meeting with Mr. Sheehan was on October 9, 1993. Relator Merena's counsel, Mr. Raspanti, also was present. At this meeting, Relator Merena voluntarily provided additional information to Mr. Sheehan concerning SBCL's alleged fraudulent billing practices. Relator Merena explained his background and employment at SBCL. He began working at SBCL in 1986 as the Supervisor of the Third-Party Billing Department. Relator Merena moved up in the company, and was at the time he contacted Mr. Sheehan, supervisor of Response Development, where he handled SBCL's receipt of payments from Medicare and other payors. Relator Merena spent his entire career with SBCL working at its national headquarters.
At deposition, Mr. Sheehan testified that during this October 9, 1993 meeting, Relator Merena provided him with the names of various individuals who headed various functions at SBCL and with an overview of SBCL's operations throughout the country. Relator Merena indicated to Mr. Sheehan certain of SBCL's laboratories that he believed were involved in questionable acts, and he indicated to Mr. Sheehan certain parts of the country he thought would be most fruitful to the Government's investigation based on his experience at SBCL's national headquarters. Relator Merena described SBCL's National Billing Group, and SBCL's relationship with Pennsylvania Blue Shield ("PBS"), and he provided the names of employees of PBS and SBCL who were interacting with each other as to some of his allegations.
Relator Merena explained in detail how SBCL's "unbundling" or "exploding" scheme worked. He described that SBCL was looking for ways to maximize revenues, and that it attempted to do so by identifying laboratory tests which could be separated out from the standard multichannel battery of tests. He explained that individual states differed in how they paid SBCL for additional tests, and therefore SBCL could submit claims for unbundled tests to certain states and receive payment for the multi-channel battery of tests (the bundle) and bill again for certain tests which were already billed as part of the battery.
Relator Merena explained the unique test billing codes used by SBCL's laboratories and explained how the National Billing Group converted the laboratory codes in a way that improperly inflated Medicare revenues. He explained that SBCL even hired procedure code analysts whose job it was to maximize revenue for test panels, including automated blood chemistry panels.
Relator Merena explained SBCL's centralized computer billing systems. He described SBCL's scheme of "jamming" diagnosis codes, whereby SBCL's computer automatically added other diagnosis codes for particular claims where specific diagnoses are required. He stated that, in this way, SBCL obtained Medicare payment without obtaining necessary diagnosis information from the referring physician. He explained SBCL's alleged deceptive *444 marketing schemes. Relator Merena also discussed and explained SBCL's alleged practices of billing for tests which were not performed, improper billing for End Stage Renal Disease ("ESRD") patients, multiple kickback schemes used to entice referring physicians, and a particular diagnosis scheme related to pap smears. The October 9, 1993 meeting lasted about seven hours.
Prior to Relator Merena's suit, the Government had, in December 1992, concluded an investigation of NHL, which resulted in NHL pleading guilty in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California of submitting false claims to the Government and paying a $1 million criminal fine. The president of NHL also pleaded guilty to felony counts of submitting false claims to the Government and served a prison sentence. Additionally, NHL agreed to a civil settlement of $100 million with the Government and paid a monetary settlement to 33 individual states.[27]
By way of declaration, Carol Lam, Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of California, states that the issue in the NHL investigation was NHL's alleged practice of routinely adding non-medically necessary tests to automated chemistry panels and billing government health insurance programs separately for those added-on tests. Allegedly, NHL used deceptive marketing practices that lead physicians ordering laboratory tests to believe that the additional test results they were receiving with the automated chemistry panels came at little or no additional cost. Ms. Lam testified, by way of declaration and in open court, that during the course of the NHL investigation, the team of government agents and lawyers learned that the scheme at NHL was not unique to NHL, and began to suspect that many of NHL's competitors were also committing similar marketing and billing fraud. Ms. Lam testified that after the resolution of the NHL investigation, in late 1992, she and Mr. Freedman discussed the need to investigate and prosecute, where appropriate, the other major medical laboratories in the country, including SBCL.
Following the resolution of the NHL investigation, the Government gave press releases and its officials, including Ms. Lam made comments and statements in various forums, including television and the print media as well as at professional conferences, regarding the Government's investigation of NHL and its suspicion that fraudulent billing practices by medical laboratories were not unique to NHL. In December, 1992, numerous articles appeared in newspapers and industry publications across the country. The general gist of these articles was that the alleged billing practices at NHL were not unique to NHL, and that federal officials were continuing to investigate the marketing and billing practices of other national medical laboratories.
The successful NHL investigatory team evolved into a task force. This task force decided to commence a joint criminal, civil and administrative investigation of the seven other national laboratories. In the early summer of 1993, the task force became known as Operation LABSCAM or the LABSCAM Task Force. During the summer of 1993, the LABSCAM Task Force requested from the Program Integrity Branch of the Health Care Financing Administration ("HCFA"), all available national clinical laboratory billing data. HCFA provided the task force with tapes of billing data for 1991 through 1993. The data provided included laboratory claims submitted to Medicare for all laboratory tests by seven major medical laboratories including SBCL. From this data, Ms. Lam testified that the LABSCAM Task Force was able to identify numerous potential billing schemes by SBCL.
When asked on cross-examination about the Philadelphia Task Force's contribution *445 to the case, Laurence Freedman, Assistant Director, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice ("DOJ"), responded that he, and others at the DOJ in Washington, DC, did not know what the Philadelphia Task Force was doing in relation to these cases. He testified that the Philadelphia Task Force did not even know much about the case.
Both Assistant United States Attorney Lam and Freedman testified that up until the summer of 1993 the Government had been tracking anomalies and indicia of fraud as it related to SBCL's billing practices. Lam testified that the investigation into SBCL's billing practices began on August 24, 1993 with the issuance of subpoenas to seven medical laboratories, including SBCL.
On August 24, 1993 the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Office of Audit Services issued Comprehensive subpoenas to SBCL and six other medical laboratories. The Government received over 200 boxes of documents in response to its initial subpoena issued to SBCL. Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") Special Agent Jacob Gregory of San Diego reviewed the SBCL documents and came up with documents which he thought would be helpful in prosecuting a Case against SBCL for its alleged fraudulent billing practices. These subpoenaed documents later became known as "hot documents" or "the hot documents file." From these so-called "hot documents", Special Agent Gregory also compiled a table of contents and created a time line setting forth critical dates of the SBCL alleged scheme.
The DOJ made the decision to transfer the investigation of SBCL to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In accordance with this decision, Special Agent Gregory re-boxed the documents, time line, and table of contents and sent them to federal investigators in this district, sometime in July, 1993.
By August, 1993, media coverage of the alleged billing fraud in the medical laboratories industry continued. An article dated August 28, 1993, and headlined, "Medical Labs Subpoenaed in Medicaid-Medicare Probe", was distributed by the Associated Press wire service and was published in the Washington Post stating that some of the nation's leading medical testing laboratories had recently received federal subpoenas seeking documents for a "widening investigation of Medicaid and Medicare fraud". The article mentioned SBCL by name as being among those receiving a subpoena. The story of the Government's subpoena of documents from the seven major laboratories was picked up by other newspapers and industry publications. On September 19, 1993, CBS News broadcast a segment entitled "Blood Money" on its show 60 Minutes. The story, reported by Leslie Stahl, covered the alleged fraud involving automated chemistry panels. The show's Associate Producer Karen Jaffee went to SBCL with an order for an automated chemistry panel, a CBC, and thyroid test. On camera, Stahl and a medical doctor examined the bill generated by SBCL. The bill included an un-ordered but billed magnesium test.
By the end of 1993 the Government alleges that, in addition to the attorneys assigned to the investigation, there were six full-time federal agents from the FBI and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service ("DCIS"), and a full-time paralegal supervisor assigned to the LABSCAM Task Force. It is the Government's contention that its investigation of SBCL's alleged fraudulent billing practices was well on its way at the time Relator Merena filed his complaint, and even before he made his first contact with Mr. Sheehan. More importantly, the Government argues that its knowledge of the alleged fraud, its ongoing investigation, and the public disclosures of these facts constitute public disclosures for the purposes of the False Claims Act and therefore constitute a bar *446 to any recovery by Relator Merena and other relators.
Relator Merena testified in open court, however, that he did not view the 60 Minutes segment, nor did he read any of the numerous newspaper articles, press releases or industry publications. He contends that the allegations he made in his complaint were based on facts of which he has independent knowledge. He claims his allegations and the facts supporting them, therefore, are based on his knowledge and not on the disclosures of the Government's investigation into or suspicions of alleged fraudulent billing practices at SBCL.
Both Lam and Freedman testified that the information the Government had in the summer of 1993, at the time of the issuing of the subpoenas as well as the documents and other information the Government received in response to the subpoenas was insufficient for the Government to go forward and successfully prosecute a case against SBCL for violations of the False Claims Act. Nonetheless, the Government contends that its investigation and resolution of the NHL fraud case provided a blueprint that was easy to follow in its subsequent investigations of the other national medical laboratories, including SBCL. Ms. Lam testified in open court that once the Government understood the fraudulent schemes by NHL, the Government felt it would not be "rocket science" to uncover the same or similar schemes at the other laboratories. It is the Government's contention, therefore, that any investigation of SBCL would be more or less a matter of following a well laid out map.
Relator Merena argues, however, that if the Government had sufficient information at that time, settlement would not have taken four years to conclude. Relator Merena contends that the Government, by trivializing the extent to which Relator Merena contributed to the Government's investigation of SBCL, has minimized the contribution of the entire Philadelphia Task Force in settling the qui tam actions against SBCL.
In addition to the assistance Merena provided through October 9, 1993, at his first face-to-face meeting with the Government, Relator Merena made other significant and substantial contributions which led to the Government's ultimate settlement with SBCL. Relator Merena reviewed documents received from SBCL in response to three subpoenas, two of which he was helpful in preparing. Specifically, he helped the Government understand many of the internal documents received from SBCL in response to the subpoenas. He assisted FBI and LABSCAM Task Force agents in preparing for interviews of witnesses. He prepared outlines for interviews with witnesses. He assisted the task force in evaluating and reviewing the notes after the witness interviews were completed. He assisted in obtaining documents, many of which he fed to the Government during the eighteen months he was still an employee at SBCL. He assisted in preparing Government agents for the re-interview of witnesses. He provided technical support himself and legal support through his counsel to the Government in drafting subpoenas and key documents. He and his counsel provided assistance in the settlement process, and helped to put pressure on SBCL to reach a settlement of the case. He filed a qui tam action here in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania where the other qui tam actions against SBCL ultimately were transferred and settled.
It is undisputed that on November 8, 1993, counsel for Relator Merena provided Mr. Sheehan with a draft of Relator Merena's qui tam complaint, and on November 12, filed a qui tam complaint under seal in this court. His complaint alleged fraud by SBCL in SBCL's automated chemistry panels, urinalysis tests, prostate antigen tests, pap smear tests, tests performed for ESRD patients, tests not performed, and kickbacks. On the same day, Relator Merena provided the Government with his initial Notice of Disclosure. On December 13, 1993, Relator Merena provided the *447 Government with his first Supplemental Disclosure Statement which supported each of the claims raised in Relator Merena's earlier meetings with the Government, as well as those in his qui tam complaint.
Mr. Sheehan sought the assistance of Relator Merena and his counsel in drafting document requests that the Government could serve on SBCL. On March 7, 1994, Relator Merena provided the Government with information about SBCL's Lexington, Kentucky laboratory's practice of artificially reducing its Medicare accounts receivables by "jamming", or automatically adding, diagnosis codes to Medicare claims to facilitate their payment. On March 8, 1994, Relator Merena provided the Government with an annual recap of SBCL's 1993 results. On March 17, Relator Merena provided the Government a complete set of SBCL's 1993 monthly Billing and Accounts Receivable Reports. On March 21, 1994, Relator Merena provided the Government a summary of individuals and documents pertaining to SBCL.
Relator Merena met with Government officials on March 21, 1994. This meeting was arranged at the request of Mr. Sheehan. During this meeting, Relator Merena carefully explained to Mr. Sheehan how SBCL manipulated its billing for automated chemistry profiles in order to maximize reimbursement. Specifically, Relator Merena explained how SBCL separately billed certain tests, including the HDL, LDL, and RDW tests to the Atlanta, Georgia and Florida Medicare carriers to obtain greater Medicare reimbursement than if SBCL would have submitted those claims to PBS.
On April 29, 1994, Relator Merena's counsel, Mr. Raspanti, provided the Government with drafts of detailed and comprehensive subpoenas. On May 5 and May 6, 1994, Relator Merena provided the Government with copies of all documents previously provided to the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. On May 11, 1994, Relator Merena provided to the Government an internal SBCL directory which listed key personnel for each of SBCL's laboratories.
On June 22, 1994, Relator Merena and his counsel met with various Government officials in a meeting lasting approximately four hours. At this meeting, Relator Merena discussed and identified numerous SBCL employees, as well as former SBCL employees, describing who were likely to be cooperative witnesses and who would have the most relevant information about SBCL's various practices and schemes nationwide.
Also in the summer of 1994, Relator Merena and his counsel assisted the Government in drafting a letter to SBCL regarding a May 11, 1994 subpoena which Relator Merena and his counsel also helped draft. Relator Merena, at the Government's request, provided additional assistance concerning SBCL's "jamming" of diagnosis codes for pap smear tests and test performed on ESRD patients. Relator Merena also further described and provided documentation regarding SBCL's kickback scheme.
Throughout the investigation, the Government made repeated representations to him that he was a big help to the investigation of SBCL, and that the information he was providing was very useful. Relator Merena contends, and the Government agrees, that Relator Merena's counsel asked Mr. Freedman of the DOJ repeatedly about what the DOJ's position would be with regard to the relators' share.
It is undisputed that, after the Government reached the settlement in principle with SBCL, it asked Relator Merena and his counsel to summarize what they believed to be a basis for the fair and adequate resolution of relators' share issues. Relator Merena provided a detailed 45-page letter setting forth his contribution to the investigation and settlement of the case. (Merena Exhibit 70).
On March 22, 1996, Relator Merena, his counsel, and other Relators and their counsel, met with Mr. Sheehan, Mr. Freedman *448 and another Government official at the Government's request to discuss the settlement in principle with SBCL. It is undisputed that at the outset of the meeting, Mr. Sheehan congratulated counsel for the Relators and told them the Government was extremely appreciative of their assistance and efforts in bringing about the successful settlement of this case, which the Government claims is the most successful qui tam case in the history of the United States. The Government acknowledged the hundreds of hours Relator Merena and his counsel spent assisting the Government in achieving this settlement.
Relator Merena contends, however, that the Government never indicated at this meeting nor at any time prior to this meeting, that the Relators would not recover the statutory relators' share of the total settlement proceeds, or that the Government would seek to preclude Relators from recovery on certain of their allegations. Relator Merena contends that the Government never told the relators what their relators' share would be, but that the Government would be fair to the relators.
The Government, on the other hand, contends and Mr. Freedman so testified in open court, that if the Relators objected to the settlement proceedings and/or agreement in principle, they could have said so. The Government, in essence, contends that the Relators should have raised the issue of their shares themselves prior to agreeing to the settlement with SBCL.
Relator Robinson argues that he, too, substantially contributed to the investigation of and settlement with SBCL. From 1990 to 1993, he was the medical director of SBCL's San Antonio regional laboratory. He resigned his position at SBCL on June 1, 1993, after concluding that the company's alleged practice of "unbundling" or "exploding" its charges to federal health care programs was deliberate, and that he could not effect, from within, a change in the company's policy.
In May, 1993, he met with Relator Grossenbacher, an attorney, and discussed SBCL's alleged fraudulent policy and practices. Relator Grossenbacher then contacted DCIS Special Agent Larry Daniels about SBCL's alleged fraudulent policy and practice of unbundling charges to the Government for component parts of its automated chemistry panels.
It is uncontested that on or before June 6, 1993, DCIS Special Agent Daniels briefed fellow agent Scott Parker, who was investigating health Care fraud matters in Texas, on the information Special Agent Daniels had received from Relator Grossenbacher. On June 8, 1993, Relator Grossenbacher discussed with Special Agent Parker, SBCL's alleged nationwide policy and practice of unbundling charges for its automated chemistry panels. He claims that he provided Special Agent Parker with at least five documents which evidenced SBCL's alleged schemes, and that Special Agent Parker added these documents to his investigative file. Apparently, the information and evidence he and Relator Grossenbacher provided to Special Agents Daniels and Parker was the first specific information disclosed to the Government regarding SBCL's policy and practice of "unbundling" charges to federal health care programs for iron, TIBC, HDL, LDL, and magnesium tests.
It is uncontested that in mid-July 1993, Special Agent Parker opened a separate investigative file on SBCL with the information and documents that he had received from Relators Robinson and Grossenbacher. Relators Robinson and Grossenbacher filed their complaint on December 15, 1993, and on that same date, delivered to the Government material evidence and information in support of the complaint.
On April 20, 1994, Relator Robinson met with Mr. Freedman, FBI Special Agent Gregory, and DCIS Special Agent Parker. During this meeting, he was interviewed at length regarding his knowledge of SBCL's unbundling policies and practices including the billing and marketing of SBCL's laboratory *449 services. He was questioned about his career at SBCL, and of how he came to be aware of SBCL's alleged fraudulent practices. When asked for the names of current and former SBCL employees knowledgeable about SBCL's marketing of and billing for automated chemistry tests, Relator Robinson provided names of current and former employees he felt might be helpful to the investigation. At least one of these individuals was interviewed by the Government. Relators Robinson's and Grossenbacher's cases were later transferred to this court.
At Mr. Freedman's request, Relator Robinson came to Philadelphia for a meeting held on November 29, 1995. At that meeting Government officials advised Relators and their counsel that the Government was looking for litigation support from the relators and their counsel, and the Government officials discussed with Relator Robinson the testimony they anticipated from SBCL's medical experts. The Government indicated that it intended to call Dr. Robinson as an expert witness to controvert the anticipated testimony of SBCL's medical experts. At this meeting, the Government also questioned him more about the operations at SBCL, including quality assurance and compliance issues, and recordkeeping practices.
It is uncontested by the Government that, upon returning to Texas, Relators Robinson and Grossenbacher and their counsel spent many hours analyzing SBCL's responses to the unbundling issues and preparing a written rebuttal of SBCL's arguments in a 13-page letter that was sent to the Government on December 12, 1995.
8. The Merena - Robinson qui tam shares
The Government insists that I must decide which Relator is entitled to a qui tam share, and preclude the other from receiving anything, on the basis of "the first to file bar." Such an analysis and decision might be required if the Merena and Robinson Relators were arguing between themselves as to who should receive the qui tam award. Fortunately, and quite practically and sensibly, the Relators, long before this litigation began over the amount of the qui tam share the Government would have to pay, agreed among themselves as to the division of any proceeds, regardless to whom the award or awards were made. Therefore, I do not think it is necessary to decide that one Relator and not the other is entitled to a share.
Because both cases were settled for an overall sum, as heretofore noted, there is no way to quantify or to separate the recoveries between or among the qui tam Realtors. Because the Government never sought to dismiss any of the actions or any claims of the actions until after the settlement was completed and the cases were dismissed with prejudice, it is conceivable that each of the three qui tam Relators could have plausibly argued that each was entitled to a percentage between 15 and 25 percent of the entire proceeds. It is clear that the qui tam statute contemplated no more than one recovery. Relators seek nothing more than this. I will decide the percentage between 15 and 25 percent that should be awarded on the net proceeds.
Undoubtedly both Relators provided very valuable and substantial assistance to the Government in bringing these actions to a successful settlement and termination. A brief synopsis of the assistance has been outlined above. There was much more, but it would gain little to recite in full detail. The sole statutory criterion for an award is "the extent to which the person [qui tam Relator] substantially contributed to the prosecution of the action." In the final analysis, this can be no more than a judgment call by the decision maker. There is no precise way to quantify in a percentage the contribution of a qui tam Relator. This is particularly true, it seems to me, in a case where the actions are terminated by an overall settlement. There is no way of determining on the *450 record before me how much monetary value, if any, was added to the potential settlement when the cases were partially unsealed, and SBCL became aware for the first time of the identities of the qui tam "whistle-blowers." Likewise there is no way to quantify how much sooner the actions settled because of the assistance and persistence of the Relators. The evidence is strong, however, that it was the Relators who constantly urged to Government to enter into serious negotiations with SBCL.
I recognize that the Government would probably have continued to pursue at least the "automated chemistry" claims against SBCL, and would very likely have obtained a substantial settlement. How much such a settlement would have been without the assistance of Relators would be pure speculation. Relators had deep and extensive knowledge of the inner workings of SBCL and they were able to obtain, provide and more importantly interpret corporate billing records, without which the cases would have had serious problems.
As to the "Merena only" claims, in an earlier filing the Government suggested a qui tam award of 16 percent on the amount it allocated to those claims. The Relators suggest that they should be entitled to an overall share of 18 percent of the total proceeds, including the proceeds to the states that I have declined to include.
Whether we consider only the individual contributions of Merena or the individual contributions of the Robinson Relators, certainly some percentage above the minimum 15 percent should be awarded. Both Relators substantially contributed, and were willing to contribute as much as the Government was willing to receive. I conclude that the substantial contribution of each was equal to that of the other. Thus if only one, but not the other qui tam Relator would be entitled to an award on the whole of the proceeds, I would award the same percentage regardless of which one was entitled.
In reading the depositions and evidence received into evidence, and listening to the arguments of counsel, I am left with the impression that the attorneys in charge of the LABSCAM investigation, conducted largely from San Diego and Washington, DC by the DOJ seek to take far more credit for the overall success of the proceedings than is rightly due. The suggestion has been presented that San Diego and Washington took care of all the automated chemistry investigation and claims, which the Government contends was the most valuable part of the case, and that the United States Attorney's office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, through Mr. Stiles, the United States Attorney, and Mr. Sheehan, an Assistant United States Attorney, and the investigators working under their direction played only a minor part in bringing about the successful Conclusion of the actions. Perhaps the reason the litigation has been presented in this light is because the contacts that Relator Merena, and, to a large extent, Relator Robinson had with the Government was in providing assistance to the investigators and United States Attorneys from this district, and the Government wants to minimize the contributions of the Relators in order to lower their ultimate award.
No matter how the qui tam award in this case is calculated, it will be quite large. I recognize that some of the arguments presented by the Government attorneys may have been caused by a sincere desire to save as much of the proceeds as possible for the Government. However, an Act of Congress provides for substantial awards in order that persons who acquire first-hand knowledge of false claims being presented to the Government will come forth and file meritorious qui tam complaints. The success of this legislation in continuing to achieve its goals can only be assured by unstintingly providing the qui tam awards dictated by Congress, irrespective of the size of the awards.
Relators undoubtedly sincerely believe that their respective contributions toward *451 bringing about the overall settlement were not only substantial but vital to the highly successful outcome of the actions. They therefore may have exaggerated to some extent the importance of their individual contributions. Similarly, I am convinced that the Government through the DOJ has greatly underestimated and minimized the help provided by the Relators. I believe that the DOJ attorneys who have represented the Government in the present qui tam relator share proceedings have been largely unaware of the tremendous effort put forth by the United States Attorney's Office for this district. That office and its investigative staff relied very heavily upon the aid of the Relators, particularly upon Mr. Merena. It was primarily through the insistence of both the Relators and Mr. Sheehan that serious and meaningful settlement negotiations were commenced. It is quite clear that the automated chemistry claims were not investigated and developed solely by the LABSCAM task force. The development of the total facts as to all of the claims asserted by the qui tam complaints of Merena and Robinson, including the automated chemistry allegations, were developed primarily through the task force operating out of the Media Office of the United States Attorney's office in this district.
The ultimate decision as to the percentage share to be awarded is my own overall assessment of the extent to which Relator Merena and/or the Robinson Relators substantially contributed to the successful prosecution and settlement of the actions. As previously noted, some percentage above the 15 percent minimum amount is entirely appropriate in this case. In my judgment a qui tam share of 17 percent of the net proceeds of $306,171,330 is proper. Other persons who might make a similar decision based on the same facts, might well provide a larger or a smaller percentage.
The net proceeds upon which the qui tam share will be computed is, as previously set forth, $306,171,330. Seventeen percent of that amount is $52,049,126. From that amount there must be deducted the amount of the partial summary judgment awarded of $9,736,324.[28] A judgment will be entered in favor the Merena- Robinson Relators, jointly, in the sum of $42,312,802.
All factual statements contained in this opinion shall be deemed to be findings of fact. In addition, all of the submitted unopposed proposed findings of fact presented by either of the Relators and by the Government, shall be deemed as additional findings of fact.
Perhaps Congress never contemplated that such large awards might occur, although that seems doubtful. Congress is, of course, capable of amending the statute at anytime, should it consider that it has been too generous in specifying the percentages to be awarded. If so, Congress might also be more helpful in defining when the lesser percentage ranges should be utilized and also in clarifying the several seemingly unclear and conflicting sections of the statute.
For the reasons set forth in this opinion judgment will be entered in favor of the Merena and the Robinson relators jointly in the sum of $42,312,802, for the balance of their qui tam shares.
JUDGMENT
For the reasons set forth in the accompanying opinion, Judgment is entered in favor of the Relators, Robert J. Merena in Civil Action 93-5974 and Glenn Grossenbacher and Charles W. Robinson in Civil Action 95-6953, jointly and against the United States of America in the sum of $42,312,802.
It is further ORDERED that any and all pending motions in Civil Actions 93-5974, *452 95-6953 and 95-6551 not otherwise expressly ruled upon in the accompanying opinion are DENIED.
NOTES
[1] 42 states and the District of Columbia executed separate settlement agreements with SBCL for their respective Medicaid losses from the alleged false claims paid to SBCL. Those agreements, together with accrued interest total $14,507.107 that they received from the total settlement proceeds.
[2] LABSCAM is an acronym for a governmental investigative team that was formed and evolved an a result an investigation of National Health Laboratories, Inc. (NHL) in the Southern District of California. The NHL litigation resulted in successful civil and criminal proceedings against NHL, for alleged billing practice frauds similar to many of those alleged against SBCL. After the successful conclusion of the NHL case, the LAB-SCAM team was formed and proceeded to investigate alleged illegal billing practices of many of the large independent medical laboratories, including SBCL. The LABSCAM investigation, operating primarily from San Diego, California and Washington, DC, focused almost exclusively on the so-called "automated chemistry" claims.
[3] All "filed document #" refer to documents filed in Civil Action 93-5974.
[4] Other qui tam actions have been filed against SBCL and transferred to this court. The qui tam relators in those cases were held to be entitled to no qui tam share of the settlement proceeds involved in this litigation (filed document # 13). Their actions were dismissed, except as to a single claim that was severed because the claim was not encompassed within the terms of the Settlement Agreement and Release.
[5] Relator Merena filed suit in this court an November 12, 1993. The Robinson action was originally filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas in December, 1993 (Civil Action 93-1070), and the Spear action was originally filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in February, 1995 (Civil Action C95-0501-DLJ). The Robinson and Spear actions were transferred by agreement to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in the fall of 1995.
[6] The order directed that: "(1) ง 314.731,103.35 of the settlement proceeds, plus interest be electronically transferred to the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern Distract of Pennsylvania; (2) $3,703,419.14 be electronically transferred to the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia; (3) $14,460,124.01 be electronically transferred into an account at the Chase Manhattan Bank for the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units, for further distribution to the states with which SBCL had settled; (4) all interest, income, and dividends either deposited or accrued in the escrow account after February 24, 1997 be electronically transferred to the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to be further distributed in equal proportion to any entitled party or parties." These amounts total $332,894,646.50. However, the parties agree that the total proceeds disbursed were $333,976,266.
[7] The Attorneys have advised the court that SBCL and Relator Merena have agreed as to the amount of Relator Merena's attorney fees and costs in Civil Action 93-5974.
[8] The Government and the Consolidated Plaintiffs contended that LaCorte's Claim 1 (Complete Blood Count Claim), Claim 3 (Unauthorized Testing an Part of a Screening Program), and Claim 4 (Unauthorized Testing as Part of an Annual Audit Program) were not settled, but that all of Claim 2 (Substitution of More Extensive Chemistry Profiles) and Claim 5 (Misleading Requisition Forms) were settled.
[9] Relator Jeffrey Clausen also filed a Motion to Extend Time for Filing Notice of Appeal (filed document 0102), but that motion was denied (filed document # 212).
[10] The Government did not elect to intervene until after it had agreed with SBCL on specific settlement terms to resolve all of the claims in the Consolidated Plaintiffs' cases and long After the February 6, 1996 agreement in principle had been negotiated.
[11] Subsection W of 31 U.S.C. ง 1321 provides in part that: Amounts (except amounts received by the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) that are analogous to the funds named in subsection (a) of this section and are received by the United States Government as trustee shall be deposited in an appropriate trust fund account in the Treasury.
31 U.S.C. ง 9702, Investment of Trust Funds, specifies that: Except as required by a treaty of the United States, amounts held in trust by the United States (including annual interest earned on the amounts) โ
(1) shall be invested in Government obligations; and
(2) shall earn interest at an annual rate of at least five percent.
[12] The six claims Merena claims only he raised are as follows: 1) urinalysis tests; 2) prostate specific antigen ("PSA") tests; 3) pap smear tests; 4) tests performed for end stage renal disease patients ("ESRD"); 5) tests not performed ("TNP"); and 6) kickbacks.
[13] The Government states, "Mr. Merena would have this Court reserve the question of whether `the Government's allocation of the settlement proceeds among issues and to the various states was improper.'" (United States' opposition to motion of Robert J. Merena for Partial Summary Judgment, p. 2).
[14] The $64,906,828 figure includes a pro-rated share of the accrued interest. The Government appears to agree that accrued interest should be treated the same as principal in calculating the qui tam share or shares of the proceeds.
[15] The findings at this hearing are discussed in more detail under the heading, "Relators' Contribution to the Prosecution of the Action," of this Opinion.
[16] Merena and Robinson agree, however, as above noted, that from this total there be deducted the amount allocated to settling the Spear parties' claims. Consequently, the Relators are requesting an award of 18% ื ($333,976.266.40 - $13.297.829) which totals $57,722,118.73.
[17] Using the above figures, the net balance would be $64,887,859, a Discrepancy of $20,969.
[18] The Settlement Agreement did not make any mention of any specific state allocations, but it was understood by the parties that a sum of the proceeds would be paid to the states, as in reflected in my Order of February 24, 1997 which Orders that $14,460.124.01 be disbursed for the settlement of the states' claims. The amount actually disbursed was $14,507,107.
[19] There appears to be no dispute that both Relators Merena and Robinson, in their qui tam complaints, made allegations of fraud involving automated chemistry tests, although Relator Merena's may have been rather general.
[20] A non-public governmental investigation would not bar the filing of a qui tam action. See discussion, infra.
[21] In the 60 Minutes story, one of the shows Associate Producers went to a SmithKline laboratory with an order for a SMAC (automated blood chemistry panel), CBC, and thyroid test. The bill generated by SBCL was then examined on camera, and the bill was found to include an un-ordered, but billed, magnesium test. Transcript of "Blood Money," 60 Minutes, CBS News, September 19, 1993, p. 20.
[22] The Government indicates that the state funds total $14,507,107 which includes the pro rated share of the earned interest.
[23] The Government quite properly emphasized in announcing the settlement with SBCL that the settlement was the largest recovery ever obtained under the False Claims Act for health care fraud.
[24] United States v. General Electric, 808 F.Supp. 580 (S.D.Ohio 1992); United States v. Stern, 818 F.Supp. 1521 (M.D.Fla.1993); United States ex rel. Coughlin v. IBM, 992 F.Supp. 137 (N.D.N.Y.1998); United States ex rel. Burr v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, 882 F.Supp. 166 (M.D.Fla.1995).
[25] Apparently because of a few days extra interest earned under item (4) of the order, the actual amount paid to the Medicaid Fraud Control Units was $14,507,107, and the total settlement proceeds, with interest was $333,976,266. These later two figures will be used for all further calculations of the qui tam shares.
[26] Mr. Sheehan testified at deposition, but was not called as a witness in open court during the evidentiary hearing which began on March 16, 1998.
[27] The NHL case also was a qui tam action.
[28] The Government has paid the amount of the partial summary judgment to Relator Merena.
| {
"pile_set_name": "FreeLaw"
} |
The diagnosis of blocked cerebrospinal fluid shunts: a prospective study of referral to a paediatric neurosurgical unit.
A prospective study was undertaken of all children referred to the Hospital for Sick Children with a provisional diagnosis of shunt blockage over a 5-month period. Fifty-two admissions were recorded, relating to 45 children, 5 of whom had multiple admissions. Only 19 of the 52 admissions led to a final diagnosis of shunt malfunction. No source of referral, whether by the child's general practitioner or from another hospital, was found to be more accurate than direct referral by the parents to the neurosurgical ward. Headache, vomiting and irritability were not significant indicators as to whether the child's shunt was actually blocked, and nor was the duration of the symptoms. Drowsiness was a significant, but not definite, indicator of shunt blockage, while pyrexia made it more likely that the patient had an alternative diagnosis. In 35 of the admissions a computed tomographic scan was performed: a normal scan, unchanged from previous scans, did not reliably exclude the diagnosis of shunt blockage. Percutaneous manometry via the reservoir of the shunt system was performed during 26 admissions: this investigation produced no false positives nor false negatives, but was equivocal in 5 cases, all of which were found at surgery to have a definite shunt blockage. The accuracy of the diagnosis of shunt blockage made prior to referral to a neurosurgical unit is discussed, together with the implications for resource use. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Repolarization of the presynaptic action potential and short-term synaptic plasticity in the chick ciliary ganglion.
Stimulation-induced increases in synaptic efficacy have been described as being composed of multiple independent processes that arise from the activation of distinct mechanisms at the presynaptic terminal. In the chick ciliary ganglion, four components of short-term synaptic plasticity have been described: F1 and F2 components of facilitation, augmentation, and potentiation. In the present study, intracellular recording from the presynaptic calyciform nerve terminal of the chick ciliary ganglion revealed that the late repolarization and afterhypolarization (AHP) phases of the presynaptic action potential are affected by repetitive stimulation and that the time course of these effects parallel that of facilitation. The effects of these changes in the presynaptic action potential time course on calcium influx were tested by using the recorded action potential waveforms as voltage command stimuli during whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from acutely isolated chick ciliary ganglion neurons. The "facilitated" action potential waveform (slowed repolarization, decreased AHP amplitude) evoked calcium current with slightly but significantly greater total calcium influx. Taken together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that activity-dependent changes in the presynaptic action potential are one of several mechanisms contributing to the facilitation phase of stimulation-induced increases in transmitter release in this preparation. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Enlarge Image Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET
Sthenaster emmae is a bit of an oddball. The starfish species was first described in 2010 based on three museum specimens, two dried and one preserved in ethanol. It's one thing to look at a dead sea star, and another to finally behold it alive and snacking in its natural habitat.
The science team on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship Okeanos Explorer got a thrill when they spotted sthenaster emmae in the Atlantic Ocean.
"This was the FIRST time it's been seen alive!" enthused Smithsonian starfish expert Chris Mah in a NOAA blog post on Thursday.
Enlarge Image NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Windows to the Deep 2019
The video footage will help biologists learn more about the sea star.
"This species was hypothesized to be a coral predator when I described it, based on fragments found in its gut, but now we have solid evidence of this species feeding on a primnoid octocora," said Mah. This pretty much confirms the star's soft-coral-munching predilections.
The NOAA Windows to the Deep mission is focused on documenting largely unexplored deepwater areas off the southeastern US coast.
Sthenaster emmae wasn't the only fascinating starfish found by the mission's remote cameras. The team also documented a sea star nicknamed the "cookie" or "ravioli" star thanks to its resemblance to stuffed pasta.
Windows to the Deep is scheduled to continue through July 12. It has truly been a star-studded mission so far. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Akhmatbek Keldibekov
Akhmatbek Keldibekov (born 16 June 1966) was the Speaker of Parliament in Kyrgyzstan as of 17 December 2010, in office until 2011. He is a member of the Ata-Zhurt party. He was elected with 101 votes in favour and 14 against as part of the formation of a new government.
Keldibekov was arrested in November 2013 and charged with abuse of office and financial misdeeds, sparking protests in his native region of Osh in the country's south. His supporters insist that his arrest is politically motivated.
References
Category:Chairmen of the Supreme Council (Kyrgyzstan)
Category:1966 births
Category:Living people
Category:Kyrgyzstani politicians | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
This is a walk on the Wilde side. And a Wilde ride it is. It's
Etcetera's wild re-imagining of Oscar Wilde's best-known work, The
Importance of Being Earnest.
The risk-taking Etcetera, the late-night branch of the
often-impressive Live Theatre Workshop, embraces Wilde's comedy with
enthusiasm, irreverence and not a shred of remorse about taking
great—and I do mean great—liberties with the delicious
script.
Premiering in London on Valentine's Day 1895, Wilde's play is a
gloriously witty send-up of Victorian high-mindedness. It's a story of
class and civilized duplicity. Of best friends—Jack and
Algernon—who create alter egos to spare themselves from the
excessive propriety their high station requires of them. Of frivolous
young women—Gwendolen and Cecily—who dream of marrying men
whose names must be Ernest. They like the way the name sounds, and they
like what it implies.
In Etcetera's version, this quartet is openly gay. Gwendolen and
Cecily mutate into Gavin and Cecil. Lady Bracknell, one of theater's
great roles for women, is performed in drag. The other roles undergo
similar gender-bending.
Now, when a piece of dramatic literature—and it's usually a
very choice piece—has been transposed to another era and place
with its attendant differences in laws, mores, customs, a serious
student of the theater poses the question: Why? Does the change enhance
the themes of the original? Does it make the play more accessible? Does
it shine light on the probing questions, the sensibilities, the
intentions of the playwright's?
So you could ask: Why transform Wilde's jewel of a play into a
gay-friendly (at least gay-male-friendly) version?
Warning: Do not attempt. This Earnest is a burlesque. The
Oscar Wilde-Gone-Wild Follies. It's an "I've got a great idea" lark and
an "aw, to heck with it" gamble.
And it's pretty darned entertaining.
Why is it set in the 1980s? I have no idea. Why switch the setting
from London and "the country" to New York and Connecticut? Not a clue.
And why after relocating the action to the colonies do most of the
actors speak with a Brit's accent? You've got me.
So, don't ask. Just suspend any need to make sense of all these
choices; pay your $10; and take a seat.
Christopher Johnson, who directs the production, plays a coked-out
Algernon whose choice of fashion is sure to give you painful flashbacks
to your own woeful '80s fashion sense. And it will, quite
unfortunately, stick in your mind, like gold to lamé.
Eric Anson is less-convincing as Jack, but he does his part to steer
us through this lunacy, because he is just so, well, earnest.
Chadwyk Collins is impressively committed to his reading of Gavin,
whose fashion sense, along with Algy's and others, should attract a
raid by the fashion police. Jody Mullen sweetly and foolishly dashes
about the stage as Cecil, and when he and Gavin discover that they are
to be married (yes, married) to what appears to be the same man, their
confrontation is hilarious.
Bill Epstein delivers the butchest Lady Bracknell you will ever see.
(At least this is our fervent hope.) And although he's a bit
inconsistent in character and memory, he is a sight for sore eyes and,
truth to tell, a wee bit scary. Miss Prism, as sweet as he/she can be,
has Cliff Madison hilariously decked out in a cotton sundress, tight
blond curls and—no. You have to see this for yourself. Danielle
Dryer as Token Dyke and Jay C. Cotner as Canon Chausable round out this
Wilde bunch.
So is this great theater? No way. Is it a bit of fun? You
betcha.
Most fortunately, Wilde's wonderful words shine through this
spirited silliness. His language is the real star of the evening, and
to their great credit, the cast members know it. In the midst of
outlandish shenanigans, they handle Wilde's saucy and sophisticated
style with impressive agility. We can't help but be smitten again and
again by Wilde's incisive wit and wordplay.
Wilde's own sexual exploits and appetites are well-documented. We
shouldn't worry whether he is smiling down—or up—at
Etcetera's bold venture. While the gang strives to convince us of the
importance of being earnest, they actually make a much stronger case
for something entirely different: They prove that it was our good
fortune that Oscar was born to be Wilde. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains in general to a system and method for processing residual gas and, more particularly, to a system and method for processing and disposing of residual toxic gas in a semiconductor manufacturing process.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of process gases are used in various process equipment in a semiconductor manufacturing process. For example, a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process often uses SiH4, B2H6, NH3 and H2 as process gases. Because many process gases are toxic and explosive, and because process gases are seldom completely reacted during a manufacturing process, handling of residual gases, i.e. process gases that remain after completion of the manufacturing process, is an important issue in semiconductor manufacturing. In addition, environmental concerns and government legislating prohibit toxic gases and harmful particles from being vented to the atmosphere or disposed of with waste water.
FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a conventional process for handling residual gas in a semiconductor manufacturing process that uses silane (SiH4) as the processing gas. Referring to FIG. 1, process gas, for example, silane, is selected at step 1. Some of the characteristics of silane gas are described in the following table:
AtomicBoilingMoleculeNameWeightColorSmellpoint (° C.)SiH4Silane32NoneRepulsive−112MeltingStatus inPointDensityRoomSafety(° C.)(g/L)TemperatureCharacteristicsToxic Indication**−1850.68GasE/F/P*TLVIDLH5 ppm—*E: explosive; F: inflammable; P: toxic**TLV: Threshold Limit Value (time weighted average exposure for an 8-hour day in a 40-hour workweek)IDLH: Immediate Danger to Life and Health
Source: R. J. Lewis, Sr., Hazardous Chemicals Desk Reference, 3rd Ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993.
These characteristics show that silane is toxic and explosive, and therefore great care should be taken in handling and disposing of silane gas. The process gas is then introduced at step 10 to a process chamber through a connecting pipe. After a semiconductor manufacturing process is performed in the process chamber at step 10, a pump propels the remaining silane gas that did not fully react during the process, i.e., the residual gas, from the process chamber to a wet scrubber through another connecting pipe at step 20. As described above, the residual gas introduced to the wet scrubber still contains non-reacted silane gas. Upon entering the wet scrubber, oxidation ensues and powdered silicon dioxide (SiO2) is formed. Water is then added to the wet scrubber so that both soluble and non-soluble SiO2 powders are further processed at a waste water facility drain at step 42. The resultant waste water is expelled to the environment. Any remaining residual gas and powders are vented at step 40 to a waste gas facility exhaust to be further processed and then be expelled into the atmosphere.
This conventional technique, however, cannot ensure that all of the silane gas that passes through the wet scrubber is reacted. Therefore, an explosion is still possible if the silane gas were to come into contact with oxygen in one of the connecting pipes. Furthermore, the non-reacted silane gas expelled to the atmosphere may still exhibit a toxic level higher than the legally prescribed safety level. In addition, the powders produced through oxidation of the silane gas may result in the blockage of inlets and outlets to and from the wet scrubber.
As a proposed improvement to ensure complete reaction of the residual gas, an alternative conventional technique employs catalysts to breakdown the residual gas, or absorbents to absorb toxic materials or particles so that the gas expelled into the atmosphere is harmless. Such a method, however, requires complex chemical reaction processes. In addition, catalysts and absorbents are usually expensive and cannot be repeatedly used, resulting in an additional cost to the manufacturing process. Moreover, the catalysts and absorbents themselves become toxic from the process and become industrial wastes, of which cannot be easily disposed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Devlin Barrett, national security reporter for The Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow on another busy news day about new reporting that the Trump-Russia investigation has moved to a White House adviser close to Donald Trump. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Reports from Kenya say that the results of Rita Jeptoo’s “B” drug test sample should be made public later this week, which should provide the final word on whether the 2013 and 2014 Boston and Chicago Marathon champion took the blood-boosting substance erythropoietin (EPO).
Capital FM is reporting that the “B” sample analysis will take place December 17-19, while Sports News Arena is reporting that Jeptoo will know the result by December 19, followed by a public announcement on December 20.
Isaiah Kiplagat, president of Athletics Kenya, reportedly told Sports News Arena, “We will have a press conference on December 20th to make a major announcement after we have received her sample result.”
Jeptoo tested positive for EPO in an out-of-competition urine test in September. When samples are taken, they are divided into two equal parts and are stored separately. One is considered the “A” sample, and the other is considered the “B” sample. “B” samples are tested only when the test of the “A” sample produces an adverse analytical finding, as was the case with Jeptoo’s “A” sample.
Jeptoo could have accepted the positive test of her “A” sample, which would have meant accepting a ban from competition, and forfeiting her titles and earnings, including the $500,000 she was scheduled to receive for winning the 2013-14 World Marathon Majors title. Instead, Jeptoo requested that her “B” sample be tested.
If Jeptoo’s “B” sample tests negative for banned substances, Jeptoo will theoretically be able to proceed with her career, though there is some question as to whether her reputation within the sport has already been irreparably damaged, and whether major races would welcome her back. Her estranged husband, Noah Busienei, says that she began doping in 2011.
It is uncommon for “B” samples to test negative when an “A” sample tests positive, but it does happen. In 2003, Olympic and World Championship medalist Bernard Lagat had an “A” sample that tested positive for EPO, but his “B” sample cleared him.
Sports News Arena is also reporting that Athletics Kenya has announced that two other female marathoners, Viola Chelangat Kimetto and Joyce Jemutai Kiplimo, have failed drug tests. Neither is among the top tier of Kenyan marathoners. Both tested positive for norandrosterone, the metabolite of the steroid nandrolone.
Sports News Arena also reports that Athletics Kenya’s Medical and Antidoping Commission is investigating six other runners—Philip Kibiwot Kandie, James Maunga Nyankabaria, Alice Ndirangu, Elizabeth Jebet Chelagat, Isaac Kimaiyo Kemboi, and Bernard Mwendia Muthoni—for possible doping violations. None are among Kenya's top distance runners.
Related:
World Marathon Majors Ceremony Postponed
Rita Jeptoo's Coach, Manager Profess Ignorance of Reported Drug Use
Sports Gene Author Reacts to Rita Jeptoo Drug Test News
Rita Jeptoo Requests Analysis of Her Drug Test "B" Sample
Rita Jeptoo's Husband Says She Began Doping in 2011
Can Races Get Prize Money Back After Winners Fail Drug Tests?
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
1. Introduction
===============
RM 8640 consists of six plastic bottles each containing a 2 mL suspension of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) microspheres with a specified amount of immobilized fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). The microspheres are intended for calibrating the fluorescence response of flow cytometers \[[@b1-j110-2gai]\]. This paper describes the procedures used for assigning values of *MESF* (molecules of equivalent soluble fluorophore) to the microspheres with immobilized FITC. There are three major measurements in this procedure. First, the concentration of microspheres is measured using a Multisizer 3 (Coulter Corporation, Miami FL) particle counter[1](#fn1-j110-2gai){ref-type="fn"}. Second, a fluorometer is calibrated using SRM 1932, a fluorescein solution. Third, the fluorescence signal is measured for each of the microsphere suspensions. Finally, the data from the three measurements are used to calculate the *MESF* values of the microspheres.
In practice, we made serial dilutions of SRM 1932 and calibrated the fluorometer response as a function of fluorescein concentration. Since the concentration of fluorescein varies from 10^−12^ mol/L to 10^−9^ mol/L, it was necessary to pay special attention to contamination, linearity, photodegradation, and background subtraction. The measurements of the concentration of the microsphere suspension constitutes the operational definition of particle concentration. There are at present no particle number standards to validate the concentration measurement.
A cytometer was used to measure the fluorescence signals associated with the five microsphere populations each with a different amount of immobilized FITC. A valid assignment of *MESF* values should yield a linear relation between the measured fluorescence signal in the cytometer and the assigned *MESF* values. A linearization procedure was used to impose a linear relation between the cytometer response of the five microsphere populations and their *MESF* values.
2. Revised Measurement Model and the Assignment of *MESF*
=========================================================
It was pointed out \[[@b2-j110-2gai]\] that the quantum yield as defined in Eqs. (A3) and (A14) in Ref. \[[@b3-j110-2gai]\] is the ratio of fluorescent radiant flux to absorbed radiant flux. Since the radiant flux is the product of the number flux and average spectral energy, the ratio of radiant fluxes is not the same as the ratio of number fluxes. In the following we introduce a modification to the measurement model which allows a consistent use of quantum yield, a molecular property defined in terms of number flux.
In the previous paper \[[@b3-j110-2gai]\] we expressed the fluorescence spectral radiance, *L*~f~(*λ*~m~,*λ*~x~), as $$\begin{array}{l}
{L_{f}\left( {\lambda_{m},\lambda_{x}} \right) = \frac{S_{f}\left( \lambda_{m} \right)}{S^{\prime}\left( \lambda_{m} \right)}L^{\prime}\left( \lambda_{m} \right)} \\
{= 2.3FNly\left( {\lambda_{m},\lambda_{x}} \right)\varepsilon\left( \lambda_{x} \right)\Phi_{i}\left( \lambda_{x} \right)\Delta\lambda_{x}} \\
\end{array}$$
*λ*~m~ and *λ*~x~ are the emission and excitation wavelengths, *S*~f~, *S*′, are measured signals, *L*′ is the spectral radiance of a reference source, *F*, *l*, *Φ*~i~(*λ*~x~), and ∆*λ*~x~ are instrument characteristics, and *N*, *y*, and *ε* are sample properties. The quantity *y*(*λ*~m~, *λ*~x~) relates the absorbed radiant flux at wavelength *λ*~x~ to the fluorescent radiant flux at wavelength *λ*~m~. In other words, the radiant flux from fluorescence is a fraction *y* of the absorbed radiant flux. The radiant flux can be converted to a photon number flux by dividing the radiant flux by the energy of a single photon. Thus the quantity *y*(*λ*~m~, *λ*~x~) can be converted into a relation between fluorescence photon number flux and absorbed photon number flux by multiplying it by the ratio of the respective wavelengths. $$y^{\prime}\left( {\lambda_{m},\lambda_{x}} \right) = \frac{\lambda_{m}}{\lambda_{x}}y\left( {\lambda_{m},\lambda_{x}} \right).$$
The quantity *y*′(*λ*~m~, *λ*~x~) is conveniently separated into a quantum yield *φ* and a normalized relative photon emission function *s*′(*λ*~m~, *λ*~x~) (1/nm), where $${\int{s^{\prime}\left( {\lambda_{m},\lambda_{x}} \right)d\lambda_{m}}} = 1.$$
Thus [Eq. (1)](#fd1-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} can be rewritten as $$\frac{S_{f}\left( \lambda_{m} \right)}{S^{\prime}\left( \lambda_{m} \right)}\frac{\lambda_{m}}{\lambda_{x}}L^{\prime}\left( \lambda_{m} \right) = 2.3FNl\phi s^{\prime}\left( {\lambda_{m},\lambda_{x}} \right)\varepsilon\left( \lambda_{x} \right)\Phi_{i}\left( \lambda_{x} \right)\Delta\lambda_{x}.$$
Integrating over all emission wavelengths gives $${\int{S_{f}\left( \lambda_{m} \right)\left\lbrack {\frac{\lambda_{m}}{\lambda_{x}}\frac{L^{\prime}\left( \lambda_{m} \right)}{S^{\prime}\left( \lambda_{m} \right)}} \right\rbrack}}d\lambda_{m} = \Omega N\phi\varepsilon\left( \lambda_{x} \right)I_{0}.$$
The change in the measurement model amounts to a modification of the spectral correction function given by the term in brackets on the left side of [Eq. (5)](#fd5-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"}. [Eq. (5)](#fd5-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} supplants a similar equation in Ref. \[[@b3-j110-2gai]\]. The left side of [Eq. (5)](#fd5-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} is found experimentally by performing the specified operation on the measured fluorescence emission spectrum. The reference source used to calibrate the detector wavelength response was unpolarized. In order to minimize the effects due to polarization of the fluorescence emission, the incident laser beam polarization was confined to the plane defined by the incident and detected light beams. We made no estimate of possible artifacts due to polarization differences.
Suppose that the operation in [Eq. (5)](#fd5-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} is performed on the emission spectrum from a reference solution with known concentration of fluorophore and the emission spectrum from a suspension of microspheres with immobilized FITC. Furthermore, the number concentration of microspheres is known. In the case that the two numbers on the left of [Eq. (5)](#fd5-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} are equal, the corresponding solution and suspension properties on the right side of [Eq. (5)](#fd5-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} are also equal. $$\mathrm{\Omega}N_{\text{sol}}\phi_{\text{sol}}\varepsilon_{\text{sol}}\left( \lambda_{x} \right)I_{0} = \mathrm{\Omega}N_{\text{sus}}\phi_{\text{sus}}\varepsilon_{\text{sus}}\left( \lambda_{x} \right)I_{0}.$$
The subscripts "sol" and "sus" in [Eq. (6)](#fd6-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} refer to solution and suspension, respectively. We assume that the experimental conditions used for the measurements on solution and suspension are the same and that the solution and suspension have equal indexes of refraction. In that case, *I*~0~ and Ω are the same on both sides of [Eq. (6)](#fd6-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} and can be factored out. $$N_{\text{sol}}\phi_{\text{sol}}\varepsilon_{\text{sol}}\left( \lambda_{x} \right) = N_{\text{sus}}\phi_{\text{sus}}\varepsilon_{\text{sus}}\left( \lambda_{x} \right).$$
It is known from measurements that there are shifts in the wavelength of maximum absorption. It is likely that the absolute value of the extinction coefficient is also different. The extinction coefficient of fluorophore immobilized on a microsphere has not been measured due to predominance of scattering. However, we make the major assumption that the molar extinction coefficient is the same for fluorophore in solution and immobilized on the microsphere. Thus, [Eq. (7)](#fd7-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} reduces to an equality of fluorescence yields. $$N_{\text{sol}}\varphi_{\text{sol}} = N_{\text{sus}}\phi_{\text{sus}}.$$
Based on [Eq. (8)](#fd8-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"}*N*~sol~ is equivalent to *N*~sus~. The calculation used to assign molecules of equivalent soluble fluorophore (*MESF*) values to the microspheres is given by $$MESF = \frac{N_{A}}{1000}\frac{C_{\text{eq}}}{N_{\text{spheres}}}$$where *N*~sus~ = *N*~sphere~ (mL^−1^) is the number concentration of fluorescein labeled microspheres and *C*~eq~ is the molar concentration of soluble fluorescein which gives the same value for the left side of [Eq. (5)](#fd5-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} as the suspension of microspheres. Avogadro's constant, *N*~A~ (6.022 × 10^23^), in [Eq. (9)](#fd9-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} is a conversion factor between molar and number concentrations. The equivalent concentration of soluble fluorescein is determined using the fluorescein calibration curve $$C_{\text{eq}} = 10^{- \text{intercept}}\left( {FS \times P_{\text{adj}}} \right)^{\text{slope}}$$where "intercept" and "slope" are the linear fit parameters describing the relationship between the logarithm of the observed fluorescence signal and the logarithm of the concentration of fluorescein. *FS* is the fluorescence signal of the microsphere suspension evaluated according to the left side of [Eq. (5)](#fd5-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"}. The value *FS* has to be adjusted for possible differences in illumination intensity between the calibration measurements and the microsphere measurements. The ratio of the average of the power readings taken during the calibration and microsphere measurements is set equal to the adjustment factor, *P*~adj~, which multiplies *FS* in [Eq. (10)](#fd10-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"}. The power readings varied by less than 1 % during the calibration or the microsphere measurements. However, since the two measurements were taken on different days, the difference in average power could be as high as several percent. [Eq. (9)](#fd9-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} and [Eq. (10)](#fd10-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} constitute the operational definition of the *MESF* assignment.
In the following we describe the procedure used for obtaining the five factors needed in [Eq. (9)](#fd9-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} and [Eq. (10)](#fd10-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"}. As an example, the value of *MESF* is obtained for one specific suspension of microspheres.
3. Calibration of the Fluorometer
=================================
[Figure 1](#f1-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} shows a schematic of the fluorometer used in the *MESF* assignments. A water-cooled argon ion laser (Lexel model 95) was the source of 488 nm light. A glass slide reflected a portion of the output beam and directed it towards a photo diode (Newport 818 UV) whose output was processed by a power meter (Newport 1815-C). The accuracy of the power reading was about 2 % (product specifications). The output of the power meter was monitored as an index of relative illumination power which was used to determine the factor *P*~adj~ in [Eq. (10)](#fd10-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"}. The laser beam, transmitted through the glass slide, passed a neutral density (ND) filter wheel which contained ND filters of nominal optical density (OD) values 0, 1, 2, and 3. The beam passed through a laser line filter to eliminate plasma lines from the laser and then was directed via two mirrors to the entrance aperture of a 10× microscope objective. The two reflections changed the vertical polarization into horizontal. The objective lens focused the laser beam on a square capillary flow cell (WWP100375 from Polymicro Technologies) with a inner dimension of 100 µm. The portion of the capillary that was illuminated by the laser was stripped of the polyimide coating which normally surrounds the glass capillary. The capillary flow cell was mounted on a rotary stage which in turn was mounted on a *X*-*Y* translation stage. The rotary stage was used to position the capillary so that the incident beam was perpendicular to one of the sides. The *X*-*Y* stage was used to position the capillary at the position of the monochromator entrance slit image.
The Model 270M monochromator, made by JY Horiba, was equipped with a CCD-3000 Detector System. The CCD chip used in the measurements was back illuminated with a minimum quantum efficiency of 65 % at 550 nm. The operational temperature of the chip was 213 K with a dark current less than 4 e^−^ pixel^−1^ min^−1^. The pixel layout was 1024 by 256, and the dynamic range of the 16 bit analog to digital converter was 65535 digital number (*DN*). The measurements were performed by binning the 256 pixels in the short direction of the CCD chip. The entrance slit of the monochromator was equipped with a mechanical shutter, the single axial Model 227MCD (JY Horiba). Appendix A describes the procedures used to validate the performance of the fluorometer \[[@b4-j110-2gai]\].
3.1 Calibration of the Fluorometer With SRM 1932
------------------------------------------------
SRM 1932 certifies the concentration of fluorescein as (60.97 ± 0.88) µmol/kg. Given the density of the SRM buffer as 1.003 g/mL, the molar concentration of the SRM 1932 is (61.15 ± 0.88) µmol/L. This value of the concentration was used as the initial concentration. Serial dilutions were made by combining previously made solution with additional buffer. All solutions were prepared gravimetrically using a calibrated balance (Sartorius 2024MP) with a resolution of 0.01 mg. The errors were obtained from the standard deviation of four weighins. The standard error in the fluorescein concentrations was about 1.6 % and originated mostly from the initial error in the SRM concentration. The weighin errors contributed a minimal error to the final fluorescein concentrations.
3.2 Measurement of the Fluorescence Signal
------------------------------------------
The fluorescein solution was pumped with a peristaltic pump through a capillary flow cell \[[@b5-j110-2gai]\]. The 10× objective and the capillary were mounted on appropriate mounts to provide the necessary adjustment. A good adjustment was indicated by the appearance of a clean circular beam cross section after the transit through the capillary. Poor adjustment was characterized by complex interference bands from light reflected by various surfaces of the capillary. The capillary tube (length = 0.7 m) was coupled to a plastic tube (length = 20 cm) via a stainless steel pressure "Swagelok" coupling. The plastic tube was inserted into the pumping mechanism of a peristaltic pump (PP). A centrifuge vial (1.5 mL capacity) contained the test solution and a small magnetic stirring bar. The ends of the capillary or the plastic tube were inserted in the solution and the pump direction set appropriately to pump the solution to the waste container. Neither the capillary nor the plastic tube touched the waste solution. Formation and detachment of small droplets above the waste container was an indicator of flow.
The spectrum was accumulated over a period of 40 s leading to appearance of sharp spikes in the CCD response. The spikes are pixels with unusually large charge content, the spikes are confined to one or two adjacent pixels. We removed the spikes by simply replacing the contents of the pixel containing a spike (attributed to cosmic ray events hitting a pixel in the CCD array) by an average of the contents of two nearby pixels. The necessary overall dynamic range was obtained by varying the integration time from 0.5 s to 40 s, and by the dynamic range of the CCD itself (about 60). The ND filter was not used to modify the illumination intensity.
The peristaltic pump produced a pulsating flow with a time period of approximately 1.6 s. The strong illumination caused substantial photodegradation of the fluorescein solution in the capillary. The photodegradation and the pulsating flow produced a time variation in the fluorescence signal. This variation was averaged adequately during integration times longer then 5 s. However, for shorter integration times we had to take multiple measurements and average the resulting fluorescence signals. The pulsating fluorescence intensity enlarged the measurement errors for the concentrated fluorescein solutions. We avoided changing the intensity of the illuminating beam since that would change the photodegradation rate for measurements performed on solutions with different fluorescein concentrations. The assumption is made that the photodegradation is the same for solution and fluorescein immobilized on microspheres. To minimize possible systematic errors due to photodegradation, the flow conditions for the calibration and microsphere measurements were made as similar as possible. The polarization anisotropy for fluorescein solutions was approximately zero. Therefore, the measured spectra are characteristic of a solution of random emitters and systematic effects due to polarization are small.
3.3 Background Subtraction
--------------------------
[Figure 2a](#f2-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} shows the measured spectra of a pure phosphate buffer (solid circles) and a fluorescein solution with a concentration of approximately 16 pM (open circles) in phosphate buffer. The laser line filter shown in [Fig. 1](#f1-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} was a critical component in the fluorometer since without it the spectra in [Fig. 2a](#f2-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} would be an order of magnitude higher and dominated by laser plasma lines. The spectra in [Fig. 2a](#f2-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} have *DN* values larger than 2000, suggesting that CCD linearity correction was not significant. [Figure 2b](#f2-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} shows the spectrum when the buffer response is subtracted from the fluorescein solution response. As expected, the emission spectrum peaks at approximately 510 nm. The integration of the spectrum was performed by summing the *DN* values of the subtracted spectrum in [Fig. 2b](#f2-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"}. The resulting truncation errors for wavelengths less than 595 nm and wavelengths greater than 620 nm were not evaluated. We estimate that these truncations lead to a systematic bias of less than −1 %. Similar spectra were collected for solutions with higher values of fluorescein concentration and the integration time was lowered as required to insure that the resulting CCD response was not saturated. The subtracted spectrum was corrected for the spectral response of the detector as described in Appendix A. The corrected integration times were used to normalize all integrated fluorescence signals (*FS*) to the fluorescence signal (*FS*) at an integration time of 1 s.
[Figure 3](#f3-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} shows a log-log plot of the integrated *DN* values on the horizontal axis and five different concentrations of fluorescein plotted on the vertical axis. The best linear fit to the data in [Fig. 3](#f3-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} is $$\log(\text{concentration}) = - 15.20 + 0.957 \times \log(FS)$$
The errors of the fit parameters were 0.09 and 0.009 for the intercept and slope, respectively. The errors were obtained from a linear regression procedure in Mathcad. The lowest point (for a concentration of approximately 7 pmol/L) was systematically lower than expected from the linear trend set by the higher points. We rationalize this as an effect of adsorption of fluorescein on the capillary walls \[[@b4-j110-2gai]\]. A calibration was accepted if the slope of the best fit fell between 0.95 and 1.05. A perfectly linear relation has a slope of 1.0, however a deviation of ± 0.05 was accepted. The values of "intercept" and "slope" are used in [Eq. (10)](#fd10-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"}.
4. Measurement of Fluorescence From Microspheres With Immobilized FITC
======================================================================
The measurements of fluorescence signal were carried out in the identical apparatus as the calibration with serially diluted fluorescein solutions. Since the microsphere measurements were carried out after the fluorescein solution, great care was needed to eliminate possible contamination. Prior to the microsphere measurements, the capillary flow cell was washed for several hours. The washing was performed by pumping buffer through the capillary in alternating directions. The switch in pumping direction was important to clear possible dead spaces in the connection between the capillary tube and the plastic tube. As a rule of thumb, the cleaning was sufficiently good when the CCD signal was about 370 *DN* at 510 nm with an integration time of 10 s, and a power indicator of about 20. This number was obtained through experience. During all measurements the following pumping sequence was followed: first the suspension was pumped through the plastic tube into the capillary (this direction filled the capillary quickly); second the suspension was pumped through the capillary into the tube and fluorescence spectra were accumulated. Normal flow was indicated by the presence of a scattering diffraction pattern in the transmitted light. The pattern indicated the presence of spheres in the capillary as well as proper alignment. The intensity of the diffraction pattern fluctuated as expected since the number of microspheres in the sensing volume was of the order of twenty. On occasion, small bubbles passed through the illuminated region in the capillary. The passage of a bubble was obvious from the distortion of the transmitted laser beam. Clogging was obvious because flow stopped and the fluorescence signal decreased.
4.1 Fluorescence Measurement
----------------------------
[Figure 4a](#f4-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} shows the spectrum measured for a suspension of microspheres (Suspension \#1, open circles) and a suspension of blank microspheres (solid circles). The suspensions were identical to those used in the microsphere concentration measurements. The measurements in [Fig. 4a](#f4-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} were performed with integrating time of 40 s, and power indicator displaying 19.2. [Figure 4b](#f4-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} shows the difference spectrum. The location of maximum emission shifts to the red, and the spectrum is broader. Both facts are typical of emission from immobilized FITC and serve as additional indicators that the flow cell is clean and free of fluorescein in solution. The quality of background subtraction was gauged by the disappearance of the water Raman line centered at 585 nm. In further analysis, the spectra in [Fig. 4a](#f4-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} were corrected for CCD non linearity (≈0.8 % effect) and normalized to an integration time of 1 s. The spectrum was summed and the errors of the summed spectrum were estimated from multiple measurements. Spectral response corrections were made on the data in [Fig. 4](#f4-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} (≈3 % effect). The resultant summed spectrum for Suspension \#1 was (11220 ± 600) *DN*. The value of the summed spectrum was substituted for FS in [Eq. (10)](#fd10-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"}. Taking the ratio of average power levels during calibration and microsphere fluorescence measurements gave *P*~adj~ = 0.92 ± 0.02.
5. Measurement of Microsphere Concentration
===========================================
The microsphere concentration was measured using a Coulter Multisizer 3 particle counter. The instrument detects small changes in conductivity between two reservoirs separated by a narrow orifice of diameter 100 µm. Whenever a particle passes through the orifice from one reservoir to the other, a transient change in conductivity is detected and recorded as a particle. In practice, the reservoir outside the orifice is the test reservoir into which samples are placed. A volumetric syringe withdraws fluid from the test reservoir through the orifice and the concentration is determined as the particle counts divided by the preset volume of fluid withdrawn. The fluid that was placed into the test reservoir was obtained from the original fluid by diluting the original fluid about 500 times using Isotone fluid. Isotone is a proprietary fluid which has optimal properties for the performance of the Multisizer 3. The composition of Isotone is sufficiently close to that of phosphate buffer saline (PBS) so that microsphere suspension stability is not degraded. The concentration of the particles in the original fluid is found by multiplying the measured concentration by the reciprocal of the dilution.
5.1 Determination of the Dilution Factor of the Test Suspension
---------------------------------------------------------------
The microspheres were obtained from Bangs Laboratories as a special order and were delivered in 5 mL opaque plastic bottles. The nominal solids mass fraction was about 2 %. The microspheres, as shipped, were suspended in a solvent optimized for enhancing the stability of the suspension. For the purpose of measuring the fluorescence signal of the microspheres, it was necessary to re-suspend the microspheres in pH = 7.2 PBS. The first step was to take about 1 ml of the microsphere suspension directly from the plastic bottle and centrifuge it (Marathon 13K centrifuge from Fisher Scientific at 2000 rpm). The pellet of microspheres was then re-suspended in 1 ml of PBS, pH 7.2, containing ≈0.1 mg SDS. An additional advantage of buffer exchange is that possible soluble fluorescent impurities in the bottle are minimized. The mass of about 200 µg of the resulting suspension was placed into a container with a mass of Isotone equivalent to about 100 ml of Isotone. The mass of the buffer was determined using a balance, OHaus ED4130, while the suspension was transferred using calibrated 100 µL or 200 µL pipettes and the mass approximated as 0.1996 g using the known density of water. A gravimetric check of the amount of solution delivered by the 100 µL pipette gave (0.10016 ± 0.0006) g using water at 23 °C and a Sartorius 2024 MP balance. The error in the reciprocal of the dilution factor was estimated to be less than 1 %. The remaining suspension was used for fluorescence measurements as described above.
5.2 Concentration Measurement
-----------------------------
Prior to each series of measurements the operation of the Multisizer 3 was verified by running a suspension of calibration microspheres. The quality of the measurement was evaluated by measuring the mean diameter of the microspheres, and the coefficient of variation (CV) of the diameter values. The diluted microsphere suspension was placed in the Multisizer 3 and stirred at an indicated rate of 13 rpm. An image of the orifice was always examined to verify that the orifice was free from debris. The instrument analytical volume was set to 500 µL or 1 ml and a dilution factor (as determined above) was entered as a parameter in the acquisition software. [Figure 5](#f5-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} shows a typical result of a single Multisizer 3 measurement. The horizontal axis gives the inferred particle diameter, and the vertical axis gives the number of times a particle with this diameter passed through the orifice. Using the dilution factor, the vertical axis can be converted into concentration. The inferred concentration of Suspension 1 was (1.427 ± 0.016) × 10^6^ mL^−1^ for all particles with diameters between 6.3 µm and 8.1 µm. The peak to the right of the main peak corresponds to "doublets". These are events associated with the passage of two particles. The concentration of "doublets" (diameters between 8.3 µm and 9.7 µm) was calculated to be (0.077 ± 0.002) × 10^6^ mL^−1^. Since the concentration of particles in the test solution is small, it is likely that the "doublets" correspond to permanent associations of two microspheres. For permanent associations, the radii of doublets and triplets are related to the particle radius by *r*~doublet~ = 2^1/3^*r*~sphere~ and *r*~triplets~ = 3^1/3^*r*~sphere~ respectively. These relations are consistent with the observed size distributions of singlets, doublets, and triplets. This measurement of particle associations is relevant to the proper interpretation of the fluorescence signal as discussed below. The concentration measurement was repeated five times and the error associated with each concentration was found by dividing the standard deviation by the square root of 5, the number of trials. It should be noted that the error in the concentration is about 5 % implying that the error due to the uncertainty of the dilution factor (about 1 %) is negligible. The error of the concentration measurement is due mainly to the statistics of the particles entering the orifice. Whenever possible, the errors in the concentration measurement were minimized by using more concentrated test suspensions and larger sampling volumes.
5.3 Correction for Microsphere Doublets
---------------------------------------
Both the Multisizer 3 and the cytometer measurements show the presence of microsphere doublets- permanent associations of two microspheres. Some aggregation of colloidal particles is expected and the amount depends on previous treatments (e.g., sonication, age, and solvent). The concentration measurements were performed with the same suspension as the fluorescence measurements. Furthermore the two measurements were performed on the same day. The simplest assumptions are that the Multisizer 3 gives the correct concentration of doublets in the suspension used for fluorescence measurements and that the fluorescence intensity from doublets is twice the fluorescence intensity from single microspheres. Therefore, in comparing the fluorescence yield of a suspension and solution we multiply the doublet concentration by a factor of two relative to the singlet concentration. $$N_{\text{Total}} = N_{\text{Single}} + 2N_{\text{Double}}.$$
Where *N*~Single~ is the number concentration of single microspheres, *N*~Double~ is the number concentration of double microspheres, and *N*~Total~ is the total concentration which should be used in comparing fluorescence yields in [Eq. (9)](#fd9-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"}. The assumption that the fluorescence intensity from a double microsphere is twice the fluorescence from a single microsphere is qualified by such consideration as distortion of the illuminating light and changes in quantum yield at point of contact between the microspheres. The measured polarization anisotropy in microsphere suspensions was about 0.08. This small value was rationalized by the large tether length of the chain of seven carbon atoms that immobilized the FITC to the microsphere surface. A long tether permits considerable rotational freedom. The systematic effects due to polarization differences between solution and microsphere suspension were neglected.
6. Assignment of *MESF* Values
==============================
The assignment of values of molecules of equivalent soluble fluorophore (*MESF*) entails the comparison of the fluorescence signal from suspensions of microspheres with immobilized fluorophore and solutions of fluorophore \[[@b3-j110-2gai]\]. The comparison requires the integration of the emitted fluorescence over all wavelengths. The comparison requires a correction for differences in the molar absorption coefficient of soluble and immobilized fluorescein. Fluorescence excitation spectra show that the absorption spectra of the soluble and immobilized fluorescein are shifted relative to each other \[[@b3-j110-2gai]\]. The fluorescence excitation spectra allow us to estimate the change in absorbance at 488 nm due to the shift. However, we were not able to measure the absolute value of the molar absorption coefficient for the immobilized fluorescein. This adjustment is left for a future refinement. The values of FS, "intercept", "slope", Padj, and *N*~spheres~ were used in [Eq. (9)](#fd9-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} and [Eq. (10)](#fd10-j110-2gai){ref-type="disp-formula"} to calculate a value of *MESF* of 1667 ± 400. The same procedure was carried out for the other suspensions. Four independent series of measurements were carried out and the resulting *MESF* values averaged to give the final value reported in the Certificate of Investigation.
7. Linearization of *MESF* Assignments With a Cytometer
=======================================================
The objective of this measurement was to demonstrate that the *MESF* assignments obtained with the fluorometer were self-consistent. The microspheres were passed through a cytometer, and the response was measured. Each population of microspheres produced a population of fluorescence pulses which are characterized by a mean pulse area and a standard variation. Since the cytometer response is linear, the mean pulse height of the five populations of microspheres should correlate linearly with the assigned values of *MESF*. The cytometer does not provide a measurement of the absolute *MESF* values, however it does place a stringent constraint on relative *MESF* values. The *MESF* values obtained with the fluorometer were modified so that they correlate linearly with the mean channel measured with the cytometer. Appendix B gives details of the procedure used for validating the performance of the cytometer.
7.1 Microsphere Measurements
----------------------------
Alignment microspheres from Spherotech Corp. were used to align the cytometer laser beam. The alignment was sufficiently good when the fluorescence pulse mean channel was between 180 000 *DN* and 200 000 *DN*, and the CV was better than 4 %. After the alignment, the six populations of the microspheres in the reference material were mixed and pumped through the cytometer and the corresponding fluorescence and scattering peaks recorded. The suspensions were prepared by putting two drops of the suspension from each of the six plastic bottles into 1 ml of PBS buffer. [Figure 6](#f6-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} shows typical results. Note that the single and double microsphere signals are resolved. The dense groupings with circular bounds correspond to single microsphere signals. Diagonally to the upper right of each dense grouping are less dense groupings (not enclosed by boundaries) corresponding to the passage of double microspheres. The table in [Fig. 6](#f6-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} gives the properties of the groups of dots enclosed by the circular bounds. The *Y* geometric mean gives the mean scattering pulse amplitude, while the *X* geometric mean gives the mean fluorescence pulse height for each population. As expected, the scattering is relatively constant for the five populations, while the fluorescence signal differs substantially.
[Figure 7](#f7-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} shows a plot of the log of the mean fluorescence channel (*X* geometric means in [Fig. 6](#f6-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"}) associated with each microsphere as a function of the log of the assigned *MESF* value for each microsphere. As described above, the *MESF* assignments were performed using the fluorometer. A fit to a straight line gives a slope of 0.984, indicating that there is a small deviations from linearity. All points are within two standard deviations of the best straight line fit. Since the cytometer is a linear device, the measured mean channels should correlate linearly with the *MESF* values which are proportionate to the number of fluorophore on the microsphere and hence to the fluorescence signal. This fact provides a means to linearize the assigned *MESF* values.
7.2 Linearization
-----------------
The response of the cytometer was shown to be linear over the dynamic range encompassing the response of the five microsphere populations. Therefore, the *MESF* values have to correlate linearly with the observed mean channels in the cytometer measurement. The cytometer measurement provides a relative ordering of the *MESF* values but gives no measure of the absolute values. The procedure that was used to impose a linear relation on the *MESF* values determined by fluorometer was as follows. The solid circles in [Fig. 7](#f7-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} show the *MESF* values obtained in Series 4 measurements as a function of mean cytometer channel. The data in [Fig. 7](#f7-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"} was fitted with a straight line whose slope was constrained to 1.027, which characterizes the cytometer linearity. Next, the *MESF* value given by the straight line was calculated for each mean channel. This calculated value is the linearized *MESF* value obtained for that series of measurements.
8. Certification of *MESF* Values
=================================
The *MESF* values were assigned by averaging the values obtained in four independent measurements each consisting of 1) calibration of the fluorometer using SRM 1932, 2) measurement of the microsphere fluorescence intensity, and 3) measurement of the microsphere concentration. The data in each set of four measurements gave an assignment of *MESF* values to the five populations of microspheres. The four different assignments provide a measure of reproducibility and an estimate of random error. The possible error obtained from the variation of the four *MESF* assignments was consistent with the error estimate for each of the four *MESF* assignments. The average values are reproduced in the Certificate of Investigation for RM 8640. The cytometer measurements were used to linearize the *MESF* values yielding values of linearized *MESF*. The four values of linearized *MESF* were averaged to give the average linearized *MESF* values in the Certificate of Investigation. The certificate includes both the average *MESF* values determined by the fluorometer, and the average linearized *MESF* values.
The *MESF* values were assigned under certain assumptions which are restated below in the order of decreasing relevance. The molar extinction coefficient is the same for fluorescein in solution and fluorescein immobilized on the microspheres. It is known that there are differences in the wavelength of maximum absorption between fluorescein in solution and on the surface of the microsphere. It is expected that the magnitude at maximum absorption will also be different, however these have not been measured yet. The difference in molar extinction coefficient can be taken into account as soon as the values become available. The equality of fluorescence yield would imply that *N*~sus~ microspheres are equivalent to a concentration of soluble fluorophore given by *N*~sol~\[*ε*~sol~(*λ*~x~)/*ε*~sus~(*λ*~x~)\].Photodegradation of fluorescein is the same in solution and at the surface of the microsphere. Systematic measurements of photodegradation in the two environments are not available. Differences in photodegradation rate would lead to systematic differences in the fluorescence signal between calibration measurements and microsphere measurements.Residual polarization of fluorescence emission is the same for fluorescein in solution and at the surface of the microsphere. The measured polarization anisotropies are slightly different for fluorescein in solution and on the surface of a microsphere. Sensitivity of detectors to polarization would lead to small systematic differences in fluorescence signal between fluorescein in solution and on the surface of microspheres.Adsorption on capillary flow cell walls is the same. If the adsorption (and holdup in dead spaces) of fluorescein in solution and fluorescein on microspheres is not the same, then there will be systematic differences in the fluorescence signal at low and high concentrations.Illumination of FITC immobilized on microspheres is the same as the illumination of fluorescein in homogeneous solution.
9. Conclusions
==============
A method was described for comparing the fluorescence yields of a solution of fluorescein and a suspension of microspheres with immobilized fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). The equality of fluorescence yields leads to an assignment of molecules of equivalent soluble fluorophore (*MESF*) to a microsphere with immobilized FITC. The *MESF* values may be the appropriate units for comparing fluorescence measurements. There is a need to investigate the validity of some of the assumptions that were made in carrying out the *MESF* assignment as described above.
10. Appendix A. Fluorometer Characterization
============================================
10.1 Wavelength Calibration
---------------------------
The wavelength calibration was performed using mercury lamp lines, and a neon lamp (Oriel 6032). The parameters in the data acquisition software were adjusted so that over the wavelength range 480 nm to 700 nm, the deviation between the true and measured wavelengths was less than 1 nm.
10.2 CCD Linearity
------------------
The output of a light emitting diode (LED) was passed through a variable ND filter and focused on the end of a bifurcated optical fiber. One of the arms of the optical fiber was placed at the location of the sample in the monochromator setup (see [Fig. 1](#f1-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"}), and the other arm was placed in front of a photo diode (PD). Silicon photodiodes are known to be linear within 0.1 % up to a photocurrent of 200 µA \[[@b6-j110-2gai]\]. The LED spectrum was recorded by the CCD for an integration time of 0.2 s. The spectrum was taken with automatic subtraction of the dark current. The CCD response was characterized by finding the average value of *DN* in a narrow range (518 nm to 522 nm) of wavelengths around the maximum response. The integrated CCD response was compared to the photo diode reading.
We examined the dependence of the average signal in *DN* as a function of the PD response. There was a substantial deviation from linearity at low values of *DN*. The most likely source of this deviation is trapping of electrons during the readout process \[[@b7-j110-2gai]\]. During readout, the electrons are switched sequentially from pixel to pixel. The trapping centers prevent some of the electrons from reaching the final register pixel. Since the number of trapping sites is fixed, the relative importance of these sites increases with decreasing number of total electrons. The measured deviations provide a factor which can be used to linearize the CCD response. Thus the linearized *DN* value is given by $$\begin{array}{l}
{{(DN)}_{\text{linear}} = {(DN)}_{\text{measured}}(1 + f)} \\
{\mspace{67mu} f = 10^{\lbrack 0.6418 - 0.7181^{\prime}\log(DN_{\text{measured}})\rbrack}} \\
\end{array}$$where (*DN*)~measured~ is the *DN* value that is read out during a measurement and (*DN*)~linear~ is the linearized value of the CCD response which is used in further data analysis. The factor *f* was obtained from the fit of the deviation of the measured CCD data from the linear PD response. We did not assign an error to the correction. The correction was applied to background measurements and sample measurements prior to subtraction of background. The correction is negligible for *DN* values above 600.
10.3 Integration Time Linearity
-------------------------------
The CCD accumulates electrons for a preset integration time that is determined by a mechanical shutter located after the entrance slit of the monochromator. To measure the correspondence between the integration time setting in the software and the actual time, we illuminated the monochromator entrance slit with a constant light source and measured the CCD response for different indicated integration times *t*~indicated~. The reference light source (see Sec. 10.4) was used as the constant light source. The CCD response was integrated from 540 nm to 560 nm. The ratio of the CCD response divided by indicated time *t*~indicated~ relative to the CCD response for 1 s of indicated integration time showed a bias in the indicated time setting. At indicated times longer than 1 s, the actual integration time is shorter than the indicted time. The difference between the actual integration time, *t*~actual~, and the indicated integration time, *t*~indicated~, was corrected by multiplying the indicated time by the correction factor 1.00102--0.000782 × *t*~indicated~.
10.4 Spectral Response
----------------------
The reference lamp's output was calibrated at NIST over the range of wavelengths 340 nm to 800 nm in steps of 20 nm. The output port of the calibrated lamp was placed at the location of the sample in the fluorometer. The variable iris of the calibrated lamp was set so that the CCD response was between 10 000 *DN* and 40 000 *DN*. The CCD linearity is excellent in this region.
We formed the ratio of calibrated output of the reference lamp to the output at 520 nm (normalized reference output) and compared it to the ratio of measured CCD response of the reference lamp to the CCD response at 520 nm (normalized CCD response). The sharp decline in the response at shorter wavelengths was due to the holographic filter which was used to reject the 488 nm excitation light. The spectral correction factor was obtained by dividing the normalized reference output by the normalized CCD response to the reference lamp. Multiplying the measured CCD response by the correction factor corrects for the variability of the detector response over the wavelength range.
11. Appendix B. Cytometer Characterization
==========================================
The cytometer was constructed to be as simple as possible with all physical processes open to inspection. An air-cooled Argon ion laser (Omnichrome Model 150) provided the source of 488 nm illumination. The laser beam was focused by a spherical lens with a focal length of 50 mm. The focal point was located in the flow channel of a cytometer flow cell provided by Becton Dickinson Biosciences. The sample was pumped by a syringe pump (Yale Apparatus Model YA-12), and the sheath fluid was pumped by the pressure in the container vessel. A flow meter (Aalberg Model TMR1-010426) in the sheath flow line gave an indication of the flow rate (usually set to 90 scale units). The laser beam passed through a glass plate whose orientation provided a sensitive adjustment of the beam position in the scattering plane. The flow cell contained the collection optics that focused the emitted light about 25 cm from the lens where photomultiplier (PMT) detectors (Hamamatsu Model H6780) were placed. The usual arrangement of dichroic mirror (DM) and bandpass filters selected the fluorescence and elastically scattered light components. The outputs from the two PMTs were processed by digital electronics provided by Becton Dickinson Biosciences (BD FACSDiVa system). An oscilloscope provided a visual monitor of the pulses associated with the side scattering (SSC) and the first fluorescence (FL1) channels of the detection electronics.
11.1 Linearity and Dynamic Range
--------------------------------
The output of a green LED was focused on a slit of a chopper and then split by a glass plate reflector and passed to the inputs of two optical fiber (FO) bundles. One of the split beams (that transmitted through the glass plate) passed through a neutral density (ND) filter, and the FO routed the light to the PMT associated with the first fluorescence channel (FL1). The other beam (reflected from the glass plate) was incident on the FO that routed the light to the PMT associated with the side scattering channel (SSC). The chopper rotation was adjusted to give pulses that approximated the duration of the pulses from the microspheres in the flow cell. The adjustment was performed by visual inspection of the oscilloscope traces. The pulse rate was about 190 pulses per second. The linearity measurements were performed by noting the mean channel of the detected pulses in FL1 for a given OD value of the ND filter. Six ND filters were purchased from Newport Corp., and the attenuation values were used as provided by the manufacturer. The data was accumulated by recording events for different OD values of the ND filters. The six mean channels corresponding to OD values of 0, 0.51, 1.05, 1.50, 1.98. and 2.49 were recorded. The mean channels were plotted on a log-log scale versus the OD values. The average slope was found to be 1.027 ± 0.008. Therefore, we conclude that the cytometer response is linear. We assume that the photon pulses in the above simulation and from fluorescent microspheres behave in an identical fashion.
The noise properties of the cytometer are given by the coefficient of variation (CV) defined as the standard deviation of a pulse distribution divided by the mean pulse amplitude \[[@b8-j110-2gai]\]. A linear relation between (CV)^2^ and the inverse of the mean pulse amplitude was observed, and indicated that the main source of noise was the statistics of photon arrival at the photomultiplier cathode.
The authors are indebted to Dr. John Lu for assistance in the statistical analysis of data. We are indebted to Dr. Gary Kramer for the use of a reference light source.
Certain commercial equipment, instruments, or materials are identified in this paper to foster understanding. Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement by NIST, nor does it imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose.
**About the authors:** A. K. Gaigalas is a physicist and Lili Wang a research chemist both in the Biotechnology Division of the NIST Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory. Abe Schwartz is a chemist at the Center for Quantitative Cytometry. Gerald E. Marti is a review and research officer at CBER, FDA and an attending physician at NCI. Robert F. Vogt is a chemist at the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is an agency of the Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
![A schematic diagram of the fluorometer used for the assignment of *MESF* values to microspheres, with immobilized fluorescein isothiocyanate, in suspension. The instrument is a modified Raman spectrometer. A square capillary flow cell with 100 µm inside dimension contained the flowing sample. Not shown is a peristaltic pump which pumped the sample from a 1.5 mL vial.](j110-2gaif1){#f1-j110-2gai}
![(a) The top trace is the recorded fluorescence spectrum from a solution with a fluorescein concentration of 16 pmol/L. The bottom trace is the spectrum from a pure buffer. The dominant features in both traces are the water Raman line at 585 nm and Raman lines from the capillary walls. Both traces were taken with a 40 s integration time. Spikes were eliminated by replacing the contents of a pixel with a spike by the average of the contents of several adjacent pixels. (b) The fluorescence from fluorescein determined by subtracting the bottom trace from the upper trace in (a). The quality of the subtraction is judged by the amount of residual Raman line. The integrated fluorescence signal (FS) was found by summing the subtracted trace. The sum is a good approximation of the integral over all wavelengths.](j110-2gaif2){#f2-j110-2gai}
![The plot of the log of the concentration of a fluorescein solution versus the log of the integrated fluorescence signal (*FS*) associated with the known concentration. The ideally linear response has a slope of 1.0. The linear relation between the logs of the two quantities constitutes a calibration of the fluorometer.](j110-2gaif3){#f3-j110-2gai}
![(a) The top trace is the recorded fluorescence spectrum from a suspension of microspheres with immobilized FITC. These are the microspheres with the smallest amount of FITC. The bottom trace is the spectrum from a suspension of microspheres with no FITC, "blank" microspheres. The dominant features in both traces are the water Raman line at 585 nm and Raman lines from the capillary walls. Both traces were taken with a 40 s integration time. Spikes were eliminated by replacing the contents of a pixel with a spike by the average of the contents of several adjacent pixels. (b) The fluorescence spectrum from microspheres determined by subtracting the bottom trace from the upper trace in (a). The integrated fluorescence signal (*FS*) was found by summing the subtracted trace.](j110-2gaif4){#f4-j110-2gai}
![The frequency distribution of microspheres of specific size as determined by the Coulter Multisizer 3. The data was taken for a 500 µL sample of diluted suspension of the microspheres. Using the known dilution factor and the number of particles of the appropriate size, a concentration of microspheres was determined. The peak to the right of the major peak corresponds to microsphere "doublets" which are permanent associations of two microspheres. The concentration of "doublets" was also determined.](j110-2gaif5){#f5-j110-2gai}
![Output window from FCS Express V2, a program for the analysis of cytometer data. The upper diagram shows the distribution of side scattering signals (SSC) and fluorescence signals (FL1) from six populations of microspheres containing different amounts of immobilized FITC. The broad peak closest to the SSC-A axis is the signal from the blank microspheres with no immobilized FITC. The table below the diagram contains the geometric means of the scattering signal (*Y*) and fluorescence signal (*X*) for each of the five populations defined by the circular regions in the graph above. The row label "1" denotes the population with the highest fluorescence signal. The row labeled "None" contains the geometric means for the entire data set. Other parameters, such as the width of the distribution, can also be obtained for each population.](j110-2gaif6){#f6-j110-2gai}
![The plot of the log of the *MESF* value assigned to a given microsphere population versus the log of the mean channel determined by the cytometer (*X* in the Table in [Fig. 6](#f6-j110-2gai){ref-type="fig"}). The cytometer measurements provide a relative relation between the *MESF* values. The *MESF* values determined by the fluorometer were modified slightly to conform to the linear relation as given by the cytometer measurements.](j110-2gaif7){#f7-j110-2gai}
| {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Central"
} |
---
id: i18n
title: Internationalization
---
## Add a language
### Edit your bot configs
In the Admin section > Your bots > Configs
![Bot Config](assets/i18n-configs.png)
### Switch language
Go back to Studio and switch language
![Switch Language](assets/i18n-switch-lang.png)
You'll see a "missing translation" notification on your content
![Missing Translation](assets/i18n-missing-translation.png)
### Translate your content
Edit the content and add a translation
![Edit Content](assets/i18n-edit-content.png)
![Edited Content](assets/i18n-edited-content.png)
## Change the language
Botpress use the browser language to detect the user language. This is stored in the `language` field of the user attributes. It is possible to change the language of a user by modifying this field.
See [updateAttributes](https://botpress.com/reference/modules/_botpress_sdk_.users.html#updateattributes)
Example usage:
```js
await bp.users.updateAttributes('web', 'someId', { language: 'fr' })
```
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
Article Photos
Clearly, it wasn't the same Morgantown team, which has beaten Martinsburg, Parkersburg South and now Park, all teams that have been in the Class AAA Top 10 at different points this season.
Morgantown started quickly, leading by as many as 13 points in the first half.
At times, it seemed like the Mohigans couldn't miss. Even big man C.J. King, who at 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, was the biggest man on the floor. He hit both his 3-point attempts in the first half.
"That was important," Tom Yester said of the first-half run by the Mohigans. "What Park likes to do is blitz teams and you end up playing catch up and you can't do it because they are so athletic.
Wheeling Park coach Mike Jebbia knew first half spelled trouble.
"That was classic deep-hole syndrome," Jebbia said. "We got so far behind we had to expend a lot of energy just to get back in the game."
Park (12-5) woke from its lethargic play for a moment near the end of the first half," using a 6-0 run to cut a 12-point deficit in half to make it 37-31.
But just like that, Morgantown found a spark, using a 5-0 run in the final moments of the first half to lead 42-31 at the half.
"We get it down to single digits there, who knows, maybe it's a different game," Jebbia said. "As it was, it was a pretty key run for them right there."
Park went to a 1-3-1 press in the second half and it started paying dividends, getting the Patriots back in the game.
Elijah Bell, who was making his first career start, got a steal and an emphatic slam dunk to cut the Mohigans lead to four in the fourth quarter.,
Park got as close as three points, but the breaks kept going against the Patriots.
One time, Savion Johnson, who played well off the bench, seemed to have a rebound corralled with Park making a run in the third. It bounced out of his hands to Zakeem Divas for an easy stick back.
Core also countered with several big shots in the fourth and Morgantown went 12 of 15 at the free throw line in the final eight minutes.
"Whenever they needed a shot, or needed a big play, they got it," Jebbia said. "I give them a lot of credit because they really played a great game and they made the plays they had to make to win the game."
"It is huge," Core said. "We wanted to come out, play well, and not just win this championship, but try to earn a home game (in the postpones). We have a pretty good home-court advantage with our fans."
Park was led by Ryan Reinbeau's 18 points, all but two coming in the first half.
"We wanted to make things difficult for Ryan, but he played really well in the first half," Yester said. "I thought we played pretty well aside from that in the first half."
Bell had 17 for the Patriots.
Park did have good play off the bench during its third quarter comeback, from Johnson, Chalmer Moffett and Richard Cummings, who had six points in his first extended action of the season.
"Richard came in and did a good job," Jebbia said. "We are looking for an eighth man and I though Richard showed he deserves a chance to do that."
Aside from Core, whose 25 points was the most by a player in the 5A championship game since it moved to OUE seven years ago, Antonio Morgano had 13, King 12 and Steven Soloman 11.
The 76 points Morgantown scored was the most Park has given up this season. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Q:
What happens when your score reaches 2048?
In the new game Flappy 2048 what happens when your score reaches this magic number, and through what colors does your tile change during its journey?
A:
Everything is essentially the same as the original 2048. Once you have a 2048 tile, the game will give you the option to continue. It is worth noting, however, that the timer will not stop when the overlay is shown, but keyboard input will still be rejected. If you wish to keep playing beyond 2048 points, you had better be quick dismissing the overlay.
As for the colours, they are again the same as 2048, but for half the value. So a tile with value 2 will have the 2048 style for a 4 tile, an 8 tile will have the same as a 16, etc.
Source: completing the game digging through the code.
A:
The overlay will not show, as i tested (with barriers removed).
The tile's appearance is the same as it is 2048.
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
10.18.2011
Class prep work
Some class sketch work for demonstrative purposes. Kids love that stuff, right? Anyway, working on a story along with my class to add emphasis to the lessons in character development I'm teaching. Tired Swordsman's leg is kinda stumpy, but I'll get to that pre-inks. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Q:
Excel - SUMIFS + INDEX + MATCH with Multiple Criteria
In the example below, I'm trying to sum any numbers that fit the criteria: Beverage + RTD Coffee for the month of January from the source.
This is the formula that I'm currently trying to use for the above scenario:
=SUMIFS(INDEX('Grocery Input'!$D8:$BY66,MATCH(1,('Grocery Input'!$D8:$D66=Summary!$D8)*('Grocery Input'!$E8:$E66=Summary!$E8),0),F$6),'Grocery Input'!$D8:$D66,"="&Summary!$D8,'Grocery Input'!$E8:$E66,"="&Summary!$E8)
It needs to check both the 'Family' criteria and "Master Category' criteria
A:
Can you just eliminate the index match portion of the formulas and use SUMIFS with direct cell references?
For example,
=SUMIFS('Grocery Input'!$AD$8:$AD$66,'Grocery Input'!$D$8:$D$66,Summary!$D8,'Grocery Input'!$E$8:$E$66,Summary!$E8)
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
I got an AWESOME Casio Keyboard and a lovely note! My gifter stalked me and saw where I mentioned (I think maybe even last winter???)that I wanted to learn how to play piano and was asking what keyboard is best etc.
She, as a musician, took this chance to spread the love of music. I only hope I learn well enough to make her proud!
Thanks so much Marshmallowblues!!
PS the kids saw it and tried to attack it immediately. I had to give them their kid keyboard to fend them off! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
package cli
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"os"
"strings"
"text/tabwriter"
"text/template"
)
// AppHelpTemplate is the text template for the Default help topic.
// cli.go uses text/template to render templates. You can
// render custom help text by setting this variable.
var AppHelpTemplate = `NAME:
{{.Name}}{{if .Usage}} - {{.Usage}}{{end}}
USAGE:
{{if .UsageText}}{{.UsageText}}{{else}}{{.HelpName}} {{if .VisibleFlags}}[global options]{{end}}{{if .Commands}} command [command options]{{end}} {{if .ArgsUsage}}{{.ArgsUsage}}{{else}}[arguments...]{{end}}{{end}}{{if .Version}}{{if not .HideVersion}}
VERSION:
{{.Version}}{{end}}{{end}}{{if .Description}}
DESCRIPTION:
{{.Description}}{{end}}{{if len .Authors}}
AUTHOR{{with $length := len .Authors}}{{if ne 1 $length}}S{{end}}{{end}}:
{{range $index, $author := .Authors}}{{if $index}}
{{end}}{{$author}}{{end}}{{end}}{{if .VisibleCommands}}
COMMANDS:{{range .VisibleCategories}}{{if .Name}}
{{.Name}}:{{end}}{{range .VisibleCommands}}
{{join .Names ", "}}{{"\t"}}{{.Usage}}{{end}}{{end}}{{end}}{{if .VisibleFlags}}
GLOBAL OPTIONS:
{{range $index, $option := .VisibleFlags}}{{if $index}}
{{end}}{{$option}}{{end}}{{end}}{{if .Copyright}}
COPYRIGHT:
{{.Copyright}}{{end}}
`
// CommandHelpTemplate is the text template for the command help topic.
// cli.go uses text/template to render templates. You can
// render custom help text by setting this variable.
var CommandHelpTemplate = `NAME:
{{.HelpName}} - {{.Usage}}
USAGE:
{{if .UsageText}}{{.UsageText}}{{else}}{{.HelpName}}{{if .VisibleFlags}} [command options]{{end}} {{if .ArgsUsage}}{{.ArgsUsage}}{{else}}[arguments...]{{end}}{{end}}{{if .Category}}
CATEGORY:
{{.Category}}{{end}}{{if .Description}}
DESCRIPTION:
{{.Description}}{{end}}{{if .VisibleFlags}}
OPTIONS:
{{range .VisibleFlags}}{{.}}
{{end}}{{end}}
`
// SubcommandHelpTemplate is the text template for the subcommand help topic.
// cli.go uses text/template to render templates. You can
// render custom help text by setting this variable.
var SubcommandHelpTemplate = `NAME:
{{.HelpName}} - {{if .Description}}{{.Description}}{{else}}{{.Usage}}{{end}}
USAGE:
{{if .UsageText}}{{.UsageText}}{{else}}{{.HelpName}} command{{if .VisibleFlags}} [command options]{{end}} {{if .ArgsUsage}}{{.ArgsUsage}}{{else}}[arguments...]{{end}}{{end}}
COMMANDS:{{range .VisibleCategories}}{{if .Name}}
{{.Name}}:{{end}}{{range .VisibleCommands}}
{{join .Names ", "}}{{"\t"}}{{.Usage}}{{end}}
{{end}}{{if .VisibleFlags}}
OPTIONS:
{{range .VisibleFlags}}{{.}}
{{end}}{{end}}
`
var helpCommand = Command{
Name: "help",
Aliases: []string{"h"},
Usage: "Shows a list of commands or help for one command",
ArgsUsage: "[command]",
Action: func(c *Context) error {
args := c.Args()
if args.Present() {
return ShowCommandHelp(c, args.First())
}
ShowAppHelp(c)
return nil
},
}
var helpSubcommand = Command{
Name: "help",
Aliases: []string{"h"},
Usage: "Shows a list of commands or help for one command",
ArgsUsage: "[command]",
Action: func(c *Context) error {
args := c.Args()
if args.Present() {
return ShowCommandHelp(c, args.First())
}
return ShowSubcommandHelp(c)
},
}
// Prints help for the App or Command
type helpPrinter func(w io.Writer, templ string, data interface{})
// Prints help for the App or Command with custom template function.
type helpPrinterCustom func(w io.Writer, templ string, data interface{}, customFunc map[string]interface{})
// HelpPrinter is a function that writes the help output. If not set a default
// is used. The function signature is:
// func(w io.Writer, templ string, data interface{})
var HelpPrinter helpPrinter = printHelp
// HelpPrinterCustom is same as HelpPrinter but
// takes a custom function for template function map.
var HelpPrinterCustom helpPrinterCustom = printHelpCustom
// VersionPrinter prints the version for the App
var VersionPrinter = printVersion
// ShowAppHelpAndExit - Prints the list of subcommands for the app and exits with exit code.
func ShowAppHelpAndExit(c *Context, exitCode int) {
ShowAppHelp(c)
os.Exit(exitCode)
}
// ShowAppHelp is an action that displays the help.
func ShowAppHelp(c *Context) (err error) {
if c.App.CustomAppHelpTemplate == "" {
HelpPrinter(c.App.Writer, AppHelpTemplate, c.App)
return
}
customAppData := func() map[string]interface{} {
if c.App.ExtraInfo == nil {
return nil
}
return map[string]interface{}{
"ExtraInfo": c.App.ExtraInfo,
}
}
HelpPrinterCustom(c.App.Writer, c.App.CustomAppHelpTemplate, c.App, customAppData())
return nil
}
// DefaultAppComplete prints the list of subcommands as the default app completion method
func DefaultAppComplete(c *Context) {
for _, command := range c.App.Commands {
if command.Hidden {
continue
}
for _, name := range command.Names() {
fmt.Fprintln(c.App.Writer, name)
}
}
}
// ShowCommandHelpAndExit - exits with code after showing help
func ShowCommandHelpAndExit(c *Context, command string, code int) {
ShowCommandHelp(c, command)
os.Exit(code)
}
// ShowCommandHelp prints help for the given command
func ShowCommandHelp(ctx *Context, command string) error {
// show the subcommand help for a command with subcommands
if command == "" {
HelpPrinter(ctx.App.Writer, SubcommandHelpTemplate, ctx.App)
return nil
}
for _, c := range ctx.App.Commands {
if c.HasName(command) {
if c.CustomHelpTemplate != "" {
HelpPrinterCustom(ctx.App.Writer, c.CustomHelpTemplate, c, nil)
} else {
HelpPrinter(ctx.App.Writer, CommandHelpTemplate, c)
}
return nil
}
}
if ctx.App.CommandNotFound == nil {
return NewExitError(fmt.Sprintf("No help topic for '%v'", command), 3)
}
ctx.App.CommandNotFound(ctx, command)
return nil
}
// ShowSubcommandHelp prints help for the given subcommand
func ShowSubcommandHelp(c *Context) error {
return ShowCommandHelp(c, c.Command.Name)
}
// ShowVersion prints the version number of the App
func ShowVersion(c *Context) {
VersionPrinter(c)
}
func printVersion(c *Context) {
fmt.Fprintf(c.App.Writer, "%v version %v\n", c.App.Name, c.App.Version)
}
// ShowCompletions prints the lists of commands within a given context
func ShowCompletions(c *Context) {
a := c.App
if a != nil && a.BashComplete != nil {
a.BashComplete(c)
}
}
// ShowCommandCompletions prints the custom completions for a given command
func ShowCommandCompletions(ctx *Context, command string) {
c := ctx.App.Command(command)
if c != nil && c.BashComplete != nil {
c.BashComplete(ctx)
}
}
func printHelpCustom(out io.Writer, templ string, data interface{}, customFunc map[string]interface{}) {
funcMap := template.FuncMap{
"join": strings.Join,
}
if customFunc != nil {
for key, value := range customFunc {
funcMap[key] = value
}
}
w := tabwriter.NewWriter(out, 1, 8, 2, ' ', 0)
t := template.Must(template.New("help").Funcs(funcMap).Parse(templ))
err := t.Execute(w, data)
if err != nil {
// If the writer is closed, t.Execute will fail, and there's nothing
// we can do to recover.
if os.Getenv("CLI_TEMPLATE_ERROR_DEBUG") != "" {
fmt.Fprintf(ErrWriter, "CLI TEMPLATE ERROR: %#v\n", err)
}
return
}
w.Flush()
}
func printHelp(out io.Writer, templ string, data interface{}) {
printHelpCustom(out, templ, data, nil)
}
func checkVersion(c *Context) bool {
found := false
if VersionFlag.GetName() != "" {
eachName(VersionFlag.GetName(), func(name string) {
if c.GlobalBool(name) || c.Bool(name) {
found = true
}
})
}
return found
}
func checkHelp(c *Context) bool {
found := false
if HelpFlag.GetName() != "" {
eachName(HelpFlag.GetName(), func(name string) {
if c.GlobalBool(name) || c.Bool(name) {
found = true
}
})
}
return found
}
func checkCommandHelp(c *Context, name string) bool {
if c.Bool("h") || c.Bool("help") {
ShowCommandHelp(c, name)
return true
}
return false
}
func checkSubcommandHelp(c *Context) bool {
if c.Bool("h") || c.Bool("help") {
ShowSubcommandHelp(c)
return true
}
return false
}
func checkShellCompleteFlag(a *App, arguments []string) (bool, []string) {
if !a.EnableBashCompletion {
return false, arguments
}
pos := len(arguments) - 1
lastArg := arguments[pos]
if lastArg != "--"+BashCompletionFlag.GetName() {
return false, arguments
}
return true, arguments[:pos]
}
func checkCompletions(c *Context) bool {
if !c.shellComplete {
return false
}
if args := c.Args(); args.Present() {
name := args.First()
if cmd := c.App.Command(name); cmd != nil {
// let the command handle the completion
return false
}
}
ShowCompletions(c)
return true
}
func checkCommandCompletions(c *Context, name string) bool {
if !c.shellComplete {
return false
}
ShowCommandCompletions(c, name)
return true
}
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
Introduction
============
hnRNP A1 is an RNA-binding protein that contains two RNA-binding domains (RBDs) and a glycine-rich domain responsible for protein--protein interaction. It is involved in pre-mRNA splicing and transport of cellular RNAs (reviewed by [@cdd462c9]). It is predominantly located in the nucleus, but also shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm ([@cdd462c35]). The signal that mediates shuttling has been identified as a 38 amino acid sequence, termed M9, located near the C-terminus of hnRNP A1 between amino acids 268 and 305 ([@cdd462c32]; [@cdd462c40]; [@cdd462c48]). Yeast two-hybrid screening with M9 as bait resulted in the discovery of a novel transportin-mediated pathway for nuclear import of hnRNP A1 ([@cdd462c36]; [@cdd462c11]; [@cdd462c41]). The function of the cytoplasmic hnRNP A1 has not been well defined. Studies have shown that cytoplasmic and nuclear hnRNP A1 exhibit different RNA-binding profiles. Cytoplasmic hnRNP A1 is capable of high-affinity binding to AU-rich elements that modulate mRNA turnover and translation ([@cdd462c14], [@cdd462c15]; [@cdd462c17]). It has also been shown to promote ribosome binding to mRNAs by a cap-mediated mechanism, and prevent spurious initiation at aberrant translation start sites ([@cdd462c43]).
MHV belongs to the Coronaviridae family of positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. MHV replication and transcription occur exclusively in the cytoplasm of infected cells via the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) (reviewed by [@cdd462c24]). Initially, the 5′-most gene 1 of the viral genome is translated into the viral RdRp, which then replicates the viral genomic RNAs into negative-strand RNAs. Subsequently, the negative-strand RNAs are used as templates to transcribe mRNAs, which include a genomic-sized RNA and a nested set of subgenomic mRNA transcripts, all with an identical 5′ non-translated leader sequence of 72--77 nucleotides and 3′ co-terminal polyadenylated ends. The subgenomic mRNA transcription of MHV utilizes a unique discontinuous mechanism in which the leader sequence, often derived from a different molecule, is fused to RNAs at the intergenic (IG) sites (i.e. transcription initiation site) to generate subgenomic mRNAs ([@cdd462c21]; [@cdd462c26]; [@cdd462c51]). The exact mechanism of how these mRNAs are made is still controversial. However, it has been shown that the process of discontinuous RNA transcription is regulated by several viral RNA elements, including the *cis*- and *trans*-acting leader RNA ([@cdd462c26]; [@cdd462c51]), IG sequence ([@cdd462c30]) and 3′-end untranslated sequence ([@cdd462c27]). There is considerable biochemical evidence suggesting possible direct or indirect interactions between the various RNA regulatory elements. hnRNP A1 binds MHV negative (--)-strand leader and IG sequences ([@cdd462c12]; [@cdd462c25]). Site-directed mutagenesis of the IG sequences demonstrated that the extent of binding of hnRNP A1 to the IG sequences correlated with the efficiency of transcription from the IG site ([@cdd462c50]; [@cdd462c25]). Immunostaining of hnRNP A1 showed that hnRNP A1 relocated to the cytoplasm of MHV-infected cells, where viral RNA synthesis occurs ([@cdd462c25]). hnRNP A1 also mediates the formation of a ribonucleoprotein complex containing the MHV (--)-strand leader and IG sequences ([@cdd462c52]). These results suggest that hnRNP A1 may serve as a protein mediator for distant RNA regions to interact with each other.
Many cellular proteins, including calreticulin ([@cdd462c39]), polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB) ([@cdd462c16]; [@cdd462c49]), La protein ([@cdd462c33]), Sam68 ([@cdd462c31]), poly(rC)-binding protein ([@cdd462c34]) and nucleolin ([@cdd462c45]), have been implicated to be involved in viral RNA transcription or replication. In addition to MHV, hnRNP A1 has also been reported to interact with human cytomegalovirus immediate-early gene 2 protein, which plays an important role in the regulation of virus replication ([@cdd462c47]). Furthermore, a yeast protein related to human core RNA splicing factors, Lsm1p, has been shown to be required for the efficient replication of brome mosaic virus RNA ([@cdd462c8]). Recently, Reddy and colleagues demonstrated an inhibition of HIV replication by dominant-negative mutants of Sam68 ([@cdd462c37]). However, none of these cellular proteins has been shown experimentally to participate directly in RNA-dependent RNA synthesis.
In order to demonstrate the involvement of hnRNP A1 in MHV RNA replication and transcription, we established several DBT cell lines stably expressing either the wild-type (wt) hnRNP A1 or a C-terminus-truncated mutant lacking the M9 sequence and part of the glycine-rich domain. We showed that the mutant hnRNP A1, which was localized predominantly in the cytoplasm, exhibited dominant-negative effects on viral genomic RNA replication and subgenomic mRNA transcription. In contrast, overexpression of the wt hnRNP A1 accelerated the synthesis of all viral RNAs. Our results provide strong evidence that hnRNP A1 is directly or indirectly involved in MHV RNA synthesis in the cytoplasm and that the C-terminal part of the protein is important for its function. This finding thus reveals a novel function for hnRNP A1 in the cytoplasm.
Results
=======
Characterization of stable cell lines expressing the wt and a C-terminus-truncated hnRNP A1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To explore a potential role for hnRNP A1 in MHV RNA synthesis, we established murine DBT cell lines stably expressing the Flag-tagged wt hnRNP A1 (DBT-A1) or a mutant hnRNP A1, which has a 75 amino acid deletion from the C-terminus (DBT-A1ΔC) (Figure [1](#cdd462f1){ref-type="fig"}A). This mutant lacks part of the glycine-rich domain and the M9 sequence responsible for shuttling hnRNP A1 between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Immunoblot of the whole-cell lysates with an anti-Flag antibody detected a 34 kDa protein in DBT-A1 cells and a 27 kDa protein in three independent clones of DBT-A1ΔC cells (Figure [1](#cdd462f1){ref-type="fig"}B), whereas no protein was cross-reactive to the anti-Flag antibody in the control cell line stably transfected with the pcDNA3.1 vector (DBT-VEC). The amounts of the Flag-tagged wt and truncated hnRNP A1 were comparable in these cell lines. A chicken polyclonal antibody against hnRNP A1 detected two endogenous hnRNP A1 isoforms or hnRNP A1-related proteins in the whole-cell lysates of all of the cell lines. The bottom band (34 kDa) overlaps the Flag-tagged wt hnRNP A1 in DBT-A1 cells. There was only a slight increase in the overall amount of hnRNP A1 in DBT-A1 cells as compared with DBT-VEC cells, indicating that the exogenous hnRNP A1 constituted a small fraction of the total hnRNP A1 in the cells. In DBT-A1ΔC cells, an additional band of smaller size (27 kDa) corresponding to the mutant hnRNP A1 was detected. The overall expression levels of the exogenous hnRNP A1 and hnRNP A1ΔC were ∼3-fold lower than that of the endogenous hnRNP A1 in whole-cell lysates (Figure [1](#cdd462f1){ref-type="fig"}B). Similar to the endogenous hnRNP A1 protein ([@cdd462c35]), the Flag-tagged wt hnRNP A1 was localized almost exclusively in the nucleus (Figure [1](#cdd462f1){ref-type="fig"}C). The mutant hnRNP A1, however, was localized predominantly in the cytoplasm (Figure [1](#cdd462f1){ref-type="fig"}C), consistent with the previous finding that the M9 nuclear localization signal is necessary to localize hnRNP A1 to the nucleus ([@cdd462c40]; [@cdd462c48]). Thus, hnRNP A1ΔC was much more abundant than the endogenous hnRNP A1 in the cytoplasm. The expression levels of the wt or mutant hnRNP A1 varied among individual cells based on immunofluorescent staining (Figure [1](#cdd462f1){ref-type="fig"}C). The growth rate (Figure [1](#cdd462f1){ref-type="fig"}D) and cell morphology (data not shown) were similar among the different cell lines.
The effects of overexpression of the wt and mutant hnRNP A1 on syncytium formation and virus production
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We first assessed the effects of hnRNP A1 overexpression on the morphological changes induced by MHV-A59 infection using several different clones of DBT cell lines. Virus infection was performed at a multiplicity of infection (m.o.i.) of 0.5 to detect the subtle morphological differences among the different cell lines. Syncytia appeared at ∼7 h post-infection (p.i.) in DBT-VEC cells and ∼1 h earlier in DBT-A1 cells. At both 8 and 14 h p.i., syncytia were significantly larger and more spread out in DBT-A1 cells than those in DBT-VEC cells (Figure [2](#cdd462f2){ref-type="fig"}A). Similar differences were observed with two additional clones of DBT-A1 cells (data not shown). In contrast, no syncytium was observed in three different clones of DBT-A1ΔC cells, even at 14 h p.i. At 24 h p.i., almost all DBT-A1 cells detached from the plate, but ∼10--20% of DBT-VEC cells still remained on the plate (data not shown). Remarkably, there was no sign of syncytium formation in DBT-A1ΔC cells until 24 h after virus infection, when the overall morphology of the cells was similar to that of DBT-VEC cells at 7 h p.i. (data not shown). All of the DBT-A1ΔC cells were eventually killed at ∼48 h p.i., suggesting that the inhibition of viral replication was not a result of the disruption of the MHV receptor. Correspondingly, virus production from these cell lines was significantly different. Between 6 and 14 h p.i., virus production from DBT-A1ΔC cells was ∼100- to 1000-fold less than that from DBT-VEC and DBT-A1 cells (Figure [2](#cdd462f2){ref-type="fig"}B). DBT-A1 cells produced twice as many viruses as those from DBT-VEC cells during that time period.
Relocalization of hnRNP A1 during MHV infection
-----------------------------------------------
MHV RNA synthesis occurs exclusively in the cytoplasm of infected cells. In order for hnRNP A1 to participate directly in viral transcription, it has to be recruited to the site of RNA synthesis. Although hnRNP A1 shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm in normal cells ([@cdd462c35]), the level of cytoplasmic hnRNP A1 is very low. We have demonstrated previously that hnRNP A1 relocates from the nucleus to the cytoplasm of MHV-infected cells ([@cdd462c25]). To determine whether the overexpressed hnRNP A1 may participate in MHV RNA synthesis, we performed immunostaining experiments using an anti-Flag antibody to localize Flag-tagged hnRNP A1. In DBT-A1 cells, a significant increase in the cytoplasmic level of hnRNP A1 and a corresponding decrease of nuclear hnRNP A1 were observed in virus-infected cell syncytia at 7 h p.i. (Figure [3](#cdd462f3){ref-type="fig"}B); these cells express the MHV nucleocapsid (N) protein in the cytoplasm (Figure [3](#cdd462f3){ref-type="fig"}A). By comparison, in the uninfected cells, which did not have N protein staining, hnRNP A1 was predominantly localized to the nucleus (arrow in Figure [3](#cdd462f3){ref-type="fig"}B). In DBT-A1ΔC cells, very few cells were stained positive for the MHV N protein at 7 h p.i. (Figure [3](#cdd462f3){ref-type="fig"}C). Significantly, the viral N protein was detected only in the cells that were stained weakly or not at all for Flag-hnRNP A1 (Figure [3](#cdd462f3){ref-type="fig"}D), suggesting that the expression of a high level of hnRNP A1ΔC interfered with viral replication.
The effects of wt and mutant hnRNP A1 on MHV protein production
---------------------------------------------------------------
We further investigated the effects of the wt and mutant hnRNP A1 on the production of MHV structural and non-structural proteins. Cytoplasmic protein was extracted from infected cell lines at different time points after infection for immunoblot analysis to detect an open reading frame (ORF) 1a product, p22 ([@cdd462c28]) and the N protein. p22 expression in DBT-VEC cells was clearly detected at 6 h p.i. and peaked at ∼16 h p.i. (Figure [4](#cdd462f4){ref-type="fig"}A). In DBT-A1 cells, p22 appeared at 5 h p.i. and peaked at ∼8 h p.i. In DBT-A1ΔC cells, no p22 protein was detected until 16 h p.i. Similar patterns of differences were observed for the N protein in these three cell lines. Actin levels in different cell lines remained relatively constant throughout the infection, except that, in DBT-A1 cells, actin was not detected at 16 and 24 h p.i. due to the loss of the dead cells (Figure [4](#cdd462f4){ref-type="fig"}A). These results clearly demonstrated that overexpression of the wt hnRNP A1 accelerated viral protein production, whereas expression of the mutant hnRNP A1 delayed it. We also performed immunofluorescent staining of the N protein at 7 h p.i. to further confirm the western blot results. As represented by images shown in Figure [4](#cdd462f4){ref-type="fig"}B, there were more DBT-A1 cells stained positive for the N protein than DBT-VEC cells. Very few cells were found to express the N protein in DBT-A1ΔC cells. The p22 and N proteins appeared as doublets in some of the lanes of Figure [4](#cdd462f4){ref-type="fig"}A, but the results varied from experiment to experiment. The N protein is known to be phosphorylated ([@cdd462c42]). Whether p22 is post-translationally modified is not known.
The effects of the wt and mutant hnRNP A1 on MHV RNA synthesis
--------------------------------------------------------------
We next examined the effects of the wt and mutant hnRNP A1 on MHV RNA synthesis. MHV-infected cell lines were labeled for 1 h with \[^3^H\]uridine in the presence of 5 µg/ml actinomycin D at different time points after infection. \[^3^H\]uridine incorporation in DBT-VEC cells increased gradually from 4 h p.i. and peaked at ∼16 h p.i. (Figure [5](#cdd462f5){ref-type="fig"}A). DBT-A1 cells showed a significantly higher level of \[^3^H\]uridine incorporation, which peaked at ∼8 h p.i. DBT-A1ΔC cells did not show any detectable level of incorporation of the radioactivity. These results suggest that hnRNP A1 regulates MHV RNA synthesis. We further assessed the production of genomic and subgenomic MHV RNAs in these cell lines by northern blot analysis. The genomic and the six subgenomic RNA species were detected at 8 h p.i. in both DBT-VEC and DBT-A1 cells; there were significantly higher steady-state levels of all of the RNA species in DBT-A1 cells (Figure [5](#cdd462f5){ref-type="fig"}B). In contrast, no viral RNA was detected in DBT-A1ΔC cells at that time point. At 16 h p.i., MHV RNA levels in DBT-VEC and DBT-A1 cells decreased generally because of the loss of the dead cells, while the smaller subgenomic RNAs became detectable in DBT-A1ΔC cells. By 24 h p.i., most viral RNA species became detectable in DBT-A1ΔC cells (Figure [5](#cdd462f5){ref-type="fig"}B, lane 10), while most of the DBT-A1 cells were dead (lane 9). These results confirmed that the synthesis of all of the viral RNA species is accelerated by overexpression of the wt hnRNP A1 and delayed by a dominant-negative mutant of hnRNP A1.
In this analysis, we also detected an additional RNA species (arrow in Figure [5](#cdd462f5){ref-type="fig"}B), which was determined to be a defective-interfering (DI) RNA by northern blot analysis using a probe representing the 5′-untranslated region (without the leader), which is present only in genomic and DI RNAs (data not shown). Interestingly, this DI RNA was inhibited to a greater extent than other RNA species in DBT-A1ΔC cells. This result suggests that the replication of DI RNAs is more sensitive to the dominant-negative inhibition by cytoplasmic hnRNP A1.
hnRNP A1ΔC inhibits transcription and replication of MHV DI RNAs
----------------------------------------------------------------
To demonstrate further that MHV RNA transcription machinery is defective in cells expressing the mutant hnRNP A1, we studied transcription of an MHV DI RNA, 25CAT, which contains a transcription promoter (derived from the IG sequence for mRNA 7, IG7) and a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene ([@cdd462c26]). CAT activity can be expressed from this DI RNA only if a subgenomic mRNA containing CAT sequences is produced ([@cdd462c26]). The 25CAT RNA was transfected into MHV-A59-infected cells 1 h after infection. At 8 h p.i., CAT activity in DBT-A1 cells was significantly higher than that in DBT-VEC cells (Figure [6](#cdd462f6){ref-type="fig"}A). On the other hand, CAT activity was very low in DBT-A1ΔC cells. At 24 h p.i., CAT activity in DBT-A1 cells became slightly lower than that in DBT-VEC cells because of the loss of the dead DBT-A1 cells. The CAT activity in DBT-A1ΔC was still significantly lower than that in DBT-VEC or DBT-A1 cells. These results established that mRNA transcription from the DI RNA was also inhibited by hnRNP A1ΔC.
The results shown above (Figure [5](#cdd462f5){ref-type="fig"}B) also suggest that DI RNA replication is more sensitive to the inhibitory effects of the hnRNP A1 mutant. To confirm this result, we further studied replication of another DI RNA during serial virus passages. DBT cells were infected with MHV-A59 and transfected with DIssE RNA derived from JHM virus ([@cdd462c29]); the virus released (P0) was passaged twice in DBT cells to generate P1 and P2 viruses. DBT cells were infected with these viruses, and cytoplasmic RNA was extracted for northern blot analysis using glyoxalated RNA for a better resolution of smaller RNAs. For DBT-A1ΔC cells, RNA was extracted at 36 h p.i. since viral RNA synthesis was delayed in this cell line. Cells infected with P0 viruses did not yield detectable amounts of DIssE, but contained the naturally occurring A59 DI RNA, whose replication was inhibited more strongly than the synthesis of MHV genomic and subgenomic RNAs in DBT-A1ΔC cells (Figures [5](#cdd462f5){ref-type="fig"}B, lanes 8--10 and [6](#cdd462f6){ref-type="fig"}B, lanes 1--3). However, this A59 DI RNA was not detectable in cells infected with P1 and P2 viruses (Figure [6](#cdd462f6){ref-type="fig"}B, lanes 4--9). In contrast, DIssE appeared in cells infected with P1 viruses and further increased in cells infected with P2 viruses, indicating that the replication of the smaller DIssE may have an inhibitory effect on the replication of the larger A59 DI RNA ([@cdd462c20]). Similar to the A59 DI RNA, the replication of DIssE RNA was much more strongly inhibited than that of MHV genomic and subgenomic RNAs in DBT-A1ΔC cells (Figure [6](#cdd462f6){ref-type="fig"}B, lanes 6 and 9). Our results thus suggest that MHV DI RNA replication is more dependent on the function of cytoplasmic hnRNP A1.
The mechanism of dominant-negative inhibition by the C-terminal deletion mutant of hnRNP A1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To understand the underlying mechanism of the inhibition of MHV RNA transcription by the C-terminal-deletion mutant of hnRNP A1, we first examined the RNA- and protein-binding properties of this mutant protein. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay demonstrated that hnRNP A1ΔC retained the ability to bind the MHV (--)-strand leader RNA and to form multimers with itself, similar to the wt hnRNP A1 (data not shown); this is consistent with the fact that both of its RBDs are intact (Figure [1](#cdd462f1){ref-type="fig"}A). Furthermore, UV-crosslinking experiments showed that increasing amounts of purified glutathione *S*-transferase (GST)--hnRNP A1ΔC efficiently competed with the endogenous hnRNP A1 for the binding of the MHV (--)-strand leader RNA (Figure [7](#cdd462f7){ref-type="fig"}A), indicating that the binding of hnRNP A1ΔC to RNA was not affected. These results suggest that the RNA-binding properties of hnRNP A1ΔC were intact.
We next examined the protein-binding properties of hnRNP A1ΔC. Since hnRNP A1 has been shown to interact with the N protein, which also participates in MHV RNA synthesis ([@cdd462c7]; [@cdd462c46]), we first determined whether the dominant-negative mutant of hnRNP A1 retained the ability to interact with the N protein *in vitro*. GST pull-down assay using various truncation mutants of hnRNP A1 showed that the N protein bound the N-terminal domain (aa 1--163) of hnRNP A1 (Figure [7](#cdd462f7){ref-type="fig"}B); thus, the binding of hnRNP A1ΔC \[equivalent to hnRNP A1(1--245)\] to the N protein was not affected. We next examined the *in vivo* interaction of the wt and mutant hnRNP A1 with an MHV ORF 1a product, p22, which has been shown to co-localize with the *de novo* synthesized viral RNA (S.T.Shi and M.M.C.Lai, unpublished results) and associate with the viral replicase complex ([@cdd462c13]). Cyto plasmic extracts from MHV-A59-infected cells were immunoprecipitated with anti-Flag antibody-conjugated beads, followed by western blotting with a rabbit polyclonal antibody against p22. At 8 h p.i., p22 was co-precipitated with the Flag-tagged hnRNP A1 from DBT-A1 cells, whereas no precipitation of p22 was observed in DBT-VEC cells (Figure [7](#cdd462f7){ref-type="fig"}C). For DBT- A1ΔC cells, co-immunoprecipitation was performed at 24 h p.i., when abundant MHV proteins were synthesized. p22 was shown to co-precipitate with hnRNP A1ΔC, indicating that hnRNP A1ΔC still formed a complex with the viral polymerase gene product. These results suggest that the ability of hnRNP A1ΔC to interact with the N and polymerase proteins was not altered.
We next investigated whether the mutant hnRNP A1 is deficient in the interaction with any other cellular proteins in this RNA--protein complex. We labeled proteins in MHV-infected cells or mock-infected cells at different time points after infection and immunoprecipitated with the anti-Flag antibody. Significantly, a cellular protein of ∼250 kDa was shown to be associated only with the wt hnRNP A1, but not the mutant hnRNP A1 (Figure [7](#cdd462f7){ref-type="fig"}D), suggesting that hnRNP A1 binds to this protein through its C-terminal domain. We propose that this cellular protein is another important component of the MHV RNA transcription/replication complex.
Discussion
==========
There is an accumulating body of evidence signifying the importance of cellular factors in RNA synthesis of RNA viruses (reviewed by [@cdd462c23]). Previous studies have shown that hnRNP A1 binds to the *cis*-acting sequences of MHV template RNA and that this interaction correlates with the transcription efficiency of viral RNA *in vivo* ([@cdd462c50]; [@cdd462c25]). In addition, hnRNP A1 is also implicated in viral RNA replication by the recent finding that hnRNP A1 interacts with the 3′-ends of both positive- and negative-strand MHV RNA (P.Huang and M.M.C.Lai, unpublished results). However, the functional importance of hnRNP A1 in viral RNA synthesis has so far not been directly demonstrated. In the present study, we established that MHV RNA transcription and replication were enhanced by overexpression of the wt hnRNP A1 protein, but inhibited by expression of a dominant-negative hnRNP A1 mutant in DBT cell lines. Our results suggest that hnRNP A1 is a host protein involved in the formation of a cytoplasmic transcription/replication complex for viral RNA synthesis. This represents a novel function for hnRNP A1 in the cytoplasm.
Our results indicate that the inhibitory effects on MHV replication exhibited by the dominant-negative mutant of hnRNP A1 were relatively more prominent than the enhancement effects by overexpression of the wt hnRNP A1. This is consistent with the subcellular localization patterns of the wt and mutant hnRNP A1 proteins. The overexpressed exogenous wt hnRNP A1 in DBT-A1 cells was predominantly localized in the nucleus, similar to the endogenous hnRNP A1 (Figure [1](#cdd462f1){ref-type="fig"}C). The C-terminal-deletion mutant, however, was localized mainly in the cytoplasm. Thus, the level of hnRNP A1ΔC was much higher than the endogenous wt hnRNP A1 in the cytoplasm of DBT-A1ΔC cells, where MHV replication occurs. This result explains why hnRNP A1ΔC could have a strong dominant-negative inhibitory effect, despite the fact that it was expressed at a lower level than the endogenous hnRNP A1 (Figure [1](#cdd462f1){ref-type="fig"}B).
The effects of the expression of the wt and mutant hnRNP A1 on virus production (Figure [2](#cdd462f2){ref-type="fig"}B), viral protein synthesis (Figure [4](#cdd462f4){ref-type="fig"}A) and viral RNA synthesis (Figure [5](#cdd462f5){ref-type="fig"}A) correlated with each other. Furthermore, hnRNP A1ΔC caused not only a global inhibition of genomic RNA replication and subgenomic mRNA transcription, but also a preferential inhibition of at least two DI RNA species. These results suggest that the inhibition of MHV replication by the hnRNP A1 mutant was most likely a direct effect on viral RNA synthesis rather than an indirect effect on other aspects of cellular or viral functions. Since hnRNP A1 binds directly to the *cis*-acting MHV RNA sequences critical for MHV RNA transcription ([@cdd462c25]) and replication (P.Huang and M.M.C.Lai, unpublished results), it is most likely that hnRNP A1 may participate in the formation of the transcription/replication complex. Indeed, our data show that hnRNP A1 interacts directly or indirectly with the N protein and a gene 1 product, p22, both of which are probably associated with the viral transcription/replication complex ([@cdd462c7]; [@cdd462c46]; [@cdd462c13]). hnRNP A1 may participate directly in viral RNA synthesis in a similar role to that of transcription factors in DNA-dependent RNA synthesis, e.g. by maintaining favorable RNA conformation for RNA synthesis. Alternatively, hnRNP A1 may modulate MHV RNA transcription or replication by participating in the processing, transport and controlling the stability of viral RNAs. It has been reported that RNA processing of retroviruses, human T-cell leukemia virus type 2 ([@cdd462c2]) and HIV-1 ([@cdd462c3]), is altered by the binding of hnRNP A1 to the viral RNA regulatory elements. It is also possible that hnRNP A1 may participate in MHV RNA synthesis indirectly by affecting the production of other host cell proteins, which may, in turn, regulate MHV RNA synthesis. Since hnRNP A1 is a dose-dependent alternative splicing factor ([@cdd462c6]), even small changes in the intracellular level of hnRNP A1 can alter the splicing of other cellular proteins. Regardless of the mechanism, our study established the importance of cellular factors in viral RNA-dependent RNA synthesis.
The transcription from 25CAT RNA was strongly inhibited by the dominant-negative mutant of hnRNP A1, as shown by CAT assays (Figure [6](#cdd462f6){ref-type="fig"}A). In addition, the replication of the naturally occurring A59 DI RNA and the artificial DIssE RNA was completely abolished (Figure [6](#cdd462f6){ref-type="fig"}B). Surprisingly, the replication of MHV DI RNAs suffered a stronger inhibition by the dominant-negative mutant of hnRNP A1 than the synthesis of MHV genomic and subgenomic RNAs, suggesting that DI RNA replication may be more dependent on hnRNP A1. Although DI RNAs contain all of the *cis*-acting replication signals that are essential for their replication in normal cells ([@cdd462c22]), the small size of DI RNA may cause it to require more hnRNP A1 to maintain a critical RNA structure. It has been shown that different DI RNAs require different *cis*-acting signals for RNA replication ([@cdd462c22]).
Our results demonstrate that the C-terminal domain of hnRNP A1, including the M9 sequence and the glycine-rich region, is important for MHV RNA transcription and replication, but the mechanism of the dominant-negative effects of hnRNP A1ΔC is still not clear. hnRNP A1ΔC retains the RNA-binding and self-association ability and is capable of binding the viral proteins N and p22, which are associated with the transcription/replication complex. It is possible that hnRNP A1ΔC is not productive due to its inability to interact with other viral or cellular proteins that are involved in MHV RNA synthesis. We have found a protein of ∼250 kDa that binds only the wt, but not the mutant hnRNP A1 (Figure [7](#cdd462f7){ref-type="fig"}D). It remains to be shown whether this cellular protein is involved in MHV RNA synthesis.
In our preliminary study, we found that MHV could replicate in an erythroleukemia cell line, CB3, which was reported to lack detectable hnRNP A1 expression as a result of a retrovirus integration in one allele and loss of the other allele ([@cdd462c1]). Since hnRNP A1 protein is involved in a variety of important cellular functions, including RNA splicing, transport, turnover and translation, it is conceivable that other redundant gene products may substitute for the function of hnRNP A1 in CB3 cells. Indeed, UV-crosslinking assays using CB3 cell extracts detected two proteins comparable to hnRNP A1 in size that could interact with the MHV negative-strand leader RNA (data not shown). These proteins may represent hnRNP A1-related proteins, since many of such hnRNPs exist in the cells ([@cdd462c5]; [@cdd462c4]). Therefore, multiple cellular proteins may have the capacity to be involved in MHV RNA synthesis.
Based on previous findings ([@cdd462c22]; [@cdd462c50]; [@cdd462c25]) and the results from this study, we propose a model for the regulation of transcription/replication of MHV RNA by hnRNP A1. We hypothesize that hnRNP A1 is one of the components of the MHV RNA transcription or replication complex, and the crosstalk between hnRNP A1 and another viral or cellular RNA-binding protein (designated X in Figure [8](#cdd462f8){ref-type="fig"}) is essential for MHV replication and transcription. The X protein binds to the C-terminus of hnRNP A1 and cooperates with hnRNP A1 to recruit more proteins to form the transcription or replication complex. The C-terminal-deletion mutant of hnRNP A1 loses the ability to interact with the X protein and to bring it into the initiation complex, resulting in an inhibition of MHV RNA transcription and replication. The residual replication and transcription activities of MHV RNA in the absence of functional hnRNP A1 may be due to a limited affinity of the X protein to a *cis*-acting signal that is only present in MHV genomic RNA (site B). On the other hand, DI RNAs may lack this *cis*-acting signal. When the crosstalk between the X protein and hnRNP A1 is abolished by the dominant-negative mutant of hnRNP A1, the X protein can no longer participate in the formation of the initiation complex, resulting in a complete loss of DI RNA replication.
In summary, our data provide direct experimental evidence that hnRNP A1 is involved directly or indirectly in MHV RNA synthesis, probably by participating in the formation of an RNA transcription/replication complex. This finding reveals a novel cytoplasmic function for hnRNP A1.
Materials and methods
=====================
Cells and viruses
-----------------
DBT cells, a mouse astrocytoma cell line ([@cdd462c18]), were cultured in Eagle's minimal essential medium (MEM) supplemented with 7% newborn calf serum (NCS) and 10% tryptone phosphate broth. MHV strain A59 ([@cdd462c38]) was propagated in DBT cells and maintained in virus growth medium containing 1% NCS.
Plasmid construction and establishment of DBT stable cell lines
---------------------------------------------------------------
The cDNA of the murine hnRNP A1 gene was amplified by RT--PCR using RNA extracted from DBT cells and a set of primers representing the 5′- and 3′-ends of hnRNP A1-coding region, and cloned into pcDNA3.1 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). The 8 amino acid Flag tag was attached to the N-terminus of hnRNP A1 by including the Flag tag in the forward PCR primer. The truncated hnRNP A1ΔC was similarly constructed using a PCR-amplified fragment that represents hnRNP A1 (aa 1--245).
For the establishment of permanent DBT cell lines, pcDNA3.1 alone or the plasmid containing the Flag-tagged hnRNP A1 or hnRNP A1ΔC was transfected into 60% confluent DBT cells using DOTAP according to the manufacturer's instructions (Boehringer Mannheim, Indianapolis, IN). After 4 h, the transfected cells were selected in DBT cell medium containing 0.5 mg/ml Geneticin (G418) (Omega Scientific, Tarzana, CA) for 10 days. Single colonies were then collected and cultured individually for 10 additional days before screening for the expression of Flag-tagged proteins.
Antibodies
----------
The polyclonal rabbit antibody against p22 was a gift from Dr Susan C.Baker at Loyola University, IL. The chicken polyclonal antibody against hnRNP A1 was produced by Aves Labs, Inc. (Tigard, OR) by immunizing chickens with the purified mouse hnRNP A1 protein expressed in bacteria. The polyclonal anti-Flag antibody was purchased from Affinity Bioreagents (Golden, CO). The goat polyclonal antibody against actin was obtained from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, CA). The mouse monoclonal antibody against the N protein has been described previously ([@cdd462c10]).
Examination of growth rate of permanent DBT cells
-------------------------------------------------
Equal numbers (1 × 10^5^) of DBT-VEC, DBT-A1 and DBT-A1ΔC cells were plated in 10-cm culture plates and maintained in culture medium for 4 days. Cells were trypsinized, stained with Trypan Blue (Gibco-BRL, Grand Island, NY) and counted at 24-h intervals with a hemacytometer (Hausser Scientific, Horsham, PA).
Plaque assay
------------
DBT cells in 10-cm plates were infected with MHV-A59 at an m.o.i. of 2. After 1 h for virus adsorption, the cells were washed three times with serum-free MEM, which was then replaced with virus growth medium containing 1% serum. At 1, 6, 8, 10, 14 and 24 h p.i., 1 ml of medium was taken from each plate for plaque assay.
\[^3^H\]uridine labeling of MHV RNA
-----------------------------------
Cells plated in 6-well plates were infected with MHV-A59 at an m.o.i. of 2. At 1 h p.i., 5 µg/ml actinomycin D was added to the virus growth medium to inhibit cellular RNA synthesis. To label newly synthesized MHV RNA, 100 µCi/ml of \[^3^H\]uridine (NEN, Boston, MA) were added to the medium at hourly intervals. After 1 h of labeling, the cells were washed twice in ice-cold PBS and scraped off the plates in 1 ml of PBS. The cells were then collected by centrifugation and incubated in 200 µl of NTE buffer (150 mM NaCl, 50 mM Tris pH 7.5, 1 mM EDTA) containing 0.5% NP-40, 0.5 mM dithiothreitol (DTT) and 400 U/ml of RNasin on ice for 15 min. After centrifugation, 5 µl of the cytoplasmic extract were spotted on a piece of 3 mm paper and incubated with 5% trichloroacetic acid (TCA). The radioactivity remaining on the 3 mm paper was measured in a scintillation counter.
Northern blot analysis
----------------------
DBT cells were infected with MHV-A59 at an m.o.i. of 2. At 8, 16 and 24 h p.i., cytoplasmic extract was prepared as described above and subjected to phenol/chloroform extraction and ethanol precipitation to purify cytoplasmic RNA. Approximately 10 µg of RNA were separated by electrophoresis on a 1.2% formaldehyde-containing agarose gel and transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane. For a better resolution of the DIssE RNA (Figure [6](#cdd462f6){ref-type="fig"}B), RNA was glyoxalated before being electrophoresed on a 1% agarose gel. An *in vitro* transcribed, ^32^P-labeled negative-strand mRNA 7 of MHV-JHM was used as a probe to detect MHV genomic and subgenomic RNAs. For detecting DI RNA species, RNA blots were probed with an RNA representing a sequence complementary to the sequence of the 5′-untranslated region of MHV-JHM RNA, but excluding the leader sequence.
Western blot analysis
---------------------
DBT cells in 6-well plates were infected with MHV-A59 and cytoplasmic extracts were prepared as described previously ([@cdd462c25]) at various time points p.i. The extracts were electrophoresed on a 12% polyacrylamide gel and transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane for western blotting.
Immunofluorescence staining
---------------------------
Cells were washed in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and fixed in 4% formaldehyde for 20 min at room temperature, followed by 5 min in --20°C acetone. Primary antibodies were diluted in 5% bovine serum albumin and incubated with cells for 1 h at room temperature. After three washes in PBS, fluorescein-conjugated secondary antibodies were added to cells at 1:200 dilution for 1 h at room temperature. FITC- or TRITC-conjugated secondary antibodies were used to generate green or red fluorescence. Cells were then washed in PBS and mounted in Vectashield (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA).
UV-crosslinking assay
---------------------
UV-crosslinking assay was performed as described previously ([@cdd462c19]). In brief, DBT cell extracts (30 µg protein), 200 µg/ml tRNA and 10^4^ c.p.m. of an *in vitro* transcribed, ^32^P-labeled negative-strand MHV 5′-end RNA (182 bp) were incubated for 10 min at 30°C. Increasing amounts of purified GST (0, 0.5, 1.5 and 5 ng) or recombinant GST--hnRNP A1 fusion protein (0, 1, 3 and 10 ng) were included in the reaction to compete with the endogenous hnRNP A1 for binding. The reaction mixture was placed on ice and UV-irradiated in a UV Stratalinker 2400 (Stratagene) for 10 min, followed by digestion with 400 µg/ml RNase A for 15 min at 37°C. The protein--RNA complexes were then separated on a 10% SDS--polyacrylamide gel and visualized by autoradiography.
GST pull-down assay
-------------------
GST pull-down was performed as described previously ([@cdd462c44]). In brief, GST--hnRNP A1 fusion proteins on glutathione beads (Pierce, Rockford, IL) were incubated with the *in vitro* translated, ^35^S-labeled N protein in 0.3 ml of GST-binding buffer containing 0.1% NP-40 for 2 h at 4°C. The beads were washed five times with the GST-binding buffer containing 0.3% NP-40. Proteins bound to beads were eluted by boiling in Laemmli buffer for 5 min and separated on a 10% polyacrylamide gel.
\[^35^S\]methionine labeling and immunoprecipitation
----------------------------------------------------
DBT cells were infected with MHV-A59 at an m.o.i. of 2. The cells were incubated with methionine-free medium for 30 min before labeling and were labeled in 100 µCi/ml \[^35^S\]methionine starting at 1.5, 7 or 24 h p.i. After labeling for 2 h at each time point, the cells were harvested for protein extraction as described previously ([@cdd462c25]). The protein extracts were immunoprecipitated with anti-Flag antibody-conjugated beads (Sigma, St Louis, MO) in Tm^10^ buffer (50 mM Tris--HCl pH 7.9, 0.1 M KCl, 12.5 mM MgCl~2~, 1 mM EDTA, 10% glycerol, 1 mM DTT, 0.1% NP-40, 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride) at 4°C for 2 h. The immunoprecipitates were washed and separated on a 4--15% gradient SDS--polyacrylamide gel and visualized by autoradiography.
DI RNA transcription and transfection
-------------------------------------
Plasmid 25CAT was linearized by *Xba*I and *in vitro* transcribed with T7 RNA polymerase to produce the DI RNA ([@cdd462c26]). The DI RNA was transfected into MHV-A59-infected DBT cells using DOTAP as described previously ([@cdd462c19]). In brief, ∼80% confluent DBT cells were infected by MHV-A59 at an m.o.i. of 10. At 1 h p.i., the cells were transfected with 5 µg of *in vitro* transcribed DI RNA and incubated at 37°C for the desired lengths of time. To amplify the DI RNA, viruses (P0) were passaged twice in wt DBT cells to generate P1 and P2 viruses.
CAT assay
---------
Cells were harvested at 8 or 24 h p.i. and lysed by freezing and thawing for three times. After centrifugation at 12 000 r.p.m. for 10 min, the supernatant was used in a CAT assay as described previously ([@cdd462c27]).
Figures and Tables
==================
![**Fig. 1.** (**A**) Diagrammatic structure of the wt and mutant hnRNP A1. RBD, RNA-binding domain; Gly, glycine-rich region. (**B**) Western blot analysis of the expression of the Flag-tagged wt and mutant hnRNP A1 in various DBT cell lines. DBT-A1ΔC 1, 2 and 3 represent three different clones of DBT-A1ΔC cells. (**C**) Immunofluorescent staining of the Flag-tagged wt and mutant hnRNP A1 in DBT cells using an anti-Flag antibody. (**D**) Growth kinetics of permanent DBT cells.](cdd462f1){#cdd462f1}
######
**Fig. 2.** Kinetics of viral infection in DBT cell lines stably transfected with vector (DBT-VEC), the wt hnRNP A1 (DBT-A1) and the C-terminal-deletion mutant of hnRNP A1 (DBT-A1ΔC). (**A**) Syncytium formation. Cells were infected with MHV-A59 at an m.o.i. of 0.5. Following virus removal at 1 h p.i., the cells were maintained in virus growth medium containing 1% NCS. Pictures were taken at 8 and 14 h p.i. (**B**) Kinetics of virus production. DBT-VEC, DBT-A1 and two clones of DBT-A1ΔC cells were infected with MHV-A59 at an m.o.i. of 2. Supernatant was collected at 1, 6, 8, 10, 14 and 24 h p.i. for plaque assay.
![](cdd462f2a)
![](cdd462f2b)
![**Fig. 3.** Immunofluorescent staining of the MHV N protein and the Flag-tagged hnRNP A1 proteins in DBT cells. DBT-A1 and DBT-A1ΔC cells were infected with MHV-A59 at an m.o.i. of 2. The cells were fixed at 7 h p.i. and double-stained with a monoclonal antibody against the viral N protein (**A** and **C**) and a polyclonal anti-Flag antibody (**B** and **D**). (B) An uninfected cell with nuclear hnRNP A1 staining is indicated by an arrow.](cdd462f3){#cdd462f3}
![**Fig. 4.** Expression of MHV proteins in virus-infected DBT cells. (**A**) Western blot analysis of the production of the p22 and N proteins. Cytoplasmic protein extracts were prepared from MHV-A59-infected DBT-VEC, DBT-A1 and DBT-A1ΔC cells at 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16 and 24 h p.i. The proteins were separated on a 12% SDS--polyacrylamide gel and transferred to nitrocellulose membranes for western blotting. Actin was used as an internal control. (**B**) Immunofluorescent staining of the N protein in DBT-VEC, DBT-A1 and DBTA1ΔC cells at 7 h p.i.](cdd462f4){#cdd462f4}
![**Fig. 5.** Kinetics of MHV RNA synthesis in DBT cells. (**A**) \[^3^H\]uridine labeling of MHV RNA in DBT cells. DBT-VEC, DBT-A1 and DBT-A1ΔC cells were infected with MHV-A59 at an m.o.i. of 2. At 1 h p.i., serum-free medium was replaced by virus growth medium containing 1% NCS and 5 µg/ml actinomycin D. \[^3^H\]uridine (100 µCi/ml) was added to the infected cells at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 16 and 24 h p.i. After 1 h labeling, cytoplasmic extracts were prepared and precipitated with 5% TCA. The TCA-precipitable counts were measured in a scintillation counter. (**B**) Northern blot analysis of MHV genomic and subgenomic RNA synthesis in DBT cells. Cytoplasmic RNA was extracted from MHV-A59-infected cells at 8, 16 and 24 h p.i. for northern blot analysis. The naturally occurring DI RNA of MHV-A59 is indicated by an arrow.](cdd462f5){#cdd462f5}
![**Fig. 6.** (A) Transcription and (B) replication of MHV DI RNA in DBT cells. (**A**) MHV-A59-infected DBT-VEC, DBT-A1 and DBT-A1ΔC cells were transfected with an *in vitro* transcribed 25CAT DI RNA at 1 h p.i. Cytoplasmic extracts were prepared at 8 and 24 h p.i. for CAT assay. The values represent averages of triplicates from three independent experiments. Standard deviations are shown by error bars. (**B**) Viruses (P0) were collected from MHV-A59-infected, DIssE RNA-transfected DBT-VEC, DBT-A1 and DBT-A1ΔC cells at 18 h p.i. The viruses were passaged twice in wt DBT cells to obtain P1 and P2 viruses. Cytoplasmic RNA was extracted from the DBT cells infected with P0, P1 and P2 viruses and treated with glyoxal before electrophoresis and northern blot analysis using a ^32^P-labeled (--)-strand mRNA 7 as a probe. The A59 DI RNA and DIssE RNA are indicated by arrows.](cdd462f6){#cdd462f6}
![**Fig. 7.** Mechanism of the inhibition of MHV RNA transcription by hnRNP A1ΔC. (**A**) Competition of the binding of endogenous hnRNP A1 to MHV RNA by hnRNP A1ΔC. DBT cytoplasmic extracts (30 µg protein) were incubated with a ^32^P-labeled MHV (--)-leader RNA in an *in vitro* UV-crosslinking assay. Increasing amounts of GST (0, 0.5, 1.5, 5 ng) and GST--hnRNP A1ΔC proteins (0, 1, 3, 10 ng) were added to the reaction mixture to compete for the binding. (**B**) GST pull-down assay of the interaction between hnRNP A1 and the N protein. *Escherichia coli*-expressed GST fusion hnRNP A1 proteins (wt and truncation mutants) were incubated with the *in vitro* translated, ^35^S-labeled N protein. The complexes were pulled down by glutathione beads and analyzed on a 10% polyacrylamide gel. (**C**) Co-immunoprecipitation of the wt and mutant hnRNP A1 with an MHV ORF 1a product, p22. Cytoplasmic protein extracts were prepared from MHV-A59-infected DBT-VEC, DBT-A1 and DBT-A1ΔC cells and immunoprecipitated with anti-Flag antibody-conjugated beads. The immunoprecipitates were subjected to western blotting with a Flag antibody (top) and a rabbit polyclonal antibody against p22 (bottom). (**D**) Interaction of the wt and mutant hnRNP A1 with cellular proteins. DBT-VEC, DBT-A1 and DBT-A1ΔC cells were infected with MHV-A59. At 1.5, 7 and 24 h p.i., 150 µCi/ml of \[^35^S\]methionine were added to the infected cells following 30 min incubation in methionine-free medium. After labeling for 2 h, cytoplasmic protein was extracted and immunoprecipitated with anti-Flag antibody-conjugated beads. The immunoprecipitates were separated on a 4--15% gradient SDS--polyacrylamide gel and autoradiographed.](cdd462f7){#cdd462f7}
![**Fig. 8.** A proposed model for the role of hnRNP A1 in the transcription or replication of MHV genomic and DI RNAs. See text for a complete description of the model.](cdd462f8){#cdd462f8}
Acknowledgements
================
We thank Dr Susan C.Baker at Loyola University, IL, for generously providing the polyclonal antibody against p22. We also thank Drs Jong-won Oh, Guang Yang, Deborah R.Taylor and Peter Koetters for their helpful discussions. This work was partially supported by a National Institutes of Health research grant. S.T.S. is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. M.M.C.L. is an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
[^1]: Present address: Department of Basic Medical Science, 259 Wen Hwa 1st Road, Chang Gung University, Tao Yuan, Taiwan 333
[^2]: Corresponding author e-mail: <[email protected]>
| {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Central"
} |
The invention resides in the field of continuous production of liquid food products from a variety of solid foods such as plant seeds, legumes, etc., which liquid food products contain no substantial objectionable off-flavor volatiles.
To be generally acceptable, the foods need not only be nutritious, functional and economical but also be attractive in color, aroma, taste and texture. Plant protein preparations mainly from legumes and nuts, like soybeans, have unacceptable off-flavor volatiles and score heavily against their positive properties and limit their use. Lipoxygenase enzyme has been recognized as the major cause of off-flavor volatiles in most vegetable protein sources including soybeans, peas and peanuts. Extraction of soymilk from soybeans, for example, involves grinding of soybeans in water. The lipoxygenase enzymes released from soybean catalyses reactions among water, oxygen and lipids. Some of the reaction products give off strong beany off-flavor volatiles.
Existing methods deal with the problem of beany off-flavors by thermally and/or chemically inactivating lipoxygenase enzyme in soybeans prior to or during the grinding operation under ambient pressure. For example, because at temperature above 65xc2x0 C., the half-lives of the various lipoxygenase enzymes rapidly decrease with increasing temperature, heating soybeans above this temperature effectively inactivates lipoxygenase enzyme. Hot grinding of soybeans performs the desired inactivation of the enzyme. Ground soybean slurry can now be further processed without any further problem of off-flavor generation. However, the thermal inactivation of enzyme causes other proteins in soybeans also to prematurely denature and get attached to the fibers in the beans. The extraction of proteins in water thus becomes difficult and leads to reduced yield and chalky mouth-feel. The latter is caused due to fine fibers getting into the liquid extract.
Control of off-flavor volatiles has also been achieved by eliminating available free oxygen under ambient or reduced pressure during the grinding oDeration. The present inventor""s earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,972 Apr. 10, 1990 describes a process for preparing protein foods by disintegrating the seeds such as soybeans, peanuts etc., in an oxygen-free environment, thus preventing lipoxygenase enzyme from producing the off-flavor volatiles. This process dispenses with the enzyme inactivation by heat treatment.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,524 May 17, 1988 by the present inventor describes an equipment which grinds soybeans in an oxygen-free environment. The equipment further cooks and separates the soybean slurry to extract soymilk which has no beany flavor.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,843 Feb. 10, 1976 Osaka et al describes bean-odor-free soy bean product and its production. The patent uses lactic fermentation of soy milk.
FIG. 1 illustrates schematically a system for continuously producing soymilks with prior art. Referring to the figure, a rotary valve or auger 10 regulates the feeding of soybeans from a soybean hopper 12. The soybeans in the hopper may be dry soybeans or may have already been properly soaked. A regulated amount of hot or cold water is added to the soybeans and the mixture is sent to a grinder 14 that grinds soybeans. When hot water is used for grinding and/or steam is injected between the rotary valve 12 and grinder 14, the lipoxygenase enzyme is partly inactivated and controls beany off-flavor. The hopper 12 may also have water feed and level control for airless feeding and grinding of soybeans. A steam mixer 16 is provided to heat the soybean slurry to a preset temperature. A positive displacement pump (PDP) 18 regulates the slurry flow. A holding tube 20 ensures that the soybeans slurry is properly cooked by maintaining the steam-soybeans slurry mixture at the preset temperatures for a preset duration. A vacuum deodorizer 22 removes the volatiles that may be present in the cooked slurry. A back-pressure valve 24 ensures the maintenance of high pressure and high temperature in the holding tube and a low pressure in the vacuum deodorizer. A PDP 26 sends a regulated amount of cooked slurry to an extractor 28 which separates soymilk and fibrous residue. The extractor can be a centrifugal filter, decanter, filter press, or any other separation device. Soymilk 30 with reduced beany off-flavor volatile is pumped with a PDP 32 for packaging or other processing.
FIG. 2 shows schematically an alternative system similar to that shown in FIG. 1. In the figure, an extractor 40 is moved upstream so that the slurry is separated into liquid and fibrous residue, and only the liquid is cooked with steam in the steam mixer 42. The cooked liquid is held under pressure in a holding tube 44 to ensure a proper cooking at a proper temperature before it is led to a vacuum deodorizer 46.
The methods described thus far for continuously producing non-beany flavor soymilk inactivate the lipoxygenase enzyme thermally or by creating oxygen-free grinding environment. They involve multiple well-controlled steps before soymilk is extracted and ready for further processing. Any departure from the limited range of the operating parameters leads to the degradation of the quality and yield of soymilk. As a result, existing methods are either capital or manpower intensive, and are not easy to adapt to small-scale continuous production with low cost equipment.
In accordance with one aspect, the present invention is a process amenable to low cost equipment for making liquid food products with no substantial off-flavor volatiles in a continuous process at a small as well as large scale.
In one aspect, enzymes that produce off-flavor volatiles are instantaneously inactivated thermally concomitantly with or immediately following disintegration of solid food in water while the disintegration is conducted under pressure. The pressurized disintegration permits the temperature of the resulting slurry to be raised to the desired cooking temperature, which is usually about 100xc2x0 C. or above. Presence or absence of air during disintegration is relatively unimportant.
In another aspect, a system for continuously producing liquid food products with no off-flavor volatiles includes an airless grinder which is operated under pressure so that air leakage is minimized, enabling the use of low cost equipment.
In yet another aspect, the process includes both airless grinding and steam heating operations, which are performed substantially simultaneously under pressure. This simplifies the construction of a system by eliminating some of the components required in the prior art setups. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Anton Tereschenko
Anton Tereschenko (; ; born 20 September 1995) is a Belarusian professional footballer. As of 2019, he plays for Naftan Novopolotsk.
References
External links
Profile at pressball.by
Profile at Gomel website
Category:1995 births
Category:Living people
Category:Belarusian footballers
Category:Association football midfielders
Category:FC Gomel players
Category:FC Granit Mikashevichi players
Category:FC UAS Zhitkovichi players
Category:FC Naftan Novopolotsk players | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
Payload Assist Module
The Payload Assist Module (PAM) is a modular upper stage designed and built by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing), using Thiokol Star-series solid propellant rocket motors. The PAM was used with the Space Shuttle, Delta, and Titan launchers and carried satellites from low Earth orbit to a geostationary transfer orbit or an interplanetary course. The payload was spin stabilized by being mounted on a rotating plate. Originally developed for the Space Shuttle, different versions of the PAM were developed:
PAM-A (Atlas class), development terminated; originally to be used on both the Atlas and Space Shuttle
PAM-D (Delta class), uses a Star-48B rocket motor
PAM-DII (Delta class), uses a Star-63 rocket motor
PAM-S (Special) as a kick motor for the space probe Ulysses
The PAM-D module, used as the third stage of the Delta II rocket, was the last version in use. As of 2018, no PAM is in active use on any rockets.
2001 re-entry incident
On January 12, 2001, a PAM-D module re-entered the atmosphere after a "catastrophic orbital decay". The PAM-D stage, which had been used to launch the GPS satellite 2A-11 in 1993, crashed in the sparsely populated Saudi Arabian desert, where it was positively identified.
Gallery
References
External links
Payload Assist Module at the NASA Shuttle Reference Manual
Payload Assist Module at GlobalSecurity.org
Category:Solid-fuel rockets
Category:Rocket stages
Category:Articles containing video clips | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
142 F.3d 194
1998 Copr.L.Dec. P 27,765, 46 U.S.P.Q.2d 1521
John SUNDEMAN, Successor Personal Representative of theEstate of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Baskin;Florida Foundation, Plaintiffs-Appellants,v.THE SEAJAY SOCIETY, INC., Defendant-Appellee.
No. 97-1339.
United States Court of Appeals,Fourth Circuit.
Argued Jan. 30, 1998.Decided April 23, 1998.
1
ARGUED: J. Lester Kaney, Cobb, Cole & Bell, Daytona Beach, FL; Herbert L. Allen, Allen, Dyer, Doppelt, Franjola & Milbrath, P.A., Orlando, FL, for Appellants. Steve A. Matthews, Sinkler & Boyd, P.A., Columbia, SC, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Robert O. Meriwether, Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough, L.L.P., Columbia, SC, for Appellee.
2
Before WILLIAMS and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges, and KISER, Senior United States District Judge for the Western District of Virginia, sitting by designation.
3
Affirmed by published opinion. Senior Judge KISER wrote the opinion, in which Judge WILLIAMS and Judge MICHAEL joined.
OPINION
KISER, Senior District Judge:
4
Mr. Norton Baskin (Baskin) is the personal representative of the estate of his late wife, Mrs. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Baskin (Rawlings). In Count I of the Second Amended Complaint, Baskin and the University of Florida Foundation (Foundation) (formerly known as the University of Florida Endowment Corporation) seek to recover from The Seajay Society, Inc. (Seajay) physical possession of certain documents which appellants assert are assets of the Rawlings estate. In Count II, the Foundation seeks damages and injunctive relief for Seajay's alleged violation of, and alleged threats to continue violating, its copyright.1
5
Senior Judge Perry tried this case without a jury on September 5 and 6, 1991. After the trial, post-trial briefs, and closing arguments, the lower court, on October 1, 1992, entered judgment for Seajay as to Counts I and II, but did not render a decision on the counterclaim.2 The district court also did not file findings of facts or conclusions of law at that time. Baskin and the Foundation noticed an appeal to this Court on October 30, 1992. This Court, however, dismissed the appeal without prejudice because of the district court's failure to address the counterclaim or include findings of fact and conclusions of law.
6
On February 5, 1997, after reopening the record, receiving additional evidence on Count II, and hearing renewed closing arguments, the district court found for Seajay as to Counts I and II and the counterclaim. The district court also filed its findings of fact and conclusions of law. That decision is now before this Court on appeal.
I. FACTS
7
Rawlings died on December 14, 1953 in St. John's County, Florida. She was the noted author of books such as Sojourner, Cross Creek, and The Yearling, which won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize.
8
In her will, Rawlings designated Baskin and the Foundation as coexecutors of her estate. She also designated one of her closest friends, Ms. Julia Scribner Bigham (Bigham) as literary executrix of her estate. Bigham was the daughter of publisher Charles Scribner, whose company, Charles Scribner's Sons Publishers (Scribner Publishing), published all of Rawlings' works.
9
On January 27, 1954, the County Judge's Court for St. John's County, Florida appointed Baskin as the sole executor of Rawlings' estate. The probate court never appointed the Foundation as an executor. Likewise, the probate court never appointed Bigham as literary executrix, or as any other fiduciary. Bigham acted in the capacity as literary executrix, however, under the auspices of Baskin, from 1953 until her death on October 24, 1961.3
10
Rawlings' will left immediate custody of "all manuscripts, all notes, all correspondence, and all literary property of any kind" to Bigham, in her role as literary executrix. Bigham had the power to destroy any of the "notes, manuscripts or correspondence" she believed should be destroyed. She also had the power to determine which materials would be published. Bigham could keep the literary works as long as she wanted, then she was to turn them over to the University of Florida Library. Any income from these literary materials was to be held in trust by the Foundation, along with the remainder of Rawlings' property.
11
Acting in her role as literary executrix, Bigham collected Rawlings' correspondence, papers, manuscripts, and other materials from Baskin. Bigham also obtained some of Rawlings' materials from Scribner Publishing. At no time did Baskin, the only court appointed fiduciary, ever request an inventory of the materials collected by Bigham.
12
Bigham scrupulously performed her duties as literary executrix. During the remainder of her life, she wrote an introduction to and posthumously published The Secret River, and then directed the original manuscript be sent to the University of Florida Library; she posthumously published The Marjorie Rawlings Reader, and then returned the typescript and original materials to Scribner Publishing; she worked to ensure that any works retained by Scribner Publishing were later sent to the University of Florida Library; and she transferred numerous other documents to the University of Florida Library. After Bigham's death in 1961, Baskin did not ask any one else to assume the role of literary executor. Instead, as executor of the estate, he assumed that role.
13
Baskin was not as conscientious as Bigham in performing the duties of literary executor. He admitted that he was aware that Bigham had a significant number of Rawlings' documents at the time of her death, yet he never asked Bigham's family to return any of those documents to the Rawlings estate. He stated that he believed the documents were under consideration for publication by Scribner Publishing, but admits that he knew the documents were at Bigham's residence. In any event, he failed to confirm whether or not the documents were part of the Rawlings estate and whether or not they were being considered for publication by Scribner Publishing. Four years after Bigham's death on October 24, 1961, the Florida probate court closed administration of Rawlings' estate with Baskin still having failed to clarify the status of those documents.
14
The documents remained stored at the residence of Bigham's widower in two boxes which were labeled "MKR letters and papers." In 1987, Bigham's widower was moving from the residence, so he and his children decided to dispose of the contents of the boxes. Ms. Ann Hutchins, Bigham's daughter, contacted Mr. Glenn Horowitz, a nationally known dealer of rare books and literary and historical manuscripts, to help them sell the material. Horowitz and his staff cataloged the contents of the two boxes as follows:
15
1. Letters written from Rawlings to Bigham from 1939 to 1953;
16
2. Correspondence of Bigham in connection with her duties as literary executrix;
17
3. Publisher's typescript with editor's blue-penciled emendations of Rawlings' The Secret River (a children's book posthumously published by Bigham);
18
4. Miscellaneous original typescripts, manuscripts, and story ideas written by Rawlings, including her first unpublished novel, Blood of My Blood;
19
5. Letters written from Bigham to Rawlings from 1940 to 1953.4
20
After compiling the catalog of documents, Horowitz contacted Dr. James Meriwether, an officer of Seajay, about the letters. Seajay is a small, non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing public aware ness of, and interest in, unduly neglected aspects of South Carolina and southern culture. After negotiations, Seajay obtained the documents by partial purchase and partial gift from the Bigham estate.
21
After purchasing the documents, Seajay made one whole copy of Blood Of My Blood for Dr. Anne Blythe (Blythe). Blood of My Blood is Rawlings' first novel; it was written in 1928, is 183 pages long, and has never been published. Blythe, also an officer of Seajay, used the copy in preparing a critical review of Blood of My Blood. Seajay made the copy so that Blythe would not damage the fragile original during her analysis. Seajay also made a partial copy5 of the manuscript which it sent to the Rare Books Room at the University of Florida Library. Seajay made this copy for the dual purpose of allowing Baskin, or his designee, to view and authenticate it, and allowing the University of Florida Press to view it and determine if it was worthy of publication. Access to the copy was restricted, and photocopying it was prohibited.6 The University of Florida Library eventually returned its copy to Seajay.
22
In April of 1988, Blythe orally presented her critical analysis of Blood of My Blood to a symposium of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society at the University of Florida. Between 150 and 200 members of Rawlings Society attended the symposium. In the presentation, Blythe quoted approximately 2,464 words from the text of Blood of My Blood, or four to six percent of the total text. Blythe submitted a hard copy of her paper for publication with the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society Journal. She also hoped to publish an edited version of her presentation as an introduction to Blood of My Blood, which the University of Florida Press wanted to publish in its entirety. Blythe was aware that neither the Society's Symposium nor the University of Florida Press would be able to publish her article, much less Blood of My Blood, without first obtaining the permission of the copyright holder. Neither publisher was able to secure the necessary permission, thus neither Blood of My Blood nor Blythe's paper has ever been published.7
23
On February 9, 1990, the St. John's County, Florida probate court re-opened administration of Rawlings' estate, allowing Baskin to bring this suit on behalf of the estate. Baskin then filed the original Complaint, in which he sought recovery of the documents from Seajay, on May 18, 1990. He amended his Complaint on September 21, 1990 to include the Foundation's claim for damages and injunctive relief under the Copyright Act. At trial, on September 6, 1991, Baskin and the Foundation amended the Amended Complaint so that the Foundation could also assert an action for recovery of the documents under Count I. On February 5, 1997, the district court entered final judgment in favor of Seajay as to Counts I and II and its counterclaim.
II. POSSESSION OF THE DOCUMENTS
24
As to Count I of the Second Amended Complaint, the lower court made three alternative holdings which supported its finding for Seajay. First, it held that Baskin's claim in Count I was barred by South Carolina's six year statute of limitations, S.C.Code Ann. § 15-3-530(4) (Law.Co-op.1997), and that the Foundation had no independent claim to a possessory interest in the contested documents. Second, the lower court held that even if Baskin and the Foundation had a possessory interest in the documents, Seajay's title in them was protected as a good faith purchaser for value from a dealer in goods of the kind. S.C.Code Ann. § 36-2-403(2). Third, the district court addressed the merits of the case, and held that Baskin and the Foundation failed to prove that either had a right to possession of the documents. The appellants attack each one of these holdings. In affirming the decision of the lower court, we need only address whether or not Baskin's claim is barred by the relevant statute of limitations.8
25
South Carolina Code § 15-3-530(4) provides a six year limitations period for "an action for the specific recovery of personal property." Such an action must be commenced within six years after the claimant "knew or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known that he had a cause of action." S.C.Code Ann. § 15-3-535; see also Campus Sweater and Sportswear Co. v. M.B. Kahn Constr. Co., 515 F.Supp. 64, 79 (D.S.C.1979) (holding that "discovery rule" in § 15-3-535 applies to claims under § 15-3 530(4)), aff'd, 644 F.2d 877 (4th Cir.1981). The lower court held that Baskin, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have known that he had a cause of action to recover the contested documents on October 24, 1961, the date of Bigham's death.
26
The determination that Baskin "knew or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known that he had a cause of action" almost thirty years before bringing his action is a finding of fact. Thus, it is subject to a "clearly erroneous" standard of review. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 52.
27
The lower court made its determination by relying upon fifteen subsidiary facts drawn solely from an examination of Baskin's own deposition testimony and interrogatory responses.9 The most relevant of those facts to this Court are that: (i) Bigham worked, not as a fiduciary under a court order, but under the auspices of Baskin, the sole court appointed fiduciary of the Rawlings estate; (ii) Baskin delivered numerous documents to Bigham following Rawlings' death and knew that Bigham collected documents from Scribner Publishing, as well; (iii) Baskin knew that Bigham had some of Rawlings' documents at her home when she died in October of 1961; (iv) as executor of the estate, Baskin assumed the role of literary executor upon Bigham's death;10 (v) despite his knowledge that Bigham had some of Rawlings' documents in her possession at the time of her death and his understanding that the documents were now his responsibility as executor of the estate, Baskin did not request to review the documents to determine if they were the property of the estate, nor did he ask that the documents be returned to his possession; and (vi) Baskin never requested the return of the documents from 1961 to 1965, while administration of Rawlings' estate remained open.11
28
The evidentiary support for the district court's factual finding is more than sufficient to withstand review under a clearly erroneous standard. We concur with the district court that even if the contested documents were part of the Rawlings' estate, Baskin's cause of action to recover the documents arose in 1961 and expired, under South Carolina law, in 1967. Thus, his attempt to now recover possession of the documents is time barred. Because Baskin's claim is time barred, and because the Foundation has waived its claim to possession of the documents, we affirm the district court's decision as to Count I of the Second Amended Complaint.
III. COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
29
In Count II of the Second Amended Complaint, the Foundation seeks damages and an injunction for the past and prospective infringement of its copyright in Blood of My Blood.12 Specifically, the Foundation seeks damages for the entire copy of Blood of My Blood provided by Seajay to Blythe; the partial copy provided by Seajay to the University of Florida Library; and for Blythe's oral presentation, which quoted and paraphrased Blood of My Blood, and her attempts to publish that presentation. The Foundation seeks the injunction because of alleged threats made by Seajay to disseminate copies of Blood of My Blood to other archives which maintain collections of Rawlings' works.
30
The district court held that the allegedly infringing copies were permissible under the fair use exception of 17 U.S.C.A. § 107. According to the lower court, Blythe's paper constituted a scholarly appraisal of Blood of My Blood from a literary and biographical perspective, for which extensive quoting from a copyrighted work is permissible. As for her attempts to publish the scholarly criticism, the lower court found that she understood that the paper would not be published unless the publisher first obtained the permission of the copyright holder, and, in fact, her paper never was published. The lower court found that the complete copy of Blood of My Blood given to Blythe was permissible since it was provided to prevent damage to the original manuscript during the course of her scholarly work. Regarding the partial copy sent to the University of Florida Library, the district court found that it was made for the dual purposes of allowing Baskin, or his designee, to authenticate it and to allow the University of Florida Press to determine whether it was worthy of publication. The court also decided that Seajay knew that no publication of the novel would take place without first obtaining the permission of the copyright holder.
31
The claim for injunctive relief is based upon a letter written by Seajay's counsel on September 13, 1989, which the Foundation claims threatened the dissemination of additional copies of Blood of My Blood in violation of the Foundation's copyright. The lower court decided that the alleged threat did not constitute a threat at all. Rather, the court found that the letter constituted a request by Seajay for permission to copy Blood of My Blood.
A. Claim for Damages
32
Seajay concedes that the copies it made of Blood of My Blood constitute copyright infringement, unless they are protected by an exception to the Copyright Act. Seajay argues that its copies are protected by the fair use exception to copyright infringement found at 17 U.S.C.A. § 107.
33
"Fair use is a mixed question of law and fact." Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539, 560, 105 S.Ct. 2218, 2230, 85 L.Ed.2d 588 (1985). Thus, we review the district court's legal conclusions de novo. American Geophysical Union v. Texaco Inc., 60 F.3d 913, 918 (2d Cir.1994). The district court's subsidiary findings of fact are, of course, subject to a clearly erroneous standard of review. Id.
34
"Section 106 of the Copyright Act confers a bundle of exclusive rights to the owner of the copyright," Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 546, 105 S.Ct. at 2223; 17 U.S.C.A. § 106 (West 1996 & Supp.1997), including the "right of first publication." Salinger v. Random House, Inc., 811 F.2d 90, 95 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 890, 108 S.Ct. 213, 98 L.Ed.2d 177 (1987). Section 107 of the Act provides an exception to the copyright holder's exclusive rights: "the fair use of a copyrighted work ... is not an infringement of copyright." 17 U.S.C.A. § 107. "Any individual may reproduce a copyrighted work for a 'fair use'; the copyright owner does not possess the exclusive right to such a use." Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417, 433, 104 S.Ct. 774, 784, 78 L.Ed.2d 574 (1984). This fair use exception permits photocopying of copyrighted material "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research."13 17 U.S.C.A. § 107.
35
Fair use is an "equitable rule of reason," for which "no generally applicable definition is possible." H.R.Rep. No. 94-1476, at 65 (1976), U.S.Code Cong. & Admin. News at 5659, 5679. The statute requires a "case-by-case analysis" to determine whether a particular use is fair. Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569, 577, 114 S.Ct. 1164, 1170, 127 L.Ed.2d 500 (1994). While Congress has "eschewed a rigid, bright-line approach to fair use," Sony, 464 U.S. at 448 n. 31, 104 S.Ct. at 792 n. 31, it has set forth four factors to guide a court when deciding whether a particular use is fair: (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. 17 U.S.C.A. § 107. These factors are not exclusive, but are "particularly relevant to the fair use question." Maxtone-Graham v. Burtchaell, 803 F.2d 1253, 1260 (2d Cir.1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1059, 107 S.Ct. 2201, 95 L.Ed.2d 856 (1987). These four statutory factors may not be "treated in isolation, one from another. All are to be explored, and the results weighed together, in light of the purposes of copyright." Campbell, 510 U.S. at 578, 114 S.Ct. at 1171.
36
i. Character and Purpose
37
The first factor to be considered is the purpose and character of the challenged use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit educational purposes. 17 U.S.C.A. § 107(1).
38
a. Character
39
"The enquiry here may be guided by the examples given in the preamble to § 107, looking to whether the use is for criticism, or comment, or news reporting, and the like.... The central purpose of this inquiry is to see ... whether the new work merely' supersede[s] the objects' of the original creation, or instead adds something new, with a further purpose or different character, altering the first with new expression, meaning, or message; it asks, in other words, whether and to what extent the new work is transformative. Although such transformative use is not absolutely necessary for a finding of fair use, the goal of copyright, to promote science and the arts, is generally furthered by the creation of transformative works.... [T]he more transformative the new work, the less will be the significance of other factors, like commercialism, that may weigh against a finding of fair use." Campbell, 510 U.S. at 578-79, 114 S.Ct. at 1171 (citations omitted).
40
We find that the district court was correct in characterizing Blythe's paper as "a scholarly appraisal of Blood of My Blood from a biographical and literary perspective." Baskin v. Seajay Society, Inc., No. 3:90-1100-0, at 30 (D.S.C. February 5, 1997). A reading of Blythe's paper clearly indicates that she attempted to shed light on Rawlings' development as a young author, review the quality of Blood of My Blood, and comment on the relationship between Rawlings and her mother. The "further purpose" and "different character" of Blythe's work make it transformative, rather than an attempt to merely supersede Blood of My Blood.
41
While it does quote from and paraphrase substantially Blood of My Blood, its purpose is to criticize and comment on Ms. Rawlings' earliest work. Thus, Blythe's transformative paper fits within several of the permissible uses enumerated in § 107; it has productive uses as criticism, comment, scholarship, and literary research. While this finding is not determinative, it is one factor supporting the district court's finding of a fair use. See Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 561, 105 S.Ct. at 2230-31; Wright v. Warner Books, Inc., 953 F.2d 731, 736 (2d Cir.1991) ("[T]here is a strong presumption that factor one favors the defendant if an allegedly infringing work fits the description of uses described in section 107.").
42
b. Purpose
43
The Foundation contends that Blythe was partially motivated by prospective royalties from the publication of her scholarly criticism, and that such commercial motivation negates any scholarly motivation. Under the fair use doctrine, commercial use of an allegedly infringing work is more disfavored than noncommercial use. See Sony, 464 U.S. at 449, 104 S.Ct. at 792. Nonetheless, while there is evidence that Blythe hoped to profit from her paper, this factor alone is not dispositive of the fair use issue. "[T]hough it is a significant factor, whether the profit element of the fair use calculus affects the ultimate determination of whether there is a fair use depends on the totality of the factors considered; it is not itself controlling." Rogers v. Koons, 960 F.2d 301, 309 (2d Cir.) (citation omitted), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 934, 113 S.Ct. 365, 121 L.Ed.2d 278 (1992).14
44
"The crux of the profit/nonprofit distinction is not whether the sole motive of the use is monetary gain but whether the user stands to profit from exploitation of the copyrighted material without paying the customary price." Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 562, 105 S.Ct. at 2231. Courts should also "consider the public benefit resulting from a particular use notwithstanding the fact that the alleged infringer may gain commercially." Sega Enters. Ltd. v. Accolade, Inc., 977 F.2d 1510, 1523 (9th Cir.1992). This public benefit typically involves "the development of art, science, and industry." Rosemont Enters., Inc. v. Random House, Inc., 366 F.2d 303, 307 (2d Cir.1966) (citation omitted), cert. denied, 385 U.S. 1009, 87 S.Ct. 714, 17 L.Ed.2d 546 (1967).
45
First, there is no evidence of an exploitative motive in any of the allegedly infringing uses. There was no commercial motive, much less an exploitative motive, in the complete copy provided to Blythe. Her copy was provided in pursuit of her scholarly objective and only because she might harm the fragile, seventy year old original manuscript during her analysis. There also was no exploitative motive underlying the University of Florida Library's partial copy. One of Seajay's motivations for delivering the copy was to authenticate it as a work of Ms. Rawlings. Clearly, this was non-commercial and nonexploitative. The other purpose behind the copy was to assess the worthiness of Blood of My Blood for publication. While this was potentially a commercial motivation, there was no risk of exploitation since Seajay understood that such publication could not take place without the permission of the copyright holder.
46
As for Dr. Blythe's paper, there was a potential commercial motivation in that Dr. Blythe may have received royalties if her paper were published, however, there was no attempt to exploit the Foundation. The paper was only to be published if the necessary permission were obtained from the copyright holder. Since such permission was not obtained, the paper was not published and no royalties were ever received.
47
Second, all of Seajay's uses unquestionably served the "public benefit" and "the development of art." The Blythe copy was provided by Seajay to protect the fragile original from damage during a scholarly literary criticism of the work. The Library copy was provided for authentication and determination of worthiness for publication, publication which would not take place without the permission of the copyright holder. As noted above, the Blythe paper was for the purposes of scholarship, criticism, comment, and literary research. All of these purposes serve the public benefit and aid in the development of the arts.
48
Thus, in general, the challenged uses of Blood of My Blood were for noncommercial, educational purposes. To the extent there was any commercial motivation behind the uses, there was no attempt to exploit Blood of My Blood to the detriment of the Foundation.
49
A subsidiary enquiry to the commercial/non-commercial distinction is whether the allegedly infringing uses "supplant[ed] the copyright holder's commercially valuable right of first publication." Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 562, 105 S.Ct. at 2231. In this case, Seajay's uses of Blood of My Blood had neither the "intended purpose," nor the "incidental effect," of usurping the Foundation's right of first publication. See id. First, there is no evidence that Seajay intended to publish Blood of My Blood before the Foundation. In fact, all of the evidence indicates that Seajay sought the Foundation's approval to publish the work, and that when such approval was not forthcoming, it did not publish Blood of My Blood.15 Second, Seajay's uses did not have the effect of supplanting a potential publication of Blood of My Blood by the Foundation. Blythe's copy was seen only by Dr. Blythe as she performed her scholarly review. The Library's copy was seen only by a representative of Baskin and representatives of the University of Florida Press. Blythe's paper was presented only to between 150 and 200 members of the Rawlings Society, the editor of the Society's Symposium, and an editor for University of Florida Press. None of these disseminations of Blood of My Blood was sufficient to support a finding that Seajay supplanted the Foundations's right of first publication.
50
For the aforementioned reasons, the purpose and character of Seajay's allegedly infringing uses weigh heavily in favor of finding the uses fair under 17 U.S.C.A. § 107.
51
ii. Nature of Copyrighted Work
52
The second statutory consideration is the nature of the copyrighted work. 17 U.S.C.A. § 107(2). "This factor calls for recognition that some works are closer to the core of intended protection than others, with the consequence that fair use is more difficult to establish when the former works are copied." Campbell, 510 U.S. at 586, 114 S.Ct. at 1175.
53
Creative works and unpublished works are closer to the core of works protected by the Copyright Act. "The law generally recognizes a greater need to disseminate factual works than works of fiction or fantasy .... [and][t]he scope of fair use is also narrower with respect to unpublished works." Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 563, 564, 105 S.Ct. at 2232, 2232. Because Blood of My Blood is a creative, unpublished work, the second enquiry weighs in favor of finding Seajay's use unfair.16
54
Appellant argues that the unpublished nature of the Blood of My Blood requires us to reverse the district court. Indeed the Supreme Court stated that "[u]nder ordinary circumstances, the author's right to control the first public appearance of his undisseminated expression will outweigh a claim of fair use." Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 555, 105 S.Ct. at 2228. In 1992, however, Congress amended § 107 to state that: "The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors." 17 U.S.C.A. § 107.17 Thus, while the fact that Blood of My Blood was unpublished militates against a finding of "fair use," it does not foreclose a finding that Seajay's use was fair.
55
Appellant also urges reversal because the dissemination by Seajay denies the Foundation its power to decide not to publish Blood of My Blood at all. Harper & Row clearly recognizes that "[t]he right of first publication encompasses ... the choice whether to publish at all...." 471 U.S. at 564, 105 S.Ct. at 2232. The Foundation is correct in its statement that usurping the copyright holder's privilege to determine whether or not to publish Blood of My Blood would favor a finding of unfair use. This argument presupposes, however, that the purpose or effect of the allegedly infringing uses was to supplant the Foundation's right to publish Blood of My Blood. As discussed above, we have found that neither the purpose nor the effect of any of the challenged copies amounted to a first publication of Blood of My Blood. Thus, we hold that while the unpublished nature of Blood of My Blood weighs against a finding of fair use, the allegedly infringing copies have not stripped from the Foundation its right to determine whether or not to publish Rawlings' first work at all.
56
For the aforementioned reasons, the nature of the copyrighted work weighs in favor of finding Seajay's use to have been unfair under 17 U.S.C.A. § 107.
57
iii. Amount and Substantiality of Copied Portion
58
The third statutory factor addresses the amount and substantiality of the portion copied by the alleged infringer in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole. 17 U.S.C.A. § 107(3). "[T]his factor calls for thought not only about the quantity of the materials used, but about their quality and importance, too." Campbell, 510 U.S. at 587, 114 S.Ct. at 1175. Thus, this factor has favored copyright holders where a significant percentage of the copyrighted work was copied, or where the percentage was not great, but the copied portion essentially was the "heart" of the copyrighted work. Wright, 953 F.2d at 738 (citations and internal quotations omitted).
59
a. Quality
60
No evidence was admitted as to the value of the copied material in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole. We could presume that because Blythe chose to quote it, the material copied necessarily must be the "heart of the work," however, we decline to do so. Obviously, the quoted material is of significant value, or it would not have been quoted. All quoted material is of significant value, but it cannot be said to be the "heart of the work" or the fair use doctrine would be destroyed. See Religious Technology Center v. Lerma, 908 F.Supp. 1362, 1367 (E.D.Va.1995). If all quoted material were deemed significant enough to preclude a fair use just because it was significant enough to be quoted, no one could ever quote copyrighted material without fear of being sued for infringement. Thus, we find that the quoted portions are undoubtedly significant, but fall short of being the "heart of the work," and thus weighing in favor of a finding of unfair use.
61
b. Quantity
62
"There are no absolute rules as to how much of a copyrighted work may be copied and still be considered a fair use." Maxtone-Graham, 803 F.2d at 1263. In analyzing this factor, we must consider material copied from the copyrighted work, whether it has been quoted verbatim or paraphrased. Salinger v. Random House, 811 F.2d 90, 97 (2d Cir.1987). Copying an entire work weighs against finding a fair use, Advanced Computer Servs. v. MAI Sys. Corp., 845 F.Supp. 356, 365 (E.D.Va.1994), however, it does not preclude a finding of fair use. Id. at 366 (citations omitted). "[T]he extent of permissible copying varies with the purpose and character of the use." Campbell, 510 U.S. at 586-87, 114 S.Ct. at 1175.18
63
Obviously, the copies of Blood of My Blood provided to Blythe and the University of Florida Library were qualitatively and quantitatively substantial. Nonetheless, when the extent of the copying is considered with the purpose and character of the uses, the amount and substance of the copies are justified. See Campbell, 510 U.S. at 586-87, 114 S.Ct. at 1175-76. In order for Blythe to perform her scholarly criticism of the novel, she obviously needed access to either the original or an entire copy. Similarly, in order for the Library to authenticate Blood of My Blood as being Rawlings' work, to determine whether the work was worthy for publication, and to obtain the necessary permission from the copyright holder, it too needed either the original or a nearly complete copy. It would severely restrict scholarly pursuit, and inhibit the purposes of the Copyright Act, if a fragile original could not be copied to facilitate literary criticism. Thus, we find that the amount and substantiality of the portion of Blood of My Blood copied for Blythe and the Library did not exceed the amount necessary to accomplish these legitimate purposes. See Supermarket of Homes, Inc. v. San Fernando Valley Bd. of Realtors, 786 F.2d 1400, 1409 (9th Cir.1986).
64
As to Blythe's paper, she quoted between four and six percent of Blood of My Blood. In addition, she paraphrased substantially from the work. As with the copies provided to Blythe and the Library, the propriety of the amount quoted and paraphrased by Blythe must be analyzed in consideration of the purpose and character of the allegedly infringing use. Here, Blythe was performing a scholarly criticism of Rawlings' initial work. It seems apparent that a scholarly criticism of a book will require the critic to quote and paraphrase from the work it is analyzing. See Supermarket of Homes, 786 F.2d at 1408 ("A common type of 'fair use' is quotation of a passage in a book review."); Robert Stigwood Group Ltd. v. O'Reilly, 346 F.Supp. 376, 385 (D.Conn.1972) (recognizing that critical review of another's work can be a fair use and that critics may quote extensively from the copyrighted work "in order to comment effectively"). Additionally, as the district court held, the amount quoted by Blythe is well within allowable limits as found by other courts. See New Era Publications Int'l, ApS v. Carol Publ'g Group, 904 F.2d 152, 158 (2d Cir.) (fair use defense available where defendant quoted minuscule amount from 25 works, between 5 and 6 percent of 12 works and 8 percent or more of 11 short works), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 921, 111 S.Ct. 297, 112 L.Ed.2d 251 (1990); Maxtone-Graham, 803 F.2d at 1263 (quoting 4.3 percent of copyrighted work not incompatible with finding of fair use). Thus, we find that no more of the text was quoted or paraphrased than was necessary for Blythe to adequately criticize and comment upon Blood of My Blood.
65
For the aforementioned reasons, the amount and substantiality of the portion copied by Seajay weigh in favor of finding the uses fair under 17 U.S.C.A. § 107.
66
iv. Market Effect
67
The final statutory enquiry considers the effect the allegedly infringing use has upon the market for, or value of, the copyrighted work. 17 U.S.C.A. § 107(4). This fourth factor "is undoubtedly the single most important element of fair use." Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 566, 105 S.Ct. at 2233.
68
a. Impair Marketability
69
A use that does not materially impair the marketability of the copyrighted work generally will be deemed fair. Advanced Computer Services, 845 F.Supp. at 366 (citing Sony, 464 U.S. at 450-51, 104 S.Ct. at 792-93; Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 566-67, 105 S.Ct. at 2233-34; N.A.D.A. Servs. Corp. v. Business Data of Virginia, Inc., 651 F.Supp. 44, 48 (E.D.Va.1986)). The only evidence presented at trial as to the market effect of the allegedly infringing uses was that, despite the Blythe presentation and the copies to Blythe and the Library, the University of Florida Press still wanted to publish Blood of My Blood. Based on this evidence, the district court held that the uses made by Seajay did not diminish the potential market for, or value of, Blood of My Blood.
70
This finding of fact was not clearly erroneous. The copy provided to Blythe was seen only by Blythe; the copy provided to the University of Florida was seen only by Mr. Roger Tarr, an associate of Baskin, and representatives of University of Florida Press; the presentation by Blythe was seen by between 150 and 200 members of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society, the editor of the Society's Symposium, and an editor for the University Press. Thus, it is reasonable for the district court to have concluded that the allegedly infringing activities did not have a negative impact on the market for, or value of, Blood of My Blood. In fact, it is likely that Blythe's presentation stimulated interest in Blood of My Blood among the Society's members and may actually have increased demand for it. See Maxtone-Graham, 803 F.2d at 1264.
71
b. Market Substitute
72
Another key element of the fourth enquiry is whether the allegedly infringing work is a market substitute for the copyrighted work. As the Supreme Court stated, "the role of the courts in determining fair use is to distinguish between '[b]iting criticism [that merely] suppresses demand [and] copyright infringement[, which] usurps it.' " Campbell, 510 U.S. at 592, 114 S.Ct. at 1178 (quoting Fisher v. Dees, 794 F.2d 432, 438 (9th Cir.1986)). The fair use doctrine protects against a republication which offers the copyrighted work "in a secondary packaging," where "potential customers, having read the secondary work, will no longer be inclined to purchase again something they have already read." New Era Publications Int'l, ApS v. Henry Holt & Co., Inc., 695 F.Supp. 1493 (S.D.N.Y.1988), aff'd, 873 F.2d 576 (2d Cir.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1094, 110 S.Ct. 1168, 107 L.Ed.2d 1071 (1990). The doctrine does not protect against criticism which may have an adverse market effect. Id.
73
This analysis harkens back to our discussion of § 107(1). As we held then, Blythe's paper was transformative; it did not amount to mere duplication of the original, and did not have the purpose or effect of supplanting the copyrighted work. It did not serve as a market replacement for Blood of My Blood, rather it served as a criticism of and comment about Blood of My Blood. This holding is reinforced by the University of Florida Press' willingness to publish Blood of My Blood despite Blythe's presentation. Accordingly, we hold that since Blood of My Blood and Blythe's criticism of Blood of My Blood serve different market functions, Blythe's paper is not a market substitute for the original work.19
74
c. Derivative Markets
75
A final element of the fourth factor is the impact the allegedly infringing uses may have on the market for derivatives of the copyrighted work. Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 568, 105 S.Ct. at 2234-35. The market for potential derivatives includes those uses that the copyright holder of the original work would develop or license others to develop. Campbell, 510 U.S. at 592, 114 S.Ct. at 1178. As the Supreme Court declared, however, "there is no protectible derivative market for criticism." Id. If there were a protectible derivative market for critical works, copyright holders would only license to those who would render favorable comment. The copyright holder cannot control the dissemination of criticism. See New Era, 695 F.Supp. at 1523 (fair use protection is not "accorded only to favorable critics"). Thus, Seajay's allegedly infringing uses could not impact the market for derivatives of Blood of My Blood.
76
For the aforementioned reasons, the effect Seajay's uses have on the market for, or value of, Blood of My Blood weighs in favor of finding the uses fair under 17 U.S.C.A. § 107.
77
v. Aggregation of Four Factors
78
An analysis of the four statutory factors leads us to agree with the district court that Seajay's uses of the original manuscript of Blood of My Blood were permissible under the "fair use" exception to copyright infringement.
B. Claim for Injunctive Relief
79
The district court held that the alleged threats of illegal duplication contained in the letter of September 13, 1989 did not constitute threats at all. Instead, the lower court held that the letter merely requested permission to publish Blood of My Blood. The court noted that letters dated January 29, 1990; July 3, 1990; and August 16, 1990 supported its factual determination. A review of those letters shows ample support for the district court's factual finding. Accordingly, there was no threat of future dissemination of Blood of My Blood, and the district court properly denied the Foundation's request for an injunction.
IV. CONCLUSION
80
For the reasons contained herein, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
81
AFFIRMED.
1
It is important to note the distinction between the physical ownership of documents, and the ownership of the literary rights in those documents, the later being the copyright. Under 17 U.S.C.A. § 202 (West 1996), the physical document and the copyright are subject to separate transfer. Count I concerns the right to physical possession of the documents themselves, while Count II concerns the ownership of the literary rights in the documents. Seajay concedes that the Foundation owns the copyright to Ms. Rawlings' letters and papers, however, it contends that it did not infringe upon those literary rights
2
Seajay filed a counterclaim seeking a declaration that their uses of the contested documents prior to February 21, 1991 did not constitute publication sufficient to warrant an extension of the Foundation's copyright under 17 U.S.C.A. § 303. Appellants apparently do not appeal this ruling
3
The term "literary executrix" is somewhat misleading because Bigham never qualified as a fiduciary in any capacity. Her legal status seems to have been that of an advisor to the executor, Baskin
4
Appellants allege in Count I that certain of the documents in categories 3 and 4 were owned by Rawlings at the time of her death, and passed to Bigham solely in her role as literary executrix. They claim that upon Bigham's death, rightful possession of those documents passed to Baskin as the administrator of the estate. Their claim covers a total of 12 documents from those two categories, including Rawlings' first unpublished novel Blood of My Blood
5
This copy included all but six pages of the original
6
The Foundation used a copy of Blood of My Blood obtained in violation of this restriction to register its copyright on June 13, 1990
7
In Count II, the Foundation claims that the copy of Blood of My Blood made for Blythe; the copy made for the University of Florida Library; and the paper written and presented by Blythe, which quoted and substantially paraphrased Blood of My Blood, constitute copyright infringement. The Foundation also claims that Seajay has threatened to make additional infringing copies of Blood of My Blood. According to the Foundation, this alleged threat justifies the injunctive relief sought under 17 U.S.C.A. § 502
8
As noted, the lower court held that the Foundation did not have a possessory interest in the contested documents. Appellants have not appealed this decision. Indeed, their entire appeal as to Count I is directed at Baskin's recovery of the contested documents. Accordingly, appellants have waived any claim by the Foundation for possession of the contested documents. Therefore, we need only discuss whether Baskin has a viable claim under Count I
9
Baskin was unable to testify at the trial due to his health. His deposition testimony and interrogatory responses were admitted into evidence
10
Baskin not only admitted this in his interrogatory responses and deposition testimony, but in paragraph 14 of the Second Amended Complaint, Baskin alleged that, upon Bigham's failure to complete her duties as literary executrix, the duty passed to him as personal representative of the estate
11
In paragraph 15 of the Second Amended Complaint, Baskin alleges that as personal representative of Rawlings' estate, the right to possession of all the estate's personal property belonged to him pending the completion of administration of the estate, yet he did not attempt to recover these documents while administration of the estate remained open from 1961 until 1965
12
Count II is a claim exclusively put forward by the Foundation, as the sole owner of the copyright
13
This list of permissible uses is not exhaustive and is not intended to single out any particular use as presumptively fair. Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 561, 105 S.Ct. at 2230-31
14
"If, indeed, commerciality carried presumptive force against a finding of fairness, the presumption would swallow nearly all of the illustrative uses listed in the preamble paragraph of § 107, including news reporting, comment, criticism, teaching, scholarship and research, since these activities are generally conducted for profit in this country." Campbell, 510 U.S. at 584, 114 S.Ct. at 1174 (citation and internal quotation omitted) (emphasis added)
15
In this case, there was no attempt by the defendant to market the copyrighted work ahead of an imminent publication by the copyright holder, as there was in Harper & Row
16
Even though Blood of My Blood can be characterized as autobiographical, it is still a work of creative expression rather than a presentation of information
17
Appellants contend that the 1992 amendment to § 107 does not apply in this case because the action commenced in 1990 and the district court reached its initial decision in 1991. We disagree. The district court reopened the case for argument in 1996, received additional evidence as to Count II at that time, and entered its findings of fact and conclusions of law in 1997. Thus, the law at the time of the district court's decision included the 1992 amendment. In any event, prior to the 1992 amendment, the Supreme Court's statement in Harper & Row did not require a finding of unfair use; it merely militated against a finding of fair use. We are of the opinion that the district court's decision should be upheld whether or not the 1992 amendments apply to this case
18
The more material copied directly from a copyrighted work tends to show a lack of transformative character under the first factor and a greater likelihood of market harm under the fourth factor. See Campbell, 510 U.S. at 587-88, 114 S.Ct. at 1175-76
19
We find that, even if widespread, Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 568, 105 S.Ct. at 2234-35, Blythe's presentation would not have superseded Blood of My Blood 's place in the market. As a scholarly criticism, Blythe's paper is of a different character and delivers a different message than Blood of My Blood. Thus, it could not be a market substitute for or a competitor with Blood of My Blood
| {
"pile_set_name": "FreeLaw"
} |
Three years experience of adults admitted to hospital in north-east Scotland with E. coli O157.
To describe the epidemiology, clinical features, treatment and outcomes of adults with E. coli O157 infection presenting to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary over a three year period. A retrospective casenote review. Thirty-two confirmed cases of E. coli O157 infection were admitted between 1997 and 2000. The median age was 58 years (range 16-93). Ten patients (31%) were from the city of Aberdeen and 22 (69%) from surrounding rural areas. Twenty-seven patients (85%) presented between May and October. The source of infection was unknown or unconfirmed in all cases. Bloody diarrhoea was present in 30 (94%). Leucocytosis was present in 18 (63%) but only four patients (13%) had a fever. Six of the 32 patients (19%) developed Haemolytic-Uraemic Syndrome (HUS) of whom 2 died. Ten patients received antibiotics of whom two developed HUS. Twenty-seven of the 32 (85%) had made a full recovery by time of discharge, three (9%) had impaired renal function and two (6%) died in hospital. E. coli O157 infection tends to occur sporadically in rural areas in North East Scotland. It is not usually associated with fever. Infection occurs more commonly in the summer and autumn. HUS complicates infection in almost one fifth of patients. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
/*
* Copyright (c) 2015, 2016, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
*
* Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
* modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
* are met:
*
* - Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
*
* - Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
* documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
*
* - Neither the name of Oracle nor the names of its
* contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived
* from this software without specific prior written permission.
*
* THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS
* IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
* THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
* PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR
* CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
* EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
* PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR
* PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
* LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING
* NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
* SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
*/
#ifndef LIBJIMAGE_INTTYPES_HPP
#define LIBJIMAGE_INTTYPES_HPP
typedef unsigned char u1;
typedef char s1;
typedef unsigned short u2;
typedef short s2;
typedef unsigned int u4;
typedef int s4;
#ifdef LP64
typedef unsigned long u8;
typedef long s8;
#else
typedef unsigned long long u8;
typedef long long s8;
#endif
#endif // LIBJIMAGE_INTTYPES_HPP
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
Snorkeling Waterlemon Cay on St John
About Waterlemon Cay
Waterlemon Cay is the #1 “St John attraction” on Tripadvisor. It’s also one of the top spots to snorkel in the Caribbean! In general, the water is clear, the reef, corals and marine life are healthy and thriving. Colorful Caribbean tropical fish of all species are abundant! Waterlemon Cay should be on every snorkeler’s “bucket list”.
#1 Snorkeling Destination on St John!
Snorkeling among the rich diversity of corals and fish is the reason so many people choose to snorkel at Waterlemon Cay. Each year thousands of people make their way here in search of the best snorkeling on St John. And Waterlemon Cay is truly one of the best snorkeling spots to see schools of fish, rays, turtles, star fish, conch as well as beautiful hard and soft coral reef formations. Access to the water is fairly easy via a sandy beach or a coral stone beach closest to Waterlemon Cay. This location is famous for the variety and density of sea life. You see lots of mustard hill coral, yellow and red sponges, huge purple sea fans, fire coral and large elkhorn. The variety of fish is equally as rich – with schools of blue Atlantic Tangs, parrotfish, blue runners, Sergeant Major Damsels and an assortment of colorful and inquisitive wrasses species. Leinster Bay and its sea grass beds are a great place to spot turtles, rays and Queen conch.
…the real draw is the panoramic view of Leinster Bay and the British Virgin Islands!
Ruins and Scenic Overlooks – so often overlooked ( forgive the pun) are the amazing ruins on the hill above Waterlemon Cay. Take a short spur trail and just a couple of hundred yards up the path are the Old Danish Guardhouse Ruins. A beautiful stone arch frames Leinster Bay. And a bit further up the trail is a destination not to be missed. The Windy Hill Ruins are an impressive collection of walls and stonework. But the real draw is the panoramic view of Leinster Bay all the way around to Tortola and the BVIs! Truly not to be missed. Check the above map for directions.
Where is Waterlemon Cay?
[ see Google Map above ] From Cruz Bay – head west ( left as you face St John) up the hill on Rte 20 ( North Shore Road). You’ll follow the twisting road for about 5 mi – passing Caneel Bay Resort, Hawksnest, Jumbie, Trunk, Cinnamon and Maho Bay beach. After Maho the road turns to a single lane. Follow it until you come to a “Y” intersection. Bear right – signs for Annaberg and Leinster/Waterlemon Cay. There is a parking area about 500 yrds down on your right. The trail starts at the end of the road nearest the shoreline. The hike is flat and approx. .5mi / each way.
The short hike takes you along the shoreline of the beautiful aqua-blue waters of Leinster Bay. The best spot to enter the water is along the coral rubble shoreline – nearest the little island or Cay just off shore. Snorkel out to Waterlemon Cay and you’ll likely see lots of huge red and yellow cushion starfish.
A Word of Caution
CAUTION!– Depending on the weather, tides and moon phase – there can be a strong current on the western edge of the Cay. Use common sense and never exceed your abilities and always snorkel with someone.
St John’s Top Snorkeling Spots
Waterlemon Cay– by far the most popular snorkeling destination on Saint JohnHenley Cay – our STAFF PICK for Best Snorkeling on St JohnHaulover North – on the East End but well worth the drive!Vie’s / Hansen Bay – East End. Wonderful beach and snorkelingHoneymoon Beach – Watersports “shack” with SUP, kayak, snorkel gear, etc.Salt Pond– Very good snorkeling on the rocky patch reef in the center of the bay.
Recent Posts
Sponsors
St John Island
Getting to know St John island is half the fun. Discover the best St John resorts, top St John snorkeling beaches, beach bars and restaurants and more!. Our pages are the #1 Virgin Islands resource for visitors - providing maps, guides, bar and restaurant reviews, St John villa rentals and news announcements.
Enjoy! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
---
abstract: 'We study the effects of Supernova (SN) feedback on the formation of galaxies using hydrodynamical simulations in a $\Lambda$CDM cosmology. We use an extended version of the code GADGET-2 which includes chemical enrichment and energy feedback by Type II and Type Ia SN, metal-dependent cooling and a multiphase model for the gas component. We focus on the effects of SN feedback on the star formation process, galaxy morphology, evolution of the specific angular momentum and chemical properties. We find that SN feedback plays a fundamental role in galaxy evolution, producing a self-regulated cycle for star formation, preventing the early consumption of gas and allowing disks to form at late times. The SN feedback model is able to reproduce the expected dependence on virial mass, with less massive systems being more strongly affected.'
---
Introduction
============
Supernova explosions play a fundamental role in galaxy formation and evolution. On one side, they are the main source of heavy elements in the Universe and the presence of such elements substantially enhances the cooling of gas (White & Frenk 1991). On the other hand, SNe eject a significant amount of energy into the interstellar medium. It is believed that SN explosions are responsible of generating a self-regulated cycle for star formation through the heating and disruption of cold gas clouds, as well as of triggering important galactic winds such as those observed (e.g. Martin 2004). Smaller systems are more strongly affected by SN feedback, because their shallower potential wells are less efficient in retaining baryons (e.g. White & Frenk 1991).
Numerical simulations have become an important tool to study galaxy formation, since they can track the joint evolution of dark matter and baryons in the context of a cosmological model. However, this has shown to be an extremely complex task, because of the need to cover a large dynamical range and describe, at the same time, large-scale processes such as tidal interactions and mergers and small-scale processes related to stellar evolution.
One of the main problems that galaxy formation simulations have repeteadly found is the inability to reproduce the morphologies of disk galaxies observed in the Universe. This is generally refered to as the angular momentum problem that arises when baryons transfer most of their angular momentum to the dark matter components during interactions and mergers (Navarro & Benz 1991; Navarro & White 1994). As a result, disks are too small and concentrated with respect to real spirals. More recent simulations which include prescriptions for SN feedback have been able to produce more realistic disks (e.g. Abadi et al. 2003; Robertson et al. 2004; Governato et al. 2007). These works have pointed out the importance of SN feedback as a key process to prevent the loss of angular momentum, regulate the star formation activity and produce extended, young disk-like components.
In this work, we investigate the effects of SN feedback on the formation of galaxies, focusing on the formation of disks. For this purpose, we have run simulations of a Milky-Way type galaxy using an extended version of the code [GADGET-2]{} which includes chemical enrichment and energy feedback by SN. A summary of the simulation code and the initial conditions is given in Section \[simus\]. In Section \[results\] we investigate the effects of SN feedback on galaxy morphology, star formation rates, evolution of specific angular momentum and chemical properties. We also investigate the dependence of the results on virial mass. Finally, in Section \[conclusions\] we give our conclusions.
Simulations {#simus}
===========
We use the simulation code described in Scannapieco et al. (2005, 2006). This is an extended version of the Tree-PM SPH code [GADGET-2]{} (Springel & Hernquist 2002; Springel 2005), which includes chemical enrichment and energy feedback by SN, metal-dependent cooling and a multiphase model for the gas component. Note that our star formation and feedback model is substantially different from that of Springel & Hernquist (2003), but we do include their treatment of UV background.
We focus on the study of a disk galaxy similar to the Milky Way in its cosmological context. For this purpose we simulate a system with $z=0$ halo mass of $\sim 10^{12}$ $h^{-1}$ M$_\odot$ and spin parameter of $\lambda\sim 0.03$, extracted from a large cosmological simulation and resimulated with improved resolution. It was selected to have no major mergers since $z=1$ in order to give time for a disk to form. The simulations adopt a $\Lambda$CDM Universe with the following cosmological parameters: $\Omega_\Lambda=0.7$, $\Omega_{\rm m}=0.3$, $\Omega_{\rm b}=0.04$, a normalization of the power spectrum of $\sigma_8=0.9$ and $H_0=100\ h$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ with $h=0.7$. The particle mass is $1.6\times 10^7$ for dark matter and $2.4\times 10^6$ $h^{-1}$ M$_\odot$ for baryonic particles, and we use a maximum gravitational softening of $0.8\ h^{-1}$ kpc for gas, dark matter and star particles. At $z=0$ the halo of our galaxy contains $\sim 1.2\times 10^5$ dark matter and $\sim 1.5\times 10^5$ baryonic particles within the virial radius.
In order to investigate the effects of SN feedback on the formation of galaxies, we compare two simulations which only differ in the inclusion of the SN energy feedback model. These simulations are part of the series analysed in Scannapieco et al. (2008), where an extensive investigation of the effects of SN feedback on galaxies and a parameter study is performed. In this work, we use the no-feedback run NF (run without including the SN energy feedback model) and the feedback run E-0.7. We refer the interested reader to Scannapieco et al. (2008) for details in the characteristics of these simulations.
Results
=======
In Fig. \[maps\] we show stellar surface density maps at $z=0$ for the NF and E-0.7 runs. Clearly, SN feedback has an important effect on the final morphology of the galaxy. If SN feedback is not included, as we have done in run NF, the stars define a spheroidal component with no disk. On the contrary, the inclusion of SN energy feedback allows the formation of an extended disk component.
![Edge-on stellar surface density maps for the no-feedback (NF, left-hand panel) and feedback (E-0.7, right-hand panel) simulations at $z=0$. The colors span 4 orders of magnitude in projected density, with brighter colors representing higher densities. []{data-label="maps"}](map-NF.eps "fig:"){width="60mm"} ![Edge-on stellar surface density maps for the no-feedback (NF, left-hand panel) and feedback (E-0.7, right-hand panel) simulations at $z=0$. The colors span 4 orders of magnitude in projected density, with brighter colors representing higher densities. []{data-label="maps"}](map-E-0.7.eps "fig:"){width="60mm"}
![Left: Star formation rates for the no-feedback (NF) and feedback (E-0.7) runs. Right: Mass fraction as a function of formation time for stars of the disk and spheroidal components in simulation E-0.7. []{data-label="sfr_stellarage"}](sfr-copen.ps "fig:"){width="70mm"}![Left: Star formation rates for the no-feedback (NF) and feedback (E-0.7) runs. Right: Mass fraction as a function of formation time for stars of the disk and spheroidal components in simulation E-0.7. []{data-label="sfr_stellarage"}](fig6.ps "fig:"){width="64mm"}
The generation of a disk component is closely related to the star formation process. In the left-hand panel of Fig. \[sfr\_stellarage\] we show the star formation rates (SFR) for our simulations. In the no-feedback case (NF), the gas cools down and concentrates at the centre of the potential well very early, producing a strong starburst which feeds the galaxy spheroid. As a result of the early consumption of gas to form stars, the SFR is low at later times. On the contrary, the SFR obtained for the feedback case is lower at early times, indicating that SN feedback has contributed to self-regulate the star formation process. This is the result of the heating of gas and the generation of galactic winds. In this case, the amount of gas available for star formation is larger at recent times and consequently the SFR is higher. In the right-hand panel of Fig. \[sfr\_stellarage\] we show the mass fraction as a function of formation time for stars of the disk and spheroidal components in our feedback simulation (see Scannapieco et al. 2008 for the method used to segregate stars into disk and spheroid). From this plot it is clear that star formation at recent times ($z\lesssim 1$) significantly contributes to the formation of the disk component, while stars formed at early times contribute mainly to the spheroid. In this simulation, $\sim 50$ per cent of the mass of the disk forms since $z=1$. Note that in the no-feedback case, only a few per cent of the final stellar mass of the galaxy is formed since $z=1$.
Our simulation E-0.7 has produced a galaxy with an extended disk component. By using the segregation of stars into disk and spheroid mentioned above, we can calculate the masses of the different components, as well as characteristic scales. The disk of the simulated galaxy has a mass of $3.3\times 10^{10}\ h^{-1}\ M_\odot$, a half-mass radius of $5.7\ h^{-1}$ kpc, a half-mass height of $0.5\ h^{-1}$ kpc, and a half-mass formation time of $6.3$ Gyr. The spheroid mass and half-mass formation time are $4.1\times 10^{10}\ h^{-1}\ M_\odot$ and $2.5$ Gyr, respectively. It is clear that the characteristic half-mass times are very different in the two cases, the disk component being formed by younger stars.
In Fig. \[j\_evolution\] we show the evolution of the specific angular momentum of the dark matter (within the virial radius) and of the cold gas plus stars (within twice the optical radius) for the no-feedback case (left-hand panel) and for the feedback case E-0.7 (right-hand panel). The evolution of the specific angular momentum of the dark matter component is similar in the two cases, growing as a result of tidal torques at early epochs and being conserved from turnaround ($z\approx 1.5$) until $z=0$. On the contrary, the cold baryonic components in the two cases differ significantly, in particular at late times. In the no-feedback case (NF), much angular momentum is lost through dynamical friction, particularly through a satellite which is accreted onto the main halo at $z\sim 1$. In E-0.7, on the other hand, the cold gas and stars lose rather little specific angular momentum between $z=1$ and $z=0$. Two main factors contribute to this difference. Firstly, in E-0.7 a significant number of young stars form between $z=1$ and $z=0$ with high specific angular momentum (these stars form from high specific angular momentum gas which becomes cold at late times); and secondly, dynamical friction affects the system much less than in NF, since satellites are less massive. At $z=0$, disk stars have a specific angular momentum comparable to that of the dark matter, while spheroid stars have a much lower specific angular momentum.
![Dashed lines show the specific angular momentum as a function of time for the dark matter that, at $z=0$, lies within the virial radius of the system for NF (left panel) and E-0.7 (right panel). We also show with dots the specific angular momentum for the baryons which end up as cold gas or stars in the central $20\ h^{-1}$ kpc at $z=0$. The arrows show the specific angular momentum of disk and spheroid stars. []{data-label="j_evolution"}](fig5a.ps "fig:"){width="65mm"} ![Dashed lines show the specific angular momentum as a function of time for the dark matter that, at $z=0$, lies within the virial radius of the system for NF (left panel) and E-0.7 (right panel). We also show with dots the specific angular momentum for the baryons which end up as cold gas or stars in the central $20\ h^{-1}$ kpc at $z=0$. The arrows show the specific angular momentum of disk and spheroid stars. []{data-label="j_evolution"}](fig5b.ps "fig:"){width="65mm"}
In Fig \[metal\_profiles\] we show the oxygen profiles for the no-feedback (NF) and feedback (E-0.7) runs. From this figure we can see that SN feedback strongly affects the chemical distributions. If no feedback is included, the gas is enriched only in the very central regions. Including SN feedback triggers a redistribution of mass and metals through galactic winds and fountains, giving the gas component a much higher level of enrichment out to large radii. A linear fit to this metallicity profile gives a slope of $-0.048$ dex kpc$^{-1}$ and a zero-point of $8.77$ dex, consistent with the observed values in real disk galaxies (e.g. Zaritsky et al. 1994).
![Oxygen abundance for the gas component as a function of radius projected onto the disk plane for our no-feedback simulation (NF) and for the feedback case E-0.7. The error bars correspond to the standard deviation around the mean. []{data-label="metal_profiles"}](fig9.ps){width="80mm"}
Finally, we investigate the effects of SN feedback on different mass systems. For that purpose we have scaled down our initial conditions to generate galaxies of $10^{10}\ h^{-1}\ M_\odot$ and $10^9\ h^{-1}\ M_\odot$ halo mass, and simulate their evolution including the SN feedback model (with the same parameters than E-0.7). These simulations are TE-0.7 and DE-0.7, respectively. In Fig. \[dwarf\] we show the SFRs for these simulations, as well as for E-0.7, normalized to the scale factor ($\Gamma=1$ for E-0.7, $\Gamma=10^{-2}$ for TE-0.7 and $\Gamma=10^{-3}$ for DE-0.7). From this figure it is clear that SN feedback has a dramatic effect on small galaxies. This is because more violent winds develop and baryons are unable to condensate and form stars. In the smallest galaxy, the SFR is very low at all times because most of the gas has been lost after the first starburst episode. This proves that our model is able to reproduce the expected dependence of SN feedback on virial mass, without changing the relevant physical parameters.
![SFRs for simulations DE-0.7 ($10^{9}\ h^{-1}$ M$_\odot$), TE-0.7 ($10^{10}\ h^{-1}$ M$_\odot$) and E-0.7 ($10^{12}\ h^{-1}$ M$_\odot$) run with energy feedback. To facilitate comparison, the SFRs are normalized to the scale factor $\Gamma$. []{data-label="dwarf"}](fig10b.ps){width="80mm"}
Conclusions
===========
We have run simulations of a Milky Way-type galaxy in its cosmological setting in order to investigate the effects of SN feedback on the formation of galaxy disks. We compare two simulations with the only difference being the inclusion of the SN energy feedback model of Scannapieco et al. (2005, 2006). Our main results can be summarized as follows:
- [ SN feedback helps to settle a self-regulated cycle for star formation in galaxies, through the heating and disruption of cold gas and the generation of galactic winds. The regulation of star formation allows gas to be mantained in a hot halo which can condensate at late times, becoming a reservoir for recent star formation. This contributes significantly to the formation of disk components. ]{}
- [When SN feedback is included, the specific angular momentum of the baryons is conserved and disks with the correct scale-lengths are obtained. This results from the late collapse of gas with high angular momentum, which becomes available to form stars at later times, when the system does not suffer from strong interactions. ]{}
- [ The injection of SN energy into the interstellar medium generates a redistribution of chemical elements in galaxies. If energy feedback is not considered, only the very central regions were stars are formed are contaminated. On the contrary, the inclusion of feedback triggers a redistribution of metals since gas is heated and expands, contaminating the outer regions of galaxies. In this case, metallicity profiles in agreement with observations are produced. ]{}
- [ Our model is able to reproduce the expected dependence of SN feedback on virial mass: as we go to less massive systems, SN feedback has stronger effects: the star formation rates (normalized to mass) are lower, and more violent winds develop. This proves that our model is well suited for studying the cosmological growth of structure where large systems are assembled through mergers of smaller substructures and systems form simultaneously over a wide range of scales. ]{}
, 2003, *ApJ*, 591, 499
, 2007, *MNRAS*, 374, 1479
, 2004, *A&AS*, 205, 8901
, 1991, *ApJ*, 380, 320
, 1993, *MNRAS*, 265, 271
, 2004, *ApJ*, 606, 32
, 2005, *MNRAS*, 364, 552
, 2006, *MNRAS*, 371, 1125
, 2008, *MNRAS*, in press (astro-ph/0804.3795)
, 2002, *MNRAS*, 333, 649
, 2003, *MNRAS*, 339, 289
2005, *MNRAS*, 364, 1105
, 1991, *ApJ*, 379, 52
, 1994, *ApJ*, 420, 87
| {
"pile_set_name": "ArXiv"
} |
Morning Toast Plate
$22.00
Compare at
Quantity
Tea and grilled cheese have met their match in clever, slice-shaped porcelain plate that serves up sandwiches with a smile. From everyday morning breakfasts to afternoon teas, this toast shaped ceramic plate gives the opportunity to keep your heart warm with memories and your tummy full of delicious food. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Friday, August 29, 2014
I have been thinking a lot about exile, because I live in a kind of self-imposed exile myself, and because when I look at the lives of other writers, it seems to be a common theme. The favourite author of my youth DH Lawrence left his home town of Eastwood, England, and spent the rest of his life wandering the globe trying to find a place he could call home (he never did!) Ireland's James Joyce lived in Paris. Great Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon lived way down in the south of England. Steinbeck removed himself in the end to New York state; Irish writer Edna O'Brien has lived forever more in London.
The list goes on and on, and I think it's because the writer growing up has felt him or herself a step removed from his surroundings. There but not really there, which is the kind of perspective you need to look upon a place artistically. And then, of course, those people who populated your growing up don't generally like it if you turn around and start throwing their way of life back at them. They find it condescending, because you are after all only the cheeky child who had too much say back then, and they are not about to condone it now. Same goes for the family - no one loves the Joseph character and would rather sell him/her off to the hairy Ishmaelites, thank you.
But in the great irony that most art rests, the writer in exile spends his/her life longing back, looking over his or her shoulder with a wistful "If only" look.
The images in this picture are the kind that get my heart bleeding, and I only have to hear Scottish music for my toes to go into involuntary spasms. You only have to ask me about Scottish independence, and I will talk without ceasing about the case for a Yes vote. I will call on my forefathers and Robert Burns and wax lyrical about Braveheart himself Mel Gibson, I mean William Wallace.
Out of a family of five children, I was actually the only one born in Scotland. Out of my syblings, I was the only one to sit out in the car of an evening by myself listening to the Alexander Brothers singing about the days of their childhood in the Scottish mountains and glens.
And then there's the blood, you see, the dancing gyres of the DNA: Mc (son of - should really be, and is in the Gaelic, Nic daughter of) Dou (Dubh - dark) Gall (Ghall - stranger.) NicDougall. Daughter of a dark stranger, that's me.
So why not go back? Or at least why not stop all this longing, wipe the Scottish dust of your feet and have done with it? It's because you're trapped. "Draining your dearest veins" (Burns) for the life-blood of your art, you still don't really belong anywhere, neither in the old country nor the new. It's too late for me - I am a mid-Atlantic dweller now, my feet in No-man's Land, marooned in a country that like Atlantis does not exist.
As Lawrence so aptly put it: "We're rather like Jonah's running away from the place we belong."
Friday, August 22, 2014
"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." Stephen King
I am going to take a moment or two just to rest on my laurels a little here: five months on from publication of "Veil Of Time," some little whispers of success are beginning to make themselves heard, and I have to report that it is salve to my lonely little ear. Oh, it is lovely, and it has taken a hunch out of my shoulders after these hard silent paranoid weeks and weeks of waiting to see how my book is going to fair out in the wide world. For those on the brink of publication, let me warn you, that no struggle in the dark hours of your creative office, no argument with your editor, no disparaging comments from people who should know better, comes close to the gnawing doubt that sets in during the weeks and months after publication of your first book.
Okay, so here I am at month number five - Veil Of Time is not on the New York Times Best seller list, but it is making its way onto a few lists.
The first of these is a recommended summer "beach reads" list from my own Simon and Schuster. Of course, being my publisher, you'd expect them to want to tout their own publications, but I just want to point out that not every book they publish made it onto this list. And lots of potential readers are going to see this list, some of whom will even go out and buy my book. Some may even take it to the beach, which is where I wouldn't mind parking myself - like, permanently. Like, it's the best place for, you know, like chilling out.
Second of all, not being an internet aficionado, I am not well acquainted with popular websites, but my editor e-mailed me a couple of days ago to tell me that my book is number 17 out of 125 on a list of best books of 2014 (so far!) Glory Hallelujah! The website is called Popsugar.com and has a readership of two and a half million. I pulled it up and found my book on another list of their's: Books you will love if you like Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. My book is number 5 (out of 23) on that list! More, they had a little blurb accompanying the book jacket, which read, "While it is similar in concept to Outlander, the novel differentiates itself by focusing on royals instead of rebels. You won't be able to get enough!"
To which I say, thank you Popsugar! (I don't even mind that you called my book a Romance - give me two and a half million readers and I am anybody's!) Like, no brainer. Like, duh.
Friday, August 15, 2014
I have had some fan mail lately, a very nice thing for an author so insecure she can't even look at her reviews. One of the messages said that they really loved the book Veil Of Time, but sort of wished there had been more hot stuff.
Well, that is one of those issues that every author has to face and make a decision on. Some authors decide not to go into the hot zone at all, but frankly a book with no sex is to me like a dinner with no dessert - you just can't help feeling something is missing. And, Freud aside, sex is just so much a part of the human experience, how could you have 350 pages describing the lives of people without it? Diana Gabaldon in her Outlander series took the opposite tack and decided to put it in every other page, but that leaves me after a while feeling like shouting "Enough already!" It's just hard to write one good sex scene, let alone a hundred.
Then of course, there's the embarrassment. Pretty much your reader knows that you're going to draw on your own experience, so then you have your Great Aunt Theresa to think about, not to mention children. That's not a part of your experience you're gong to post on Facebook, if you have Facebook, which I don't. Because I am private. I keep myself to myself. Hence the question of sex in what I write is not a small issue.
So, my rule for literature is the same I hold up to sex in movies - if it moves the plot along and isn't gratuitous, then it should stay. People seem to allow for clicheed sex scenes in books much more readily than they allow for clichees in any other aspect of writing. In American films, the sex clichee that is acted out time and time again revolves around the saxophone, the clothes strewn up the stairs, the abandoned high heels, the sparse bedroom, the bodies moving under the covers. Why do people not object? It makes your eyes glaze over. You know what they mean, but it's not showing you anything about the characters.
Real sex isn't like that anyway - especially not with someone you have known for two hours, as is usually the case in movies. European films are better about this, and don't do that saxophone thing. The bodies tend to be real bodies; the action tends to come out of the characters.
That's what I strive for in my writing. In "Veil Of Time," there is really only one sex scene (though others touched on) when Maggie and Fergus come together for the first time. So no saxophones, but some confusion over leg wraps and dirks sheathed under the armpit and surprisingly stretchy modern underwear. I wanted to show in that scene that his expectations, coming from the 8thC, would be quite different from hers, being a modern somewhat damaged woman. Maybe I succeeded, maybe I didn't.
And then there is virtue in leaving something to the imagination. We won't go into Shades of Grey, because that isn't literature but something else - maybe a useful something else, as a pressure valve is useful to a pressure cooker, but not worthy of art. Some sex scenes I read are just too explicit and make you feel uncomfortable, like someone exposing themselves to you in an alley. I don't need to know how well a man is hung - it isn't going to change much about this intimate soul-bearing interaction between people. I certainly don't need to know about enormous mammary glands, God save us. Let the reader fill in the gaps - it's far more erotic anyway. Give hints.
In writing, this is the kind of balance we strive for. The author is a tight-rope walker between truth and suggestion. To be a writer is to be a conjurer. The magician shows you more by showing you less. The conjurer never lays everything out on the table, and certainly not the manual of how the trick is done.
Friday, August 8, 2014
There's still lots to tell about my trip to Scotland!
First of all, my visit to the Kilmartin Museum was more than remarkable. Dunadd, where I set my book and where I was staying for a week, is the most important of the ancient monuments that dot the six mile-long valley called these days Kilmartin Glen, but which in my book is called "The Valley Of Stones." Archeologists come in from time to time and excavate another of the burial cairns or stone chambers, and they have also from time to time taken their trowels to Dunadd. Some of what they find is housed in the Kilmartin Museum, which also boasts an outstanding little tearoom. Every time I go home to Argyll, I pay the Kilmartin Museum a visit, because it has provided me with good source material for my writing (and because the scones are the best!) In my book, Veil Of Time, one of my main characters Jim Galvin works there, and it is in the tearoom that he has tea and scones with my protagonist Maggie.
Anyway, this time, I also wanted to sound out the lady (also named Claire) who acquires books for the museum shop and see what the prospects were for her carrying my book. So, not only was she willing to do that, but she had already heard of the book. (Another lady on the till taking entrance fees turned out to be the mother of my brother's childhood friend, and she let me in for free.)
I took my little party down to the museum housed in the old Kilmartin church manse (such a nice little irony!) and began to explain to them some of the features that had informed my book. A lady volunteer (doing the job of my Jim Galvin) approached and asked if I was Claire McDougall, saying she had read my book and loved it and was quite effusive about the chance meeting. Made my day.
On to the tearoom. Sitting there, looking out through the oversized windows first to an 8ft deep pile of stones known as Glebe Cairn (where a burial chamber and necklace of jet was found), and then to the walls of the tea room, I noticed a couple of pieces of art. The first one is this:
You can't tell from this picture of the running shoes, but the title of the piece is "Time Traveller." I remind you that time-travel is one of the main features of my book. Then above my head at the table where I was sitting was a painting of Dunadd. Below is the inscription:
"Veil Of Time" all but jumped out of the paper and hit me square in the forehead!
The stone features of Kilmartin Glen were built thousands of years ago along a ley line, a fissure in the earth's crust emitting unusual levels of electro-magnetic energy. (How did those ancient folks know that?) Perhaps that energy informs both the veil of time and the book of the same name. I don't know, but I do suspect that we ignore at our peril the larger forces that move our story along. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Q:
Nested list to Flat list with depth using jquery
I'm trying to translate a nested list like
<ul>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea
<ul>
<li>Black tea</li>
<li>Green tea</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ul>
to
<div>
<div class="list-depth-1">Coffee</div>
<div class="list-depth-1">Tea</div>
<div class="list-depth-2">Black tea</div>
<div class="list-depth-2">Green tea</div>
<div class="list-depth-1">Milk</div>
</div>
Can you help me? And is this order always the same (from top to bottom)?
A:
How about this?
var parent = $("<div></div>");
$('#top li').each(function(pos,elem){
var child = $("<div></div>").addClass("list-depth-" + $(elem).parents('ul').length).text(elem.childNodes[0].nodeValue);
parent.append(child);
});
$('body').append(parent);
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
In conventional database systems, users access their data resources in one logical database. A user of such a conventional system typically retrieves data from and stores data on the system using the user's own systems. A user system might remotely access one of a plurality of server systems that might in turn access the database system. Data retrieval from the system might include the issuance of a query from the user system to the database system. The database system might process the request for information received in the query and send to the user system information relevant to the request.
Unfortunately, conventional database approaches might process a query relatively slowly or become inefficient for a variety of reasons if, for example, a relatively large number of users substantially concurrently access the database system. Performance information can be viewed using reports. Reports, however, need to be manually reviewed by a network administrator at regular intervals to identify performance problems. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Therapeutic value of Ginkgo biloba in reducing symptoms of decline in mental function.
The Chinese tree Ginkgo biloba or "maiden hair tree" is extensively cultivated for the exploitation of the medicinal properties of its leaves. From these, a well-defined extract designated "EGb 761" has been developed, which was commercialized initially as Tanakan, Tebonin and Rokin; a similar product, Kaveri (LI 3170), also exists. The major therapeutic applications for these products are "cerebral insufficiency", other cerebral disorders, neurosensory problems and peripheral circulatory disturbances. Four primary concepts of action have been proposed to explain the pharmacotherapeutic benefits of EGb761; these are: vasoregulatory, cognition-enhancing, stress-alleviating, and gene-regulatory. These actions are believed to be realized through the principal active ingredients, flavonoids and the terpenoids ginkgolides and bilobalide acting simultaneously in concert, combination and synergy, so-called polyvalent action. It has been proposed that EGb761 may improve the memory of healthy volunteers, and in an assessment of [corrected] forty clinical studies, it was reported that Ginkgo was able to improve the twelve different symptoms comprising 'cerebral insufficiency', all of which are manifest in the elderly. These were supported in a second major study, using LI1370. However, in both instances, the evidence was largely based upon the results of self-assessment questionnaires. Latterly, in a large double blind study of men and women with the diagnosis of uncomplicated dementia who were administered Ginkgo for a year, a further positive outcome was claimed. In this study, patients were tested using ADAS-cog, GERRI and CGIC. It is suggested that whilst these different outcomes are compatible with (but do not affirm) a clinical benefit resulting from the use of Ginkgo, the application of a more objective system of assessment would be able to provide firm proof. It is proposed, therefore, that an objective, computer-based testing system for assessment of clinical improvement in volunteers and patients administered Ginkgo (such as CANTAB) would provide the convincing evidence currently being sought by patients, carers, physicians, legislators and the pharmaceutical industry. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Kellokosken sairaalan ylilääkärinä 1990-luvulla toiminut Ilkka Taipale haluaisi pitää psykiatrisen sairaalan Tuusulassa Kellokoskella. Taipaleen mielestä liikuntamahdollisuudet sekä potilaiden työmahdollisuudet ovat aivan eri luokkaa Kellokoskella kuin vaikka Meilahdessa ja muualla Helsingin keskustassa.
– Yksi Kellokosken lakkautusperuste on, että mielisairaaloiden pitäisi tulevaisuudessa olla muiden sairaaloiden yhteydessä, eli Meilahdessa – mikä on järjetön ajatus.
– Tavallisessa sairaalassa (kuten Meilahdessa) potilaita pidetään sairaalassa kolme päivää ja sitten heidät heitetään ulos. Meidän alallamme potilaat ovat hoidossa usein viikkoja, oikeuspsykiatriapotilaat kymmenenkin vuotta. Silloin on kyse potilaiden koko elämästä: viikonlopuista, päivätoiminnasta, Lapin-matkoista ja harrastuksista. Ihmiset tulevat hulluiksi, jos ympäristössä ei ole mitään tekemistä, Taipale perustelee.
Kellokoski suljetaan 2019?
Helsingin ja Uudenmaan sairaanhoitopiirin HUSin johtoryhmä on esittänyt psykiatrisen hoidon lopettamista Kellokoskella vuoteen 2019 mennessä. Päätöstä asiassa odotetaan syyskuun aikana. HUSin toimitusjohtaja Aki Lindén kommentoi aiemmin Yle Uutisille, että tarve vuodeosastopaikoille pienenee noin kymmenen prosenttia vuodessa, koska avohoitoon on satsattu.
Kellokosken sairaalan entisen ylilääkärin Ilkka Taipaleen mukaan päätös Kellokosken lopettamisesta ei ole yksistään HUSin sisäinen asia.
– Päätöksentekoon kuuluvat Keski-Uudenmaan kunnat ja Helsingin kaupunki. Tämä on ennen kaikkea poliittinen kysymys, Taipale sanoo.
– Nytkin Helsingin vihreät, perussuomalaiset ja vasemmisto kykenevät päättämään, että Aurora ja Hesperia suljetaan ja Lapinlahti pelastetaan, Taipale lisää.
Ilkka Taipale uskoo, että Helsingin keskustassa sijaitseva Lapinlahden sairaalakin voidaan vielä pelastaa psykiatrian potilaiden käyttöön, jos vain poliittista tahtoa asiaan löytyy. Yle
Uudet psykiatrian osastot usein epäonnistuneet
Entinen ylilääkäri, SDP:n kansanedustajanakin toiminut, Ilkka Taipale ymmärtää, että jostain HUSin pitää säästää, koska potilaita on tulevaisuudessa vähemmän.
– Meillä on kolme mielisairaala-aluetta: Aurora, Hesperia ja Kellokoski. Mielestäni on ihan selvä, että Aurorasta pitää luopua. Auroran lähellerakennetaan suuria uusia asuinalueita, kuten Keski-Pasilaa. Auroran sairaala-alueella on näin ollen suurin käyttö asunnoiksi. Hesperiakin voidaan rakentaa vaikka vanhusten huoltoon tai vastaavaan. Mutta Kellokoski tulee säilyttää, Taipale kiteyttää.
Auroran sairaala-alueella on paljon rakennuksia. Psykiatrisen osaston lisäksi alueella hoidetaan muun muassa infektiosairauksia. Yle
– Kaikki psykiatrian osastot, jotka on rakennettu tavallisten sairaaloiden sisälle, ovat epäonnistuneet. Esimerkiksi Tampereen keskussairaalan ja Vantaan Peijaksen psykiatrian osastot ovat täysin epäonnistuneita. Myös ulkomailla kaikki ovat epäonnistuneet, Taipale summaa.
– Ei tarvise olla tutkimusta siiitä, miten kaikki 80 potilasta viihtyvät esimerkiksi Peijaksen kahdella pitkällä käytävällä, jossa ovet ovat aina lukossa. Verrattuna, että on hieno kartanomainen ympäristö ja taidetta – kuten Kellokoskella, Taipale sanoo.
Kellokoskelaiset, lähikuntien asukkaat sekä Kellokosken sairaalan potilaat ja henkilökunta ajavat Pelastetaan Kellokosken sairaala! -kampanjalla sairaalan säilyttämistä. Tänään sunnuntaina Kellokosken sairaalan Prinsessa-puistossa järjestetään Picnic-konsertti sairaalan säilyttämisen puolesta. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The large magnitude of solar energy available makes it a highly appealing source of electricity. The United Nations Development Programme in its 2000 World Energy Assessment found that the annual potential of solar energy was 1,575–49,837 exajoules (EJ). This is several times larger than the total world energy consumption, which was 559.8EJ in 2012. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Harmful rights-doing? The perceived problem of liberal paradigms and public health
J Coggon
John Coggon, Centre for Social Ethics and Policy and Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation, School of Law, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK; John.Coggon{at}manchester.ac.uk
Abstract
The focus of this paper is public health law and ethics, and the analytic framework advanced in the report Public health: ethical issues by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. The author criticises the perceived problems found with liberal models associated with Millian political philosophy and questions the Report’s attempt to add to such theoretical frameworks. The author suggests a stronger theoretical account that the Council could have adopted—that advanced in the works of Joseph Raz—which would have been more appropriate. Instead of seeking to justify overruling the legitimate interests of individuals in favour of society, this account holds that the interests are necessarily interwoven and thus such a conflict does not exist. It is based on an objective moral account and does not require an excessive commitment to individuals’ entitlements.
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Footnotes
Competing interests: None.
Request permissions
If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
--
-- User: mike
-- Date: 03.06.2018
-- Time: 22:51
-- This file is part of Remixed Pixel Dungeon.
--
local RPD = require "scripts/lib/commonClasses"
local spell = require "scripts/lib/spell"
local mob = require "scripts/lib/mob"
local storage = require "scripts/lib/storage"
local latest_kill_index = "__latest_dead_mob"
local function updateLatestDeadMob(mob)
local mobClass = mob:getMobClassName()
if mob:canBePet() and mobClass ~= "MirrorImage" then
storage.put(latest_kill_index, {class = mob:getMobClassName(), pos = mob:getPos()})
end
end
mob.installOnDieCallback(updateLatestDeadMob)
return spell.init{
desc = function ()
return {
image = 2,
imageFile = "spellsIcons/necromancy.png",
name = "RaiseDead_Name",
info = "RaiseDead_Info",
magicAffinity = "Necromancy",
targetingType = "none",
spellCost = 15,
castTime = 3,
level = 4
}
end,
cast = function(self, spell, chr)
local latestDeadMob = storage.get(latest_kill_index) or {}
if latestDeadMob.class ~= nil then
local mob = RPD.MobFactory:mobByName(latestDeadMob.class)
storage.put(latest_kill_index, {})
local level = RPD.Dungeon.level
local mobPos = latestDeadMob.pos
if level:cellValid(mobPos) then
mob:setPos(mobPos)
mob:loot(RPD.ItemFactory:itemByName("Gold"))
RPD.Mob:makePet(mob, chr)
level:spawnMob(mob)
chr:getSprite():emitter():burst( RPD.Sfx.ShadowParticle.CURSE, 6 )
mob:getSprite():emitter():burst( RPD.Sfx.ShadowParticle.CURSE, 6 )
RPD.playSound( "snd_cursed" )
return true
else
RPD.glog("RaiseDead_NoSpace")
return false
end
end
RPD.glog("RaiseDead_NoKill")
return false
end
}
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
ive gotten my hands on some 3M Dinoc Simulated carbon fibre vinyl. for those of you that have used this before, you know how great of a material this is. looks amazing and really easy to work with.
my shifter plate has been peeling and looking ugly so i figured i would cover it up!
this is super easy to do, only tool you will need is a butter knife to pry up the plate. heres how it goes:
Once pried up you will need to disconnect 3 harnesses, 2 on the left and 1 on the right
you will then need to unclip the leather boot from the plate, there are a few clips
once unclipped you can separate the boot from the plate
lift the plate and manoeuvre it around the boot and shifter
once freed up you will want to clean the surface, try to use something without ammonia. if your plate is peeling like mine, you can try to remove as much damaged material as you like. though the carbon fibre material will mask any uneven spots
you can now peel the cut carbon fibre away from the backing. this i have created on my own and will be selling them for $25 shipped (PM if interested or email badrat*AT*me.com) . if you have the 3M material you can now cover the plate and use a scalpel to cut away the excess material. i have tried the scalpel method before and it is really tricky to cut out where the labels are, which is why i have developed this template.
once peeled up, you will want to position the sticker from the bottom. making sure that everything lines up. work from the bottom to the top - laying the material down while making sure it follows the plate. everything should line up accordingly. if not, try to peel up the material slowly and reposition. the Dinoc is forgiving as long as you dont stretch it or get it too dirty (wash your hands!)
once everything is set, you can now give it a good press making sure it is stuck on well. air bubbles should come out with no problem
now you can reinstall the plate back into you car, follow the instructions in reverse. your car should look nice and clean once again! boom! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Q:
Python, trying to parse html to attain email address
I am using beautifulsoup to attain an email address, however I am having problems.
I do not know where to start to parse through this, to attain the email address.
> #input: url
> #output: address
>
> def urlSC(url):
> soup = BeautifulSoup(urllib2.urlopen(url).read())
> #word = soup.prettify()
> word = soup.find_all('a')
> print word
> return word
OUTPUT:
> [<a href="default.aspx"><img alt="·Î°í" border="0" src="image/logo.gif"/></a>, <a href="http://www.ctodayusa.com"><img
> border="0" src="image/ctodayusa.jpg"><a></a>
> </img></a>, <a></a>, <a href="mailto:[email protected]" id="hlEmail">[email protected]</a>, <a id="hlHomepage"></a>, <a
> href="javascript:img_up('','','');"><img border="0" class="img"
> src="upload/" vspace="10" width="1"/></a>, <a
> href="javascript:img_up('','','');"><img border="0" class="img"
> src="upload/" vspace="10" width="1"/></a>, <a
> href="javascript:openWin('http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?addr=2100
> De armoun Rd.&csz=99515&country=us')" id="hlMap"><img
> border='0"' src="images/globe.gif"> 위치</img></a>, <a
> href="javascript:print()"><img border="0" src="images/printer.gif">
> 프린트</img></a>, <a href="javascript:mail_go('[email protected]',
> '2Y5E9%2bk0h%2b4P%2f0H3jEJTq9VUG%2f0gaj40')" id="hlSendMail"><img
> border="0" src="images/mails.gif"> 메일보내기</img></a>, <a
> href="javascript:history.go(-1)"><img border="0"
> src="images/list.gif">
> </img></a>, <a href="UpdateAddress.aspx?OrgID=4102" id="hlModify"><img alt="" border="0" src="Images/Modify.gif"/></a>]
I want this email: [email protected]
A:
Get the a element by id, extract everything after mailto: from the href attribute value:
link = soup.find('a', id='hlEmail')
print link['href'][7:]
Demo:
>>> from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
>>> import urllib2
>>> url = "http://www.koreanchurchyp.com/ViewDetail.aspx?OrgID=4102"
>>> soup = BeautifulSoup(urllib2.urlopen(url))
>>> link = soup.find('a', id='hlEmail')
>>> print link['href'][7:]
rev_han seven seven seven at yahoo.com # obfuscated intentionally
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
Present invention consists of a method and system for providing assistance to a distressed vehicle, preferably a truck, having a damaged wheel component during a travel condition. In particular, the present invention regards a cheaper and faster method to substitute a damaged wheel component, for example a damaged wheel with an inflated tire, to a vehicle during a travel, for example during a travel in a highway or in a position far to every dealer. Said vehicle may be a car, truck, motorcycle, bus, trailer and wheeled equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some cases the vehicles are not provided with a further wheel, for example some trucks are not provided with a further wheel. In these cases the users of said vehicles are not able to complete the travel without an assistance aid.
It is known that many tire company provides assistance service systems for their tire users. Michelin provides an assistance service named “Euroassist” to users which subscribe an agreement.
In particular, said company provides a system comprising a plurality of assistance point and an assistance center. The assistance center receives the calls from a vehicle with the damaged tire and it provides to send one aid units from one of said plurality assistance point to said vehicle. Said aid unit provides to substitute the damaged tire with another new tire. Said new tire is sold at a fixed prize in accordance with the above agreement. Each of the assistance points must have a minimum stock of predetermined tire models. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Anderson (Carriage)
The Anderson Carriage Manufacturing Company in Anderson, Indiana, began building automobiles in 1907, and continued until 1910. The cars were known as "Anderson".
References
External links
Category:Defunct companies based in Indiana
Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Indiana
Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Indiana
Category:1907 establishments in Indiana
Category:Anderson, Indiana | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
Following PQube’s announcement for Europe this morning, Aksys Games has announced that it will release for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PS Vita in North America day and date with Europe on February 9, 2018.
The French-Bread-developed fighting game will be playable at PlayStation Experience 2017 in Anaheim, California from December 9 to 10.
Here’s an overview of the game, via PQube:
About Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] is the sensational new fighting game by developer French Bread, creators of Melty Blood, the fan-favorite fighter that’s been a staple of Japanese arcades and community events for years. Hailed as a game that truly nails the perfect balance between traditional 2D fighter gameplay and the over-the-top action of ‘anime’ fighters, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] features an electrifying cast of 20 characters, 19 gorgeous stages to battle on, and a Chronicle Mode that will delight fans and newcomers alike with an all-new UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH single-player story. Key Features Thrilling cast of characters – A varied cast of 20 characters, including series newcomers Phonon, Mika, Enkidu and Wagner!
A varied cast of 20 characters, including series newcomers Phonon, Mika, Enkidu and Wagner! 19 glorious stages – Including 4 beautiful new areas, Cafeteria, Children’s Playground, Momiji Alley and the Cathedral of the Far East.
Including 4 beautiful new areas, Cafeteria, Children’s Playground, Momiji Alley and the Cathedral of the Far East. Re-balanced gameplay – Old favourites have new abilities and new gameplay elements have been added, including the ‘Veil Off’ system that opens up new combo opportunities.
Old favourites have new abilities and new gameplay elements have been added, including the ‘Veil Off’ system that opens up new combo opportunities. Mission Mode – Learn new skills in a dedicated combo challenge mode and take on some of the hardest challenges in the game.
Learn new skills in a dedicated combo challenge mode and take on some of the hardest challenges in the game. Tutorial Mode – An expansive tutorial mode has been added to the game that teaches all the skills necessary to level up your game.
An expansive tutorial mode has been added to the game that teaches all the skills necessary to level up your game. Chronicle Mode – Discover the narrative of Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] in a dedicated story mode experience.
If you missed it earlier, catch a new trailer here. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Today the New York Toy Fair kicks off and we are about to see plenty of new Funko products coming this year including a wide variety of new Harry Potter products. Today MuggelsNet have been able to reveal a look at the upcoming figures including new Pop Vinyls, Pocket Pops, Mystery Minis and Pop Ride figures.
Here is a look at the new Toy Fair catalog images of the upcoming Harry Potter Funko products:
What do you think of these Harry Potter Funko Figures? Comment Below: | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Victoria And Albert Alice In Wonderland Set Of 2 Mini Cake Pedestals
Code: 5200021
Description
These mini cake pedestals are curious pieces for afternoon tea! Beautifully made of fine china, this set of two pedestals is illustrated with scenes from the original Alice In Wonderland book. Showing Alice and the Queen of Hearts with a whirlwind of playing cards, these scenes are hand-drawn in black and white with a touch of luxury gold decal. These pedestals are ideal for serving delicious mini cakes and bakes and are suitable for even the littlest dormouse to enjoy. To discover this fantastical story simply solve the riddle of the puzzle packaging first… this product is hidden within a luxury gift box, so find the ‘Pull Me’ tab of ribbon and see the surprise hiding within!
Specifications
Item Dimensions: 10x10x5.3CM
Review Title (0)
Be the first to review Victoria And Albert Alice In Wonderland Set Of 2 Mini Cake Pedestals | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Q:
Compiler versus Interpreter
So, let me see if I get this clearly or not.
When we say the differences between a compiler and an interpreter is that an interpreter translates high-level instructions into an intermediate form, which it then executes.
[I think the compiler also translate high-level instructions into an intermediate form but at this moment it generate the object code instead of executing it, right?]
An interpreter reads the source code one instruction or line at a time, converts this line into machine code and executes it.
[The interpreter itself doesn't convert the code to machine code, it evaluates the instruction (after that had been parsed) using ist own precompiled functons. E.g. Add expression in the high-level language will be evaluated using the interpreter add function which has been previously compiled, right?]
A:
The key difference is this: An interpreter processes the source code as it runs it. It does not convert the source into machine code, it simply uses its own code to accomplish what the source directs. A compiler converts the source code into machine code that can be run directly.
Not all compilers are separate from the execution process. For example, most Java run-times include a "JIT compiler" that compiles Java code while it's running, as needed.
You can have things in-between. Essentially, a process similar to compiling can be used first to convert the source code into something smaller and easier to interpret. This compiled output can then be interpreted. (For example, a first pass could convert, say 'if' to 53, 'else' to 54, 'for' to 55, and so on -- this will save the interpreter from having to handle variable-length strings in code that doesn't actually deal with strings.)
A:
I would agree with the first, although it is not necessarily true that the interpreter is working on one line at a time (it could do optimizations based on knowledge of the whole code).
The second I think is slightly off: the compiler does create "machine code" (which could be byte code, for a JVM). The interpreter executes parts of its own program based on the input (so far same as compiler), which executed parts are performing the computation described in the input (as opposed to performing computation to calculate the needed machine code).
It is possible to blur the lines between the two as a compiler can generate code that will be interpreted at the time of execution (to provide runtime optimization based on factors that are not available at compile time)
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
The head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says a push to spotlight third-party groups funding Republican races will pay off.
Reporting from Washington — The man charged with preserving Democrats' majority in the House said Thursday his party's effort to shine a spotlight on the "huge" spending fueled by undisclosed donors had narrowed the gap as election day neared.
Speaking with reporters in Washington at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, also predictably predicted that Democrats would hold their majority in a new Congress. And, he said, Nancy Pelosi would again preside as speaker of the House.
An increasing number of Democrats are stating publicly that they will not support the San Francisco congresswoman in a vote for speaker come January, but Van Hollen said she had "an enormous reservoir of goodwill" in the caucus.
"She's been fighting this fight harder than anybody," Van Hollen said, "and she would be the first to tell you that this campaign is about something that's much bigger than her."
Republicans have been relentlessly tying vulnerable Democrats to Pelosi in television ads, using past votes for her as party leader as a weapon just as much as votes for healthcare reform or the stimulus package.
In an interview with Charlie Rose, Pelosi herself said she had "every anticipation" she would remain leader of the House.
"Our members are battle ready. Many of them have won two elections that were very tough elections," she said. "They've won in very difficult districts in terms of Democratic numbers. And they know how to win those elections and communicate with their voters."
Van Hollen echoed that argument Thursday but acknowledged that even as the Democratic committee cautioned members at an early stage about the difficult election likely to come, no one could have prepared for the huge sums being spent in House races by third-party groups such as American Crossroads. Van Hollen estimated that Republican-allied groups were outspending Democratic supporters by a 5-to-1 margin.
When "one of these third-party groups parachutes in from outside the district, it obviously changes the dynamic in the race," he said. "That is something obviously in some of the races people are having to contend with."
A counteroffensive from the members themselves on up to the White House has helped as the campaign winds down, he added.
"Voters recoil at the idea of big, moneyed special interests spending secret money to try and influence their vote," he said, citing national polling on the issue. "And when you tie what we do know about [who is] funding these ads to issues that voters care about, I do think that it's a very powerful combination, because then voters have that 'A-ha!' moment."
Van Hollen said the influence third-party groups are having on the election, a result in part of the Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case, has been "very corrosive." That ruling struck down a federal law barring corporations and unions from spending money in direct advocacy for or against candidates for elected office. The failure of the Senate to pass the Disclose Act, which would have required groups to identify themselves in television ads, among other provisions, was "a failure for American democracy."
The Democratic campaign committee chair offered no specific prediction about the makeup of Congress come January, other than to say Democrats would control it. He based that assessment on a shrinking enthusiasm gap and the strength of Democrats' turnout operations, including a $20-million effort of his committee.
His Republican counterpart, Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, said in an interview with ABC on Thursday afternoon that as many as 100 seats were in play, and Republicans were poised to win at least 40.
"Those other 60 seats will be within the margin of error all the way up until election day," he said, "and turnout will decide that." | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
[Effect of hydrocortisone on the concentration of serotonin and monoamine oxidase activity in the vascular tract of the eye].
Effect of hydrocortisone on content of serotonin was studied in eye vascular tract or blood and the monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity was estimated in eye vascular tract of young and adult rabbits at various periods after administration of hydrocortisone under conjunctiva. After administration of hydrocortisone content of serotonin was increased in eye vascular tract and decreased in blood. Maximal serotonin reaction was observed in vascular tract of adult rabbits within 24 hrs after the hydrocortisone treatment and in one-month-old rabbits--within 4-6 hrs. In blood of adult animals the most distinct decrease in serotonin content was found within 4-6 hrs after the single administration of the preparation; in one-month-old rabbits the effect was observed after the repeated treatment within 7 days. Effect of hydrocortisone on the MAO activity in eye vascular tract varied depending on the age. In one-month-old rabbits the MAO activity was increased distinctly within 24 hrs after single administration of the preparation and in adult animals the enzyme activity was decreased within 4-6 hrs and did not alter at the other periods after the hydrocortisone administration. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Powder Room Layout Minimum Size Requirements For Rooms Is Simple Toilet Placement Must Have Side To Clearance At Least Be Clear In Front Of
powder room layout minimum size requirements for rooms is simple toilet placement must have side to clearance at least be clear in front of.
Enjoy powder room layout minimum size requirements for rooms is simple toilet placement must have side to clearance at least be clear in front of photo. This picture powder room layout has been posted by author under maduro.info June 16, 2018, 12:36 pm. You can surf powder room layout minimum size requirements for rooms is simple toilet placement must have side to clearance at least be clear in front of or further helpful articles powder room design plans, tiny powder room plans, minimum powder room layout in bathroom and decorating category. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
2 So.3d 943 (2006)
EX PARTE ALJAY LOCKETT.
No. CR-06-0014.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.
December 7, 2006.
Decision of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeal without opinion. Mand. pet. dismissed.
| {
"pile_set_name": "FreeLaw"
} |
Q:
switch from SSH key-based authentication to normal account login
The current login method of the server is SSH key-based authentication, I wish to switch it to normal linux login by key in username and password. i understand this is unnecessary, but i have to switch it over. How to do it?
A:
Look inside of /etc/ssh/sshd_config
change lines
PasswordAuthentication
PubkeyAuthentication
!check other options / lines so you don't lock yourself out. If you want to be sure, post your config file here and ask back beforehand.
If the machine is connected to the internet and the ssh port is accessible, you should take this as a warning that you don't fully understand ssh configuration.
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
While the left lauds the achievements of the eight years of Obama/Clinton, things are unraveling at an unprecedented pace overseas. Since you won't hear much about them on the news, I'll share here for the forty or so of you who read this blog from time to time. I usually try and keep these things short and to the point but there's a lot going on and I'll hit the highlights - but it will be somewhat longer than usual.
I'll start off with the Norks, because they've got a problem on their hands. The missile unit at Kusong appears to have reliability problems in its inventory of missiles. On 20 October, North Korea experienced yet another ballistic missile failure.
The missile is believed to have been a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile. It was launched from a site near Kusong and exploded immediately after launch.
I mention this only because they are desperately trying to build a missile that's reliable enough to launch a nuclear weapon OUT of their own nation, to land in South Korea or Japan. From a Kim Jong Un (the fat little dictator) perspective, hitting the US mainland with a nuclear weapon would be a dream come true, but he may have to accept a less ambitious target locally.
I doubt that they will put a nuclear warhead on top of the rocket and try to launch it given their reliability problems, but with the Norks, you never know.
Philippines/China
Philippine President Duterte arrived in China on 18 October for a state visit. Duterte pressed his message that he wished to improve cooperation with China, saying the roots of the two countries’ bonds could not be easily severed and that it was a “springtime” in relations.
At his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on 20 October, Duterte said, “Your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States … both in military, but also economics.’’
Duterte’s statement sparked thunderous applause inside the Great Hall of the People.” Without the United States,” he said addressing the Chinese audience, “I will be dependent on you.” He also said that "America has lost now” and suggested that he was also eager to cozy up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I’ve realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world — China, Philippines and Russia,’’ he said. And as an added slap, Duterte mimicked an American accent and said: “Americans are loud, sometimes rowdy. Their larynx is not adjusted to civility.’’
Xinhua published the official statement on the visit. “On 20 October President Xi Jinping held talks with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in the Great Hall of the People. The two sides unanimously agreed to proceed from the two countries' basic and common interests, follow the aspirations of the two peoples, push for the realization of comprehensive improvement and better development of the relations between China and the Philippines, and bring benefits to the two peoples.”
The highlight of the statement is Xi’s four-point suggestion for developing relations.
“First, the two sides should enhance political mutual trust. The Chinese people love peace passionately and they are benevolent and friendly toward their neighbors. China adheres to peaceful development path, adheres to the good-neighborly and friendly policy of being a good neighbor and good partner. While China firmly safeguards national sovereignty it also adheres to peaceful resolution of disputes. The two sides should enhance high-level exchanges and give play to the guiding role of high-level strategic communication in the development of the two countries' relations. It is necessary to make the visit as an opportunity to bring about comprehensive exchanges and cooperation between governments, parties, parliaments and regions of the two countries.”
“Second, the two sides should carry out pragmatic cooperation. There is the need to comprehensively align the two countries' development strategies. The Chinese side is willing to enhance cooperation with the Philippine side within the Belt and Road framework and discuss ways to realize mutual benefits and win-win results. China is willing to actively take part in the building of the Philippine railways, city rail transport, highways, ports and other infrastructure to bring benefits to the local people. The two sides should strengthen law enforcement and defense cooperation. The Chinese side supports efforts made by the new Philippine government in drug-banning, counter-terrorism, and combating crimes and is willing to carry out relevant cooperation with the Philippine side. The two sides need to expand economy and trade and investment cooperation. The Chinese side stands ready to promote companies to increase investment in the Philippines and help it develop the economy faster and better. The two sides should deepen cooperation on agriculture and poverty alleviation. The Chinese side is willing to help the Philippines boost its capacity of agricultural production and rural development and support the two countries' fishing companies to carry out cooperation.”
“Third, the two sides should promote people-to-people exchanges. The Chinese side will positively encourage Chinese tourists to travel to the Philippines, enhance bilateral exchanges in education, culture and media, and promote regional cooperation. The Chinese side suggests that the two countries carry out a series of commemorative activities next year on the 600th anniversary of the King of Sulu of the Philippines, who travelled to China for the first time.”
“Fourth, the two sides should enhance cooperation in regional and multilateral affairs. Both China and the Philippines are developing countries. They should jointly promote democratization of international relations and promote the development of international order in the direction of fair and reasonable direction. The Chinese side is willing to enhance coordination with the Philippines within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations and APEC, safeguard the interests of developing countries, stands ready to jointly promote achieving even greater development in China-ASEAN relations and in East Asian cooperation.”
President Duterte arrived in Beijing with at least 200 top Philippine business people to pave the way for what he calls a new commercial alliance. The two countries signed trade agreements valued at more than $13 billion and China promised $9 billion in development investments.
Most important for Duterte, Chinese leaders will not meddle in Philippine domestic affairs by criticizing Duterte’s war against drug lords or the Philippine human rights record. President Xi expressed support for the anti-drug campaign.
Nevertheless, Chinese leaders are wary of Duterte because they know from Philippine polls that his anti-American sentiment is not representative of the Philippine people’s attitude. One poll in 2015 indicated more than 90 per cent of the Philippine population had a favorable opinion of the US.
He also has refused to acknowledge Chinese sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Evidently the two nations will work out an accommodation that will allow Philippine boats to fish in the area.
Analysis- The Philippines will be a liability for China. Duterte is looking for a patron who dispenses rewards. He says that the US is that it has not done enough for the Philippines. However, denial of US military access to Philippine bases for use against China in the South China Sea might make the cost of carrying the Philippines for a while worth the bargain. Chinese national goals require a stable environment in Asia. That requires cooperation with the US. The Chinese also are not impressed by Duterte’s coarse, vulgar choices of words. (i.e. referring to Barack as the son of a whore - which while true, is crass)
The Philippines from a political perspective has often looked like a revolving door. A new administration might do to Duterte what he did to his predecessor—reverse the policy. The Duterte tilt might not last past Duterte’s time in office.
For now, in the politics of the South China Sea claimants, Duterte has delivered to China a strategic windfall. That includes an unprecedented partnership with China, a communist country considered a threat in the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty. It also includes the prospect that Duterte will deny US access to and use of Philippine bases in resisting China’s claim to sovereignty in the South China Sea.
Yemen
There's not much that I can say positive about the place. There have been a number of cease fires in the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran that's going on in Yemen. Another one went into effect, and was promptly violated by the Iranian/Houthi army.
Despite the stalemate and war weariness, this ceasefire will not last unless massive outside pressure is exerted on the Houthis and the Iranians who continue to supply them.
Iran is asking for a billion dollars a head for US hostages that they're holding. After the $150,000,000 windfall including a $1.4 billion cash for hostages deal with the US, they are using the ante on the release of additional hostages. My sense is that if you are stupid enough to go to Iran - and the savages take you hostage, you're on your own. But that's just me. Barack and Hillary have a different take on it.
Turkey - in - Syria
The Turkish government reported that on 18 October its combat aircraft executed 26 air strikes against Syrian Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) targets in northern Syria. The Turks claimed they killed between 160 to 200 YPG fighters.
A Turkish deputy prime minister said that Turkey was displeased with the support the US provides to the Syrian Kurds.
A YPG spokesman said the air strikes killed 15 people. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nine Kurdish fighters are confirmed dead.
In response to the Turkish air strikes, the Syrian army general command issued a statement. “Any attempt to once again breach Syrian airspace by Turkish war planes will be dealt with and they will be brought down by all means available.”
The status of Syria’s air defense system is unclear. The Russians are believed to have helped restore it. Regardless of its condition, we judge the Syrians are serious about shooting at the Turkish aircraft.
The status of Russia’s air defense system in Syria is robust and capable of downing the Turkish fighter bombers. The Syrians are not known to have asked for Russian help yet, but they almost certainly share air surveillance information and probably jointly man air defense centers.
Turkish involvement complicates the destruction of the Islamic State because Turkey will use the grand campaign against Mosul as a justification and cover for pursuing its own military objectives. The air attacks are an example of Turkey attacking a US-backed proxy force in Syria, while the US is focused primarily on the Mosul operation.
Al Monitor published an article that reported Turkish President Erdogan intends to launch Operation Tigris Shield in Iraq as a complement to Operation Euphrates Shield in Syria. Both have the objective of fighting terrorists, namely the Kurds (US allies), in both countries.
The US relies on aircraft based in Turkey to prosecute its bombing campaign (such as it is) against ISIS in Syria and Northern Iraq and also to provide top cover for US troops in the field. The Turks are OK with that so long as the US allows them to kill our Kurdish allies. Does that make any sense to you? It doesn't to me, but Barack and friends don't have a coherent policy - and that's what you get.
(Fox News) Just hours after Hillary Clinton dodged a question at the final presidential debate about charges of "pay to play" at the Clinton Foundation, a new batch of WikiLeaks emails surfaced with stunning charges that the candidate herself was at the center of negotiating a $12 million commitment from King Mohammed VI of Morocco.
One of the more remarkable parts of the charge is that the allegation came from Clinton's loyal aide, Huma Abedin, who described the connection in a January 2015 email exchange with two top advisers to the candidate, John Podesta and Robby Mook.
Abedin wrote that "this was HRC's idea" for her to speak at a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in Morocco in May 2015 as an explicit condition for the $12 million commitment from the king.
"She created this mess and she knows it," Abedin wrote to Podesta and Mook.
WikiLeaks is a gift that keeps on giving.
But rampant election-related corruption and a State Department that was clearly for sale doesn't seem to matter to the electorate. I guess that we will have to wait until November 8 to see how all that shakes out.
Thoughts on Trump
Donald J. Trump is not a good debater and his ego doesn't allow him to take sound advice or to practice. Though with the shrill, unending attacks from the mainstream media, maybe it doesn't matter how well he debates so long as he gets his point across?
Thoughts on Clinton
A Clinton presidency takes away all pretense at a Republic and we just need to do what we can to get by. Some of us will do better than others, but the federal government (which is already for sale to the highest bidder) will be openly so. The feds were Obama's attack dog but it will be worse under a Clinton Administration. Count on it.
Housekeeping
As of January 1, 2017 this blog began to receive anonymous posts. I try not to delete them, but if you want to be taken seriously here, you need to identify yourself, if only by some sort of cryptonym.
Welcome to Virtual Mirage
"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the cat. "We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad," asked Alice?
"You must be," said the cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
Good Morning
Virtual Mirage - What's on the other side of the mirror? Ask Alice how deep the rabbit hole really goes.
This blog is an extension of MY JOURNEY because sometimes my journey needs more explanation, and sometimes there is more to be said than can be expressed on one ordinary blog.
Sometimes it's politics (very serious), sometimes I address the human condition with a dose of humor, and other times it may seem as if the track is headed in a unique direction. I can be a complicated guy at times.
There are a few things you'll find I consider:
* Absence of proof is not proof of absence.
* Sometimes the questions are complex but the answers are simple.
* Love is the only condition where the happiness of another person is essential to your own.
* Steers do not sign treaties with meat packers. (think on that)
* Taxes are NEVER levied for the benefit of the taxed.
* The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no victory possible in defense.
WHITE POWDER (Novel)
There is something intoxicating about a secret.
THE OLD WHORE (NOVEL)
In the peculiar culture of the Central Intelligence Agency, "old whores" are people who will do whatever it takes to get the job done, irrespective of the cost.
EXILES FROM EDEN (NOVEL)
Sparks fly as two star-crossed lovers meet. He runs toward trouble as she yearns for something missing. And it ends in a flight from and toward justice.
About Me
Today, I balance work and play as much as anyone can. All things remaining equal, play is more important. Life is short - it's important to make every day count for something, if only to yourself.
I'm a former tinker/tailor/soldier/sailor who has now decided that maybe it really wasn't all done for nothing.
This site contains copyrighted material, the use of which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available for educational purposes, and as such this constitutes 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Act. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Q:
Adding multiple values on list
Is it possible to add multiple items into list or adding a list of values into a list.
here is my current pseudo code to do it:
List<string> myList = new List<string>();
myList.add("a","b","c","d","e","f","g");
myList.add("h","i","j","k","l","m","n");
myList.add("a1","a2","a3");
and my expected result is:
[["a","b","c","d","e","f","g"], ["h","i","j","k","l","m","n"], ["a1","a2","a3"]]
Any suggestions/comments TIA.
A:
What you are asking for is a List<List<string>>. There are probably better structures for storing your data but since you haven't given any context, you can do this:
var myList = new List<List<string>>();
And add items like this:
myList.Add(new List<string> { "a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f", "g" });
myList.Add(new List<string> { "h", "i", "j", "k", "l", "m", "n" });
myList.Add(new List<string> { "a1", "a2", "a3" });
Or in one piece of code using a collection initialiser:
var myList = new List<List<string>>
{
new List<string> { "a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f", "g" },
new List<string> { "h", "i", "j", "k", "l", "m", "n" },
new List<string> { "a1", "a2", "a3" }
};
A:
Should be as easy as
var myList = new List<List<string>>()
{
new List<string> { "a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f", "g" },
new List<string> { "h", "i", "j", "k", "l", "m", "n" },
new List<string> { "a1", "a2", "a3" },
};
// OR
var myarray = new[]
{
new[] { "a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f", "g" },
new[] { "h", "i", "j", "k", "l", "m", "n" },
new[] { "a1", "a2", "a3" },
};
Additional Resources
Object and Collection Initializers (C# Programming Guide)
C# lets you instantiate an object or collection and perform member
assignments in a single statement.
Collection initializers
Collection initializers let you specify one or more element
initializers when you initialize a collection type that implements
IEnumerable and has Add with the appropriate signature as an instance
method or an extension method. The element initializers can be a
simple value, an expression, or an object initializer. By using a
collection initializer, you do not have to specify multiple calls; the
compiler adds the calls automatically.
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
Seismic shifts in investment management
How will the industry respond?
The UK investment management industry, in all its shapes and sizes, is undergoing vast and continued structural change. It is no longer just a matter of fee pressure driven by institutional clients that investment managers need to contend with – there are some far greater forces radically reshaping the industry.
Against this backdrop, this research, conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on our behalf, analyses the drivers behind these fundamental changes for UK-based global traditional asset managers. It is clear from the research that the seismic shifts taking place in the industry and across an asset manager's value chain are revealing white-space opportunities – and threats. Asset managers need to understand where the industry is headed and adapt their model for these long-term changes to stay ahead of the competition.
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”), its global network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) and each of its member firms and their affiliated entities are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The U.S. Green Building Council, is a Washington, DC-based national nonprofit organization of over 15,000 corporate and organizational members from every sector of the building industry united to transform the building marketplace to sustainability.
Description:
USGBC has an opportunity for a currently-enrolled or recently graduated student to undertake a practical learning experience through an unpaid internship with its Advocacy team focused on state and local advocacy.
The State and Local Advocacy Intern will support USGBC’s Advocacy team and focus on producing materials for USGBC Chapter advocates that fit into the campaign approach to advocacy. Additionally, this internship will involve developing specific materials and resources that support overall state and local advocacy, including state/city Market Briefs, State Policy Win Reports, campaign data reports, and other forms of collateral that will help drive state/local advocacy.
Qualifications:
Tracking public policies and coordinating with green building policy support, to develop a “State Win Report” and recognizing the efforts of local/state advocates
Updating and creating Market Briefs for states and cities
Compiling campaign metrics for reports
Calling city and state officials to find information or answer any questions
Supporting Advocacy Team in building an aggressive and winning advocacy operation
Responsibilities:
Current enrollment in or recent graduation from graduate or undergraduate program of study | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Sample Page
Emil the Black
A 13th century knight clad in leather and steel stands in a rotted out redwood tree. Lee Kessler, a member of the Seattle Knights stage combat performance and jousting troop, is dressed in his character garb for a show in Arcata California. Before the show he wished for some photographs to be taken in the Redwood National Park since we had all just traveled some 11 hours from Seattle by car and truck with horses for the show. Taking this picture was a bit of a challenge because I was dressed in 80 pounds of full armor laying on my belly and straining my neck to get just the right angle. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
An Evaluation of the Automated Cobas u 701 Microscopy Analyzer for the Routine Screening of Urine to Identify Negative Samples.
Urinalysis based on microbiological culture and manual microscopy requires expertise and is labor intensive. Automated screening could save time and improve patient management in clinical settings. We evaluated the fully automated cobas u 701 analyzer for identifying infection-negative urine samples using 2,046 anonymized samples from a routine pathology laboratory. Samples containing ≥ 40 white blood cells (WBC)/µL and/or ≥ 100 bacteria/µL were considered positive. For microbiological cultures: pure growth of ≥ 108 colony-forming units (cfu)/L was considered significant; > 107 cfu/L was considered significant for pregnant women, children < 12 years, immune-compromised/critical care patients or patients with > 100 WBC/µL. The cobas u 701 analyzer identified 1,346 positive samples, giving a 65.7% culture rate. Sensitivity and negative predictive value were high (> 99%). Most replicates were within two standard deviations of the original measurement. The cobas u 701 analyzer is an effective screening tool for routine urinalysis and demonstrates rapid turnaround times, thus benefiting patients and clinicians. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Ree Drummond
Ann Marie "Ree" Drummond (née Smith, born January 6, 1969) is an American blogger, author, food writer, photographer and television personality who lives on a working ranch outside of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. In February 2010, she was listed as No. 22 on Forbes' Top 25 Web Celebrities. Her blog, The Pioneer Woman, which documents Drummond's daily life as a ranch wife and mother, was named Weblog of the Year 2009, 2010 and 2011 at the Annual Weblog Awards (The Bloggies).
Capitalizing on the success of her blog, Drummond currently stars in her own television program, also entitled The Pioneer Woman, on The Food Network which began in 2011. She has also appeared on Good Morning America, Today Show, The View, The Chew and The Bonnie Hunt Show. She has been featured in Ladies' Home Journal, Woman's Day, People and Southern Living. Her first cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl, was published in October 2009. Her second cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier, was published in March 2012.
Early life
Anne Marie, nicknamed Ree, grew up in a home overlooking the grounds of a country club in the oil town of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, with two brothers, Doug and Mike, and a younger sister, Betsy. She graduated from Bartlesville High School in 1987 after which she left Oklahoma to attend college in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 1991, having first studied journalism before switching to gerontology. After graduation she hoped to attend law school in Chicago, but her plans changed unexpectedly when she met and married her husband, Ladd Drummond.
Her father, William Dale Smith, an orthopedic surgeon, and her mother Gerre Schwert are divorced. "Bill" Smith, as he is more commonly known, later married his current wife, Patsy.
Drummond was raised Episcopalian. She is an alumna of Pi Beta Phi fraternity for women.
Blog (ThePioneerWoman.com)
Drummond began blogging in May 2006, initially using the subdomain pioneerwoman.typepad.com within the Typepad blogging service. She registered her own domain – thepioneerwoman.com – on October 18, 2006.
Drummond's blog, titled The Pioneer Woman, was originally titled Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. The latter is now the title of a section within the site. The site is hosted by Rackspace.
Drummond writes about topics such as ranch life and homeschooling. About a year after launching her blog, she posted her first recipe and a tutorial on "How to Cook a Steak". The tutorial was accompanied by 20 photos explaining the cooking process in what she calls "ridiculous detail". Her stories about her husband, family, and country living, and her step-by-step cooking instructions and elaborate food photography, proved highly popular with readers. Confessions of a Pioneer Woman won honors at the Weblog Awards (also known as the Bloggies) in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2009 and 2010 it took the top prize as Weblog of the Year.
As of September 2009, Drummond's blog reportedly received 13 million page views per month. On May 9, 2011, the blog's popularity had risen to approximately 23.3 million page views per month and 4.4 million unique visitors. According to an article in The New Yorker, "This is roughly the same number of people who read The Daily Beast". An article in the Toronto newspaper The Globe and Mail described it as "[s]lickly photographed with legions of fans . . . arguably the mother of all farm girl blogs." The blog has been referenced in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and BusinessWeek. In 2009 TIME Magazine named Drummond's Confessions of a Pioneer Woman one of the "25 Best Blogs" in the world. Estimates for her site's income suggest she is making a million dollars or more per year from display (advertisement) income alone.
Drummond's blog is especially noted for its visually descriptive recipes and high-quality photography.
Food community (TastyKitchen.com)
In April 2008, Drummond held a giveaway contest in the cooking section of her blog The Pioneer Woman in which she asked readers to share one of their favorite recipes. The response was an unexpected 5,000+ recipes in less than 24 hours. She realized that she had not only grown a community of loyal readers but a community of food lovers as well. She immediately sought a way to catalog the recipes and make them searchable for all.
A little over a year later, on July 14, 2009, Drummond announced the launch of TastyKitchen.com – a simple and free online community website with the tagline Favorite Recipes from Real Kitchens Everywhere!. The site was built for her food-loving readers as a place where they could easily contribute, search for and print recipes. In addition to sharing recipes, users can create personal membership profiles and communicate with one another via posts and direct messages. Users also have the ability to rate and review recipes.
Tasty Kitchen quickly rose to become a favorite among food bloggers who could link their recipes back to posts on their own websites, thus exposing themselves to a wider readership.
Books
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl
Drummond's first cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl, was published in October 2009 after reaching the top spot on Amazon.com's preorder list for hardcover books. A New York Times reviewer described Drummond as "funny, enthusiastic and self-deprecating", and commented: "Vegetarians and gourmands won’t find much to cook here, but as a portrait of a real American family kitchen, it works."
Black Heels to Tractor Wheels
In 2007, Drummond began writing a series on her blog titled From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. In the series, she chronicled her personal love story detailing how, in the process of relocating from Los Angeles to Chicago, she wound up settling down with a cowboy on a cattle ranch in rural Oklahoma. In February 2011, the series was compiled into a book and published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins. It quickly rose to No. 2 on both The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover nonfiction and The Wall Street Journal's list.
Charlie the Ranch Dog
In April 2011, Drummond published a children's book titled Charlie the Ranch Dog, featuring her family's beloved Basset Hound Charlie. According to Publishers Weekly, “Adult readers will recognize in Charlie’s voice the understated humor that has made Drummond’s blog so successful; kids should find it irresistible.” The book was illustrated by Diane deGroat, an illustrator of more than 120 children's books.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier
Drummond's second cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier, released in March 2012 and was a #1 New York Times Bestseller.
Charlie and the Christmas Kitty
Diane deGroat again illustrates this children book about the family's Basset Hound. Released in December 2012.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays: 140 Step-by-Step Recipes for Simple, Scrumptious Celebrations
A cookbook for holidays throughout the year. Released October 29, 2013.
Charlie and the New Baby
Another children's book about the family's basset hound, illustrated by Diane deGroat. Released in April 29, 2014.
Charlie the Ranch Dog: Charlie Goes to the Doctor
An I Can Read story about Charlie the basset hound's trip to the doctor, illustrated by Diane deGroat. Released June 17, 2014.
Charlie the Ranch Dog: Stuck in the Mud
An I Can Read story about Charlie the basset hound, illustrated by Diane deGroat. Released January 6, 2015.
Charlie Plays Ball
A Children's book about Charlie the basset hound, illustrated by Diane deGroat. Released March 24, 2015.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime
A cookbook featuring 125 dinner recipes. Released October 20, 2015.
Charlie the Ranch Dog: Rock Star
An I Can Read story about Charlie the basset hound, illustrated by Diane deGroat. Released November 17, 2015.
Little Ree
A children's book about a little girl named Ree and her adventures in the country, illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers. Released March 28, 2017
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It!
A cookbook featuring 120 simple and delicious recipes. Released October 24, 2017.
Little Ree: Best Friends Forever!
A children's book about a little girl named Ree and her best friend, Hyacinth, illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers. Released March 27, 2018
Television
Drummond made her television debut on an episode of Throwdown! with Bobby Flay when the celebrity chef was challenged by her (in a change from the show's normal format) to a special Thanksgiving face-off. Flay traveled to her Oklahoma ranch for the event. The episode aired on the Food Network on Wednesday, November 17, 2010. Drummond's home cooking beat Flay's gourmet-style spread in a tight contest. Music artist and fellow Oklahoma resident Trisha Yearwood was one of the judges.
In April 2011, the Food Network announced that Drummond would host her own daytime television series on the network. The Pioneer Woman premiered on Saturday, August 27, 2011.
Film
On March 19, 2010, Drummond confirmed media reports that Columbia Pictures had acquired the film rights to her book From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. The production company was reported to be in talks with Reese Witherspoon to star as Drummond in a motion picture based on the book. However as of 2019, the movie has stalled with the project landing in development hell.
Personal life
On September 21, 1996, Drummond married Ladd Drummond, a fourth-generation member of a prominent Osage County cattle ranching family whom she refers to as "the Marlboro Man" in her books and her blog. They spent their honeymoon in Australia and live on a remote working cattle ranch approximately 8 miles west of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. They have four children – Alex, Paige, Bryce and Todd. Alex is a graduate of Texas A&M University, while Paige is currently a sophomore at the University of Arkansas. The Drummonds homeschool their sons in parts of the summer.
In late 2016, the Drummonds opened The Mercantile, a restaurant retail store located in a 100-year-old downtown Pawhuska building that they bought and began renovating in 2012.
In April 2018 the Drummonds also opened a bed and breakfast, called "The Pioneer Woman Bed and Breakfast".
Awards
Bibliography
Excerpts available at Google Books.
Excerpts available at Google Books.
References
External links
The Pioneer Woman blog
Tasty Kitchen food community
Pioneer Woman cooking show on Food Network
Category:1969 births
Category:American bloggers
Category:American food writers
Category:American television chefs
Category:Food Network chefs
Category:Living people
Category:People from Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Category:American women bloggers
Category:Women cookbook writers
Category:Women chefs
Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
Jorginho ‘amazed’ by Chelsea change
By Football Italia staff
Jorginho says he is ‘very happy’ and ‘amazed’ by how he has won the Chelsea fans over in recent months.
Jorginho’s position has remained the same during the transition from Maurizio Sarri to Frank Lampard, but Chelsea supporters are no longer on his back.
“It’s amazing because last season it was impossible,” the Italy midfielder told The Sun.
“I’m very happy how they have changed their mind about me. I have worked a lot.
“I never said anything, I just work and work and work and I think the results are coming — and I am very happy with that.
“It is an opportunity for me to show I’m here not just for the Coach. I’m thankful of what we did together because it was amazing.
“We worked four years together and I’m very thankful for what I learned from him. But I’m here also for my quality — but the people could not see that last season.
“[The criticism made me] a little sad. I just had to work hard and change their minds — and to make them know they had made a mistake about me.
“This season, we are playing with more long balls, so less short passing. It has changed a little bit but the mentality is the same, to press the other team and try to have control of the match.
“I have to be there to control all the team. If I leave my position it is a big problem for everybody because there will be too much space in the midfield.
“I try to do what the Coach wants so I can adapt myself. He wants the ball forward quicker and not have too much short passing, so I am trying to do that. Yes, it is simple.”
The 27-year-old is now default penalty taker at Stamford Bridge and considered one of the Blues’ leaders.
“That is not new for me because I always tried to play like this — but nobody was talking about it. I was trying to help my mates.
“It is a thing not everybody sees but when someone like Frank Lampard talks about it, then maybe people look for it.”
Watch Serie A live in the UK on Premier Sports for just £9.99 per month including live LaLiga, Eredivisie, Scottish Cup Football and more. Visit: https://www.premiersports.com/subscribenow | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
My Blog
We’re all familiar with annual end-of-season sales on patio equipment and furniture—but when, really, is the best window for savings?
For the answer, I turned to coupon clearinghouse LOZO.com, which finds reliable grocery coupons from hundreds of trustworthy brands and websites. (You may have seen reporting on them on Good Morning America, The Dr. Oz Show or TLC's Extreme Couponing.)
LOZO.com points out that with fall and the holiday season approaching, the closer retailers get to their seasonal inventory change-over, the greater the discounts—that's why you can count on end-of-season sales for just about every seasonal item.
According to LOZO.com, the best course of action is to carefully track the store(s) you might buy from and check stock and discounts. Don’t hesitate to ask a salesperson for details on how much inventory is still available, when it will be discounted, and for how much. Check back regularly to see if the sales have gotten any sweeter—LOZO.com recommends springing for the patio purchase when it reaches 75 percent off or more.
Fixer-upper homes tend to be less expensive than top-to-bottom remodels, but the markdown may not equal the cost of a basic renovation, according to a recently released report by Zillow Digs®. The report’s findings show median fixer-uppers list for 8 percent less than market value, which allows for a reno budget of just $11,000.
“Fixer-uppers can be a great deal, and they allow buyers to incorporate their personal style into a home while renovating, but it’s still a good idea to do the math before making the leap,” explains Svenja Gudell, Zillow’s chief economist. “While an 8-percent discount or $11,000 in upfront savings on a fixer-upper is certainly a good chunk of change, it likely won’t be enough to cover a kitchen remodel, let alone structural updates like a new roof or plumbing, which many of these properties require.”
The margins vary by market, with fixers in more expensive areas yielding the highest upfront savings—prices for median fixers in San Francisco, according to the report, are marked down 10 percent, which, due to high property values, affords buyers $54,000 for renovations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a report cautioning against improper use of eyewear, specifically contact lenses. Improper care, however, can also be detrimental, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Cleaning your contact lenses properly is crucial to maintaining optimal eye health—but lens wearers who use over-the-counter cleaning solutions containing hydrogen peroxide may be at risk for vision damage, the FDA warns. Safe handling of these types of solutions is essential.
“Over-the-counter products are not all the same,” says Bernard P. Lepri, an FDA optometrist. Before using a product, it is best to consult with your eye care provider, he advises—he or she may recommend a hydrogen peroxide-containing cleaning solution if you have an allergy or sensitivity to preservatives found in other types of solutions.
If you have been instructed to use a hydrogen peroxide-containing product, read and understand all instructions and warnings (typically in red boxes on the label) before use. The FDA mandates you follow the disinfecting process with a neutralizer, which is included with the product at purchase. A neutralizer will convert the hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water.
Neutralization can be one-step or two-step: the one-step process involves neutralizing your lenses while disinfecting; the two-step process involves neutralizing your lenses after disinfecting with a tablet. Lenses should be left in the solution for at least six hours to allow time for neutralization to complete.
“You should never put hydrogen peroxide directly into your eyes or on your contact lenses,” Lepri cautions. “That's because this kind of solution can cause stinging, burning and damage—specifically to your cornea.”
It is paramount not to share a product that contains hydrogen peroxide with other contact lens wearers, either, the FDA states.
To learn more about lens safety, visit www.FDA.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm487420.htm.
Painting inside your home can be a challenge in summer, especially if you’re a parent with children home from school. Back-to-school season is a better time for do-it-yourself paint projects, says Debbie Zimmer, paint and color expert with the Paint Quality Institute.
“With kids out of the house, interior painting is several grades easier, and with proper planning, you can ace the job in record time,” Zimmer says.
Her tips for parent painters:
Plan a palette. Start by picking up color cards at your local paint store. Bring them home and gauge them against your decor to plan a cohesive palette.
Buy smart. Purchase 100-percent acrylic latex paint in a glossy finish, which is easy to maintain—ideal when cleaning up child messes.
Prep the room. Slide furniture away from the walls and cover it with protective tarps. Fill any holes or patch any nicks on the walls, and wipe them down once finished. Remove any switch plates or outlet covers. Apply painter’s tape to protect the ceiling, the floor and any woodwork.
Cut in. Use an angled trim brush to “cut in” the edges of the wall—applying a three-inch strip of paint where the walls meet the ceiling, doors, molding and/or windows.
Work the “W.” Use a roller to cover the wall in three-foot by three-foot sections, working from one side of the wall to the other. Roll out the paint in a “W” pattern, then fill in the pattern and move on to the next section. Be sure to finish an entire wall before taking a break—a line may be visible otherwise.
Trim last. Wait until the next day to paint any trim—this will allow ample time for the walls to dry. Using a two-inch angled brush, work from top to bottom (e.g., crown molding to window trim to baseboards) when painting.
Spring may be known as a prime time for planting, but fall is equally optimal.
“Autumn is the perfect time to assess landscaping needs and fill any gaps that exist in your landscape,” says Natalia Hamill, a horticulturist at Bailey Nurseries. “While you're at it, you can add plants that provide a pop of color—like a throw pillow for your garden.”
Hamill says a variety of plants, including shrubs and trees, can be planted during fall, and many will bloom come springtime.
It is important to determine where and what your landscape is lacking, Hamill says. Consider, too, the climate in your area—different plants react in varied ways to temperature swings. Hamill recommends consulting the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map and adjusting your plan of action, if necessary.
The best plants for fall, according to Hamill, are:
Birchleaf Spirea – The Pink Sparkler variety shows exquisite pink blooms in early summer and fall—though fall flowers re-emerge further down the stem for a full appearance.
Dogwood – The Cayenne variety produces blue berries in late summer, along with lush green leaves, followed by rave red stems through fall and winter.
As borders continue to blur between home and work, there is a strong desire to bring nature—and, therefore, balance—into our homes.
Milou Ket, a Dutch designer and international trend analyst, expects interior design to shift with that in mind, forecasting more homes filled with natural elements including greenery, hanging plants and herbs.
To incorporate nature-inspired decor and lend balance to your home, Ket recommends introducing aged or worn furnishings, along with personal treasures. Warm textures are also ideal—fur, cork, hides, paper, shearling or wood. Top color choices include beige, gray, off-white and yellow, with accents of copper, gold and walnut.
Another trend to watch, Ket says, is “handicraft” accents, influenced by designs common to North Africa, the Middle East and other regions. Mix in handcrafted pieces, such as baskets and vegetable-dyed products, in shades like amber, brick, mustard and indigo.
Feelings of softness and warmth are also coveted at home, and current design trends are evocative of both, Ket adds. Place fine linens in a bedroom, for instance, or tactile materials, such as handmade crochet or knits, in the living room. Top color choices include blue, lavender, mint, rose and turquoise.
Color is as important as ever, as well, Ket says. Vibrant colors were everywhere a few seasons ago, but now, brightness in doses is best. Add a splash of color, such as cobalt blue, with pillows or on a single chair or sofa.
Homeowners in sought-after school districts move to the head of the class when they list their homes for sale, garnering higher offers than sellers in less desirable districts, according to a recently released study by realtor.com®.
“It’s common knowledge that buyers are often willing to pay a premium for a home in a strong school district,” says Javier Vivas, manager of Economic Research for realtor.com®. “Our analysis quantifies just how good it is to be a seller in these areas.”
The study reveals that homes within the boundaries of a strong district are 77 percent more expensive than those within a lesser district and 49 percent more expensive than the national median—$400,000 compared to $225,000 and $269,000, respectively. Homes within the boundaries of a strong district also sell eight days faster than those within a lesser district.
“On average, homes in top-rated districts attract a price premium of almost 50 percent and sell more than a week faster than those located in neighboring lower-ranked school districts,” Vivas says.
The top 10 districts commanding the highest premiums, according to the study, are:
“While highly-ranked school districts in these markets have pushed home prices higher than their surrounding areas, the majority of these high-demand markets are relatively affordable when compared to the national median, which is a big factor contributing to their popularity,” Vivas adds.
Hosting family or friends for a few days? Make them feel welcome and comfortable with these nine tips:
Add fresh flowers and other thoughtful touches. A small bunch of flowers in a vase on the nightstand goes a long way to make guests feel welcome. Add a magazine or two and a carafe of water with a glass for an extra touch.
Ask ahead about allergies or diet restrictions. An email or phone call a few days before the visit will help prepare you to meet guests’ food preferences and other needs.
Consider a luggage rack. Having a rack handy in the guest room will help your guests stay neat and organized. (Some are available online for as little as $15!)
Include guests in chores. Most guests will ask how they can help—and they mean it! Enlisting them to chop veggies and set the table (or help clear it) will make them feel more at home.
Keep snacks out in the kitchen. Guests may feel awkward snooping about your kitchen for a snack. Keep a basket of power bars, fresh fruit, small packets of nuts, dried fruit or cookies on the kitchen counter.
Prepare a basket of toiletries. Outfit the bathroom with travel-size tubes of body lotion, shampoo, toothpaste, etc., and even an extra comb or toothbrush. Guests may not need them, but your effort will not go unnoticed.
Take a tip from hotel managers. Give your guests a key and a cheat sheet—a key enables them to come and go as they please, and a cheat sheet will clue them in to information such as alarm codes, emergency contact numbers, information about your pets and your home's Wi-Fi password.
Think like a hotel housekeeper. Leave an extra pillow or two and an extra blanket in the guest room—and be sure a supply of towels is within easy reach, as well.
Work out a bathroom routine. If bathroom space is limited, work out a morning or evening routine to make everyone feel comfortable.
Nobody knows how to clean faster and more thoroughly than a hotel housekeeper. To cut down on the time you spend cleaning, use these tips, courtesy of Radisson Housekeeping Manager Maria Stickney:
Clear the Clutter – Removing the clutter eliminates the temptation to dust or mop around things. Clear away towels, cups, glasses, reading materials—and even the bath mat—from the counters and floors before you begin to clean.
Corral the Tools – Fill a plastic bin or bucket with all your cleaning supplies Keeping everything together cuts the time it takes to get the job done.
Do the Bathroom(s) Last – Starting in other rooms means there’s less chance of transporting bathroom bacteria to the rest of the house.
Give Drapes a Whack Between Dry Cleanings – Doing so knocks dust to the floor, where it cam easily be swept up or vaccuumed.
Give Products Time to Work - Spray the shower walls and toilet with your cleaning agent, and then leave it to do its job for several minutes. Use that time to clean the counters, mirrors, medicine cabinet and windows.
Have a Toothbrush on Hand – They are great for cleaning between tiny cracks in tile and elsewhere, such as around the bottom screws of the toilet.
Use Microfiber Cloths – They are the most efficient. Second-best are 100-percent cotton cloths, such as old t-shirts, slightly dampened. Avoid terrycloth and polyesters, which only create more dust.
Vacuum Before You Mop - Always vacuum (or sweep) before you mop. When it's time to mop, start from the far corner and make your way to the exit.
Vacuum into the Room, Then Out – Start from the entrance and move toward the walls, then vacuum your way out again to cover the main traffic areas twice. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Bhadravathi
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Bhadravathi was created by Benedict XVI's Papal bull "Cum Ampla" as a suffragan of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Tellicherry.
The territory of the diocese of Bhadravathi thus includes two civil districts of Karnataka State - Shimoga and Chikmagalur.
Category:Syro-Malabar Catholic dioceses
Category:Christian organizations established in 1999
Category:Christianity in Karnataka
Category:1999 establishments in India | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama have ordered the chiefs of their respective security agencies to find a way out of the impasse caused by fugitive leaker Edward Snowden’s stay in a Moscow airport, a senior official said on Monday.
“Of course (Putin and Obama) don’t have a solution now that would work for both sides, so they have ordered the FSB director (Alexander) Bortnikov and FBI director Robert Mueller to keep in constant contact and find solutions,” the head of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, said in an interview with state television channel Rossiya 24.
ADVERTISEMENT | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Hey, could everyone stop posting really bad memes around here? It'd be a lot cooler if ya did...ah ah ah...
262 shares | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Minecraft was officially updated to 1.13 today, and they have introduced a feature which will allow you to optimize and update your world to the new version.
Unfortunately, this isn't currently working for the island.
Whenever you spawn, you will be dropped into an endless ocean, where you should be dropped on a beach. Attempts to "optimize" the map through the separate feature without booting into the world have failed.
I'll be looking into this further for a fix and I'll update the link once I know what's up. If anyone has a solution, please let me know. Thank you all!
Firstly, through some miracle, the maps works and converts fine in the newest snapshot. I need to conduct a few more tests, but once I can fully get it working in 1.13 (or any version there of) then I'll add that as a new link to the original post along side the current one.
In the mean time, I've been giving the Resource Pack a bit of thought lately. The biggest hurdle is, of course, mobs. My thought process behind the pack is not to fundamentally change how the entire game looks. It's to keep how I always envisioned Biocraft: BIONICLE inside Minecraft.
What that means is that while the majority of the games textures would be left alone, there would be edits to things to make it seem like BIONICLE items naturally in the game, such as items. That being the case, all the mobs have to change. None of the current animals in Minecraft are in BIONICLE at all, and as such they much be converted.
Unfortunately, that's not as easy as it sounds. Which is where I wanted to ask you all for some assistance!
There is a document of mobs I current have laid out. My inquiry is to add suggestions to this topic based off that list as far as mobs to add. The one rule is that they must be Rahi from 2001 - 2003. And no Bohrok or Rahkshi.
You are more than welcome to create a skin/texture if you see fit, just make sure it looks... Minecraft-y. Outside of that, thank you for reading and have a good one! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
People v Vidro (2017 NY Slip Op 01975)
People v Vidro
2017 NY Slip Op 01975
Decided on March 16, 2017
Appellate Division, First Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.
Decided on March 16, 2017
Tom, J.P., Acosta, Kapnick, Kahn, Gesmer, JJ.
3415 4029/13
[*1]The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
vMelvin Vidro, Defendant-Appellant.
Richard M. Greenberg, Office of the Appellate Defender, New York (Charity L. Brady of counsel), for appellant.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Samuel Z. Goldfine of counsel), for respondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Arlene D. Goldberg, J.), rendered May 22, 2014, as amended July 22, 2014, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony drug offender previously convicted of a violent felony, to a term of four years, unanimously affirmed.
The court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress physical evidence and the confirmatory identifications made by undercover police officers. The arresting officer had probable cause to arrest defendant under the fellow officer rule because "the radio transmission [of] the undercover officer . . . provided details of the defendant's race, sex, clothing, as well as his location and the fact that a positive buy' had occurred" and defendant was the only person in the area who matched the description at the location (see People v Young, 277 AD2d 176, 176-177 [1st Dept 2000], lv denied 96 NY2d 789 [2001]). Although the arresting officer did not testify at the suppression hearing, "the only rational explanation for how defendant came to be arrested . . . is that [the arresting officer] heard the radio communication [heard by the testifying officer] and apprehended defendant on that basis" (People v Poole, 45 AD3d 501, 502 [1st Dept 2007], lv denied 10 NY3d 815 [2008] [internal quotation marks and citation omitted]; People v Myers, 28 AD3d 373 [1st Dept 2006], lv denied 7 NY3d 760 [2006]). The inference of mutual communication (see People v Gonzalez, 91 NY2d 909, 910 [1998]) does not turn on what kind of radios the officers were using, or how well the radios were working, but on the simple fact that, without hearing the radio transmission, the arresting officer would have had no way of knowing where to go or whom to arrest.
Defendant's challenges to the prosecutor's summation are entirely unpreserved because, during the summation, defendant made only unspecified generalized objections. Although defendant's postsummation mistrial motion made some specific claims, this was insufficient to preserve those issues, which
should have been raised during the summation (see People v Romero, 7 NY3d 911, 912 [2006]; People v LaValle, 3 NY3d 88, 116 [2004]). We decline to review any of defendant's challenges to the summation in the interest of justice.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.
ENTERED: MARCH 16, 2017
CLERK
| {
"pile_set_name": "FreeLaw"
} |
396 primarily to supply hamburgers for the burger
This is the end of the preview. Sign up
to
access the rest of the document.
Unformatted text preview: s in a state where they have few political allies. Bruce L. Braley, one
of the attorneys in Ferrell v. IBP, told me a great deal about the company’s behavior and sent me stacks of documents pertaining to the case.
“Killing Them Softly: Work in Meatpacking Plants and What It Does to Workers,” by Donald D. Stull and Michael J. Broadway, in Any Way
You Cut It, is one of the best published accounts of America’s most dangerous job. “Here’s the Beef: Underreporting of Injuries, OSHA’s
Policy of Exempting Companies from Programmed Inspections Based on Injury Record, and Unsafe Conditions in the Meatpacking Industry,”
Forty-Second Report by the Committee on Government Operations (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988), shows the
extraordinary abuses that can occur when an industry is allowed to regulate itself. After the congressional investigation, Christopher Drew
wrote a terrific series of articles on meatpacking, published by the Chicago Tribune in October o...
View Full
Document | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Daniel Garodnick
Daniel Garodnick (born May 5, 1972) is an American lawyer and a former Democratic New York City Councilmember. He is the president and chief executive officer of the Riverside Park Conservancy.
Early life and education
Garodnick was born in New York City and is a graduate of Trinity School (1990). He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College (1994) where he served as class president for each of his four years. He earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (2000), where he was Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.
Between college and law school, Garodnick spent time in both Millen, Georgia and Portsmouth, Virginia helping to rebuild African American churches that had been burned by arson. He also spent two years working for the New York Civil Rights Coalition as the director of a program to teach New York City public school ways to combat racial discrimination, and how to use government to effect social change.
Career
An attorney, Garodnick practiced as a litigator at the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison where he focused on securities litigation and internal investigations of companies. While there, he represented the Partnership for New York City in the successful Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit regarding public school funding.
Prior to joining the firm, he served as a law clerk to Judge Colleen McMahon of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He spent two years working for the New York Civil Rights Coalition.
Personal life
In May 2008, Garodnick married Zoe Segal-Reichlin, senior associate general counsel and director of advocacy of Planned Parenthood. They have two children.
New York City Council
Garodnick was elected to New York City Council in 2005, winning 63 percent of the vote in the general election and defeating both the Republican and Libertarian candidates. In the five-way Democratic primary that year he won 59% of the vote. He won reelection in 2009 and 2013.
During his twelve-year tenure, The New York Times praised Garodnick for his “independent streak” and noted that he had “distinguished himself in the fight to preserve middle-class housing.” The Wall Street Journal has called him “smart and fair” and POLITICO New York noted that he is known as a “policy wonk” who has “bucked the establishment."
In 2017, City & State called Garodnick a “no-nonsense negotiator.” Garodnick earned this reputation for repeatedly bringing parties to an agreement in difficult negotiations. In 2007, Garodnick successfully stepped in to broker an agreement between renowned Chef Daniel Boulud and the staff at his eponymous restaurant, who sought redress and compensation after Asian and Latino employees had been discriminated against and passed over for promotions. In 2008, when a developer proposed rezoning the largest stretch of undeveloped, privately owned land in Manhattan, Garodnick was able to adjust the plan to reduce the height of the towers, provide for acres of gardens and a school, as well as a $10 million contribution from the developer for a pedestrian bridge over the FDR Drive. In 2015, when the de Blasio administration and Council Member Carlos Menchaca were at a logjam over the $115 million redevelopment of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, Garodnick helped broker an agreement between both sides.
Garodnick is best known for his work fighting for his childhood home in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, where he spearheaded the largest housing preservation deal in New York City history in 2015, with 5,000 units for middle-class families. He also negotiated the East Midtown Rezoning in 2017, covering an 80 block area in midtown Manhattan, which is expected to generate new commercial space, and to deliver significant public improvements to the area.
Garodnick's last term as councilman ended on December 31, 2017, when he was succeeded by Keith Powers.
Garodnick authored and passed over 60 laws during his tenure on the New York City Council.
New York City Comptroller campaign
On April 3, 2012 Garodnick announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for New York City Comptroller. On November 28, 2012 Garodnick dropped out of the Comptroller race, and immediately endorsed Scott Stringer, while pledging to run for re-election in District 4. Stringer had previously been running for Mayor. Garodnick was opposed in his bid for re-election by attorney Helene Jnane.
Election history
References
External links
Official campaign site
Category:1972 births
Category:Living people
Category:Dartmouth College alumni
Category:New York City Council members
Category:New York (state) Democrats
Category:Trinity School (New York City) alumni
Category:University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni
Category:People from Manhattan
Category:21st-century American politicians
Category:Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison people | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
Antibiotic resistant bacterial infections caused by both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens pose a serious threat to human health. Resistance is increasing while research into new antibiotics and possible new targets is lagging. Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria are surrounded by a cross-linked carbohydrate polymer, peptidoglycan, which is conserved in all bacteria. This polymer is essential for bacterial survival because it stabilizes the cell membrane against high internal osmotic pressures. Peptidoglycan biosynthesis is a major target for antibiotics because interfering with this process leads to cell lysis. This research is directed towards understanding the mechanisms of action of vancomycin, penicillin, and moenomycin, important antibiotics that represent three classes of antibiotics that inhibit peptidoglycan synthesis. To understand the biological mechanisms of these drugs, an integrated program involving synthetic organic chemistry, biochemical and microbiological assays, structural studies, and bacterial genetics will be employed. A better understanding of how these drugs kill might lead to therapeutic strategies to improve their spectrum of activity and make them more effective at killing resistant microorganisms. Since these compounds target a fundamental metabolic process in bacteria, a better understanding of this process could lead to new antibiotic targets or strategies as well. | {
"pile_set_name": "NIH ExPorter"
} |