Keep your college sports team front and center with this men's Purdue University Boilermakers hoodie from the NCAA. Great for quick and casual layering, this sweatshirt offers lightweight warmth for comfortable indoor/outdoor wear. The "Purdue Boilers" design displays school colors and flashes a logo graphic.


An analysis of auto accidents involving both genders over a period of 20 years has found that female drivers are more likely to be involved in car accidents with other female motorists than men. As an Atlanta car accident lawyer I have not noticed that this has occurred and believe that the study is likely in error. There is no logical reason to expect to see this differential.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University Of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute, and analyzed car accident data involving two-vehicle auto accidents between 1988 and 2007.The accidents occurred when the drivers involved were traveling for personal reasons.Men travel approximately 50% of the time for such personal travel, and women travel about 40% of the time.The researchers therefore, expected a higher rate of overall accidents involving men.They expected about 36% of accidents to involve men, and less than 60% of the accidents to involve women.
What they found however, was that women were more likely to be involved in two-vehicle accidents with female motorists.There was a higher rate of such accidents in situations like sideswiping, head-on collisions, crossing another vehicle's path and turning in front of another vehicle.When both motorists were female, the frequency of accidents increased by as much as 50%.Further, women were much more likely to be involved in sideswiping accidents with another female driver, with a 52% increased frequency of such accidents.
The analysis doesn't offer any reasons why female drivers are at such a high risk of being involved in accidents with other female drivers in spite of the fact that male drivers overall are involved in far higher accident numbers.I think more research in this area would indicate that this study is flawed.


A traditional breakfast blend for those who appreciate a traditional English cup of tea. The blend combines the fresh taste of Kenyan tea complemented with the briskness of Indian Assam to create an ideal breakfast blend. This brisk smooth tasting blend is excellent with a spot of cream and a spoonful of sugar.
This is going to sound like a marketing pitch but this is honestly the best English breakfast tea I have ever had. After running through the packet in a week I had to revert to the staple PG tips and I couldn't even get through a cup! Great product, would highly recommend!


text:
Department: Institute of Ecology 4D Research Institute Institute of Botany Institute of Earth Sciences Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory The International School for Caucasus Studies (ISCS) Giorgi Tsereteli Institute of Oriental Studies Institute of Zoology
Kabardino-Balkarian State University
National Water Research Institute
Department: Earth Sciences
Genetic Resources Institute of the ANAS
Department: Institute of Geography
Department: Architectural designing and city - planning
Ecologic Institute
Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences
Status: Academy of Sciences
Department: Institute of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Institute of Geography Institute of Information Technology Geology Institute Republican Seismic Survey Center
Institute of Cytology
Status: Research Institution

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Use these Impalers to corner mount your Broadway panels to the walls. Corners are the acoustician's best friend. Walls and ceiling act as wave guides that drive energy into the corner where maximum pressure is created. Primacoustic Corner Impaler is designed to work with 24" x 48" (60.96cm x 121.92cm) Broadway Broadband absorbers to provide effective absorption in this critical zone by combining this high-density glass-wool panel with a deep 17" (43.18cm) cavity to deliver effective bass control.
The Corner Impaler features a unique wedge shaped design with four pivoting darts. This allows a single device to be used on either the left or right hand side when corner mounting the Broadway panel. To make installation as easy as possible, extra cutouts allow a regular screwdriver direct access to the mounting points.
As the panel basically floats on top of the wall surface, we recommend adding a dab of Liquid Nails in between the impaler and the panel. This will ensure the panel is locked in place after installation.
Shipped 8 to a box, the Corner Impaler is made from a heavy galvanized steel plate and is easily installed in plaster board, sheetrock or masonry using the triple-action Cobra Anchors.


text:
EXCLUSIVE: Plot thickens to blame dead ex-NYSC DG for Adeosun's certificate mess
by Malik Abdulganiy  1 Comment
Top officials of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) are plotting to help Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, out of her certificate mess, TheCable understands.
Premium Times, the investigative online newspaper, had reported that Adeosun possesses a questionable NYSC exemption certificate.
Having finished her first degree at 22, she was not entitled to exemption on the ground of age except she was above 30, according to the NYSC Act.
She would also not be qualified for employment in either private or public sector having not served or been exempted.
NYSC insiders told TheCable on Tuesday that the officials are looking for a way to help her out by blaming the mess on the former director-general, Yusuf Bomoi (pictured), a retired brigadier-general who died on September 18, 2017.
Adeosun's "exemption" certificate is dated September 9, 2009 and bears the signature of Bomoi — even though he had officially left NYSC on February 13, 2009 when he was replaced by Maharazu Tsiga, also a brigadier-general.
TheCable was informed that Bomoi would be portrayed as having granted Adeosun the exemption "in error".
"At least Bomoi is not alive to defend himself," one of the officials told TheCable.
The misalignment of dates, which shows the certificate being issued almost seven months after Bomoi had left his position, will be blamed on "clerical error", according to another insider.
While this may potentially free Adeosun of the criminal charge of forgery, it still does not protect her from facing charges of dodging national service.
UNDERGROUND GAMES
On Monday, NYSC issued a vague press release, confirming that Adeosun applied for exemption but failing to disclose when she applied and if she was indeed granted.
The body promised to investigate the "purported certificate" without confirming or denying the validity of the serial number or the genuineness of the document — even though insiders say it will not take "less than 30 minutes" to check the records.
"She is definitely not entitled to an exemption," an official of NYSC, who declined being named for fear of victimisation, said.
"If indeed she applied officially, the response would have been standard — sorry, you are not entitled to exemption. You would have noticed that the NYSC press statement merely said she applied, which suggests that they have checked the records, and then it is silent on the other details. The officials are still working out a response. A lot is going on underground."
Adeosun is yet to comment publicly on the mess.
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY ON EXEMPTION?
Section 2 of the NYSC Act says: "Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, with effect from 1st August, 1985, a person shall not be called upon to serve in the service corps if; at the date of his graduation or obtaining his diploma or other professional qualification –
he is over the age of thirty
he has served in the armed forces of the Federation or the Nigeria Police Force for a period of more than nine months
he is member of staff of any of the following, that is
the Nigerian Security Organisation
the State Security Service
the National Intelligence Agency
the Defence Intelligence Service
he has been conferred with any National Honour."
Adeosun graduated from the Polytechnic of East London in 1989 at 22 and returned to Nigeria after she clocked 30.
She has worked in reputable private sector firms and also served as commissioner in Ogun state.
Rosebud July 11, 00:16
Any way they spin it, Adeosun is out of a job. Issued in error or not, exemption is time barred for her. She should resign now and make her impending departure less painful.
Her appointment was in error, her clearance was in error, everything was some silly mistake. Good, can Kemi go home now?
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text:
Q: Remove an unknown part of a line using sed I want to go from:
[important text, numbers/letters only] [unknown text]/Windows/[text that I want to keep, will have slashes]
to
[important text, numbers/letters only] Windows/[text that I want to keep, will have slashes]
The unknown text could be a range of possibilities but it will not contain Windows
So basically I want to cut off the text before Windows that comes after  [important text, numbers/letters only]
The space after important text will always be the first space in the line
I also want it to be able to work if the unknown text and the slash after it are not present

A: You didn't give any live examples so I'm assumming something like this is a valid example
abc123 unknown text which might have spaces/Windows/There might be /es here

My main assumption is that the first section doesn't have spaces. Otherwise You don't really have a way to deliniate between the important and the unknown text.
You can achieve what you are after with
sed -e 's/^\([^ ]\) [^/]*\/Windows/\1 Windows/'

The first set of parantheses captures everything from the start of the line that doesn't have a space in it. We then throw away everything up until '/Windows' and keep everything after that.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Urban Land > Office > More Flexible Leases, Changes to Common Spaces Driving Future of Workplaces
More Flexible Leases, Changes to Common Spaces Driving Future of Workplaces
By Mark Cooper
The evolution of the workplace is being driven by changing demands and the power of big data, said speakers representing developers, designers, futurists, and millennials at the 2019 ULI Asia Pacific Summit in Shanghai on a panel titled "The Evolution of a Dinosaur: Real Estate and the Future of Work."
Bill Lee, senior director for proptech investments and real estate development at Gaw Capital Partners, who cohosted the session with Phil Kim, managing director, Asia Pacific, at the Jerde Partnership, said that "data is the foundation" for evolving real estate, allowing developers to build in flexibility and permitting retail landlords to track shoppers. The data are also driving office developers to adapt to new trends, such as a focus on wellness, flexible leasing, and meeting the aspirations of millennial workers.
Tom Boshaw, director of design and construction at Hines, said that the key priority for the developer's office tenants was attracting and retaining the best people. "There is a lot of conversation about live/work/play, but fundamentally it is about creating an attractive working environment," he said. To meet these evolving needs, Hines has changed the look and feel of its lobbies. Previously, the Hines lobby "was like a museum space," Boshaw said. "Now it has a hospitality feel. There's seating and wi-fi to encourage people to enjoy the space and stay longer." Hines's new Shanghai development, One Museum Space, has been designed with this in mind, he said.
The notion of "home" to "new home" – making the workplace a more welcoming space. Workplace and retail are taking the hospitality approach to customized experience. As Phil Kim said: "We are Builders, but future generations are Gardeners."#ULIAPSummit pic.twitter.com/L6LwosAHnl
— ULI Asia Pacific (@ULI_AsiaPac) June 11, 2019
Office workers are happy to spend more time in the office but do not want to spend more time at their desk, so developers need to create other spaces within buildings where people can interact or take time for themselves. "We need to create intersections where people generate ideas," he said. For tenants, flexibility is becoming more important, but Boshaw noted that there is a "flexibility gap" between the typical five to 10-year lease and the total flexibility of coworking.
The need to attract and retain talent also is driving interest in workplace wellness and healthy buildings. Mei Xu, vice president at the International WELL Building Institute, outlined a number of ways that office developers and occupiers are trying to improve staff health, happiness, and productivity, including improving air quality and reducing sedentary behaviors. "A priority for design should be to reduce sitting time," she said.
The psychological aspect to wellness should not be neglected by developers and designers, she said. For example, people function much better when they have control over their environment—heating/cooling or lighting, for example. "We need human-centric buildings," she said.
Boshaw noted that more data were needed to promote the wellness concept to both landlords and tenants. "For LEED, there is lots of data available, and they can see the value," he said.
The audience also saw some examples of the evolution of retail in the workplace from Emmy Teo, chief executive of Fuse, a retail pop-up startup, which takes retail into gyms and workplaces—"Taking the retail to the customer," she said. Fuse has installed automated retail "pods" in WeWork offices and tracks data showing how workers interact with the pods, as well as purchase data. Located in a workplace environment, the pods can get more footfall than a major shopping center, she said.
Jerde's Kim noted that designers of his generation were often tasked with building space for millennials, perhaps without understanding them, so he picked on Teo, a millennial, for some answers. She insisted that millennials were "not much different," but also said that "work/life balance is a fundamental for us." Lee pointed out that the first millennials are now 35, so they would have changing priorities.
There were contrasting opinions about a fundamental question of work—will people work fewer days in the future? Boshaw thought that people would work differently but still put in five days a week—although he added that "firms are now more task-driven than attendance-driven." However, Lee said that staff data from Microsoft, his former employer, suggested that people were already working a four-day week. "People just disappear on a Friday," he said.
The panel also addressed the value of closed and open workplaces. Lee said that data showed that totally open workplaces increased sick days, although this could be mitigated through use of alcohol hand cleansers around the office. Microsoft found that staff worked better if their desks were divided (not necessarily with solid walls) into groups of 10 to 12 people, "the work village."
Building Highly Sustainable, Energy-Efficient Workplaces: Tenant and Owner Perspectives
Greening the workplace beyond the existing building code requirements requires both tenants and owners to prioritize investing in and tracking sustainability. Two panels of experts, one composed of tenant representatives and the other of property owner representatives, discussed their challenges and solutions at "Beyond Code for a Greener Bay Area: Owner and Tenant Solutions for Sustainable Buildouts," an event organized by ULI San Francisco and ULI's Tenant Energy Optimization Program.
In Brief: Tech Employment Growth Spilling Over to Less Established Markets
Tightening availability of tech talent in leading markets has spurred hiring momentum in smaller and upstart markets in the United States and Canada—such as Tucson, Arizona, and Waterloo, Ontario—as expanding tech employers seek additional labor pools, according to CBRE's annual Scoring Tech Talent report.
Empowering Tenants to Build Out Sustainably with the Tenant Energy Optimization Program
No introduction required for the Empire State Building, likely the most famous office building in the world. Already an icon and a historic landmark, it is also becoming a symbol of the future, thanks to a showcase renovation that overhauled the bones of the 88-year-old structure, and ongoing efforts to implement ULI's Tenant Energy Optimization Program (TEOP), the focus of a half-day event in that building in July.


text:
HomeCelebsShah Rukh Khan to shoot for the CRUCIAL underwater sequence for Rajkumar...
Shah Rukh Khan to shoot for the CRUCIAL underwater sequence for Rajkumar Hirani's Dunki after Pathaan's release
January 2023 is here and all eyes are now on Pathaan. It's going to be the first big release of the year and the excitement is tremendous as it stars Shah Rukh Khan. In fact, 2023 is going to be an exciting one for the fans of the superstar as, after more than four years, he'll be seen in as many as three films, all of which will be released this year. While the year begins with Pathaan, his next film, Jawan, will arrive in cinemas in mid-2023, on June 2. Dunki, meanwhile, will probably be the last release of 2023. And it also carries a lot of expectations as it is directed by Rajkumar Hirani, who has a 100% success ratio.
PosterGuy was the first one to report in November 2022 that Dunki will be the first Hindi film to be shot in Saudi Arabia. Shah Rukh Khan and the rest of the unit members travelled to the Middle Eastern country in mid-November and successfully shot for an important schedule. And now, the team of Dunki is gearing up to film a crucial sequence of the film.
A source told PosterGuy, "Right now, the shooting has been paused as Shah Rukh Khan is busy with the promotions of Pathaan, which releases on January 25. After the film's release, he'll resume shooting for Dunki. And he and a few more cast members will shoot for the underwater shots. It is a part of the sequence where the character of Shah Rukh travels in a boat. It requires him to go underwater, as per the demands of the script. The actor will undergo underwater training for some time before shooting it."
The source added, "The scene is set in a foreign location in the film. But it'll be shot in Mumbai on a set."
The source continued, "Once the shoot of this is complete, only a few scenes will remain to be canned. Dunki's shoot is expected to be over by March."
Besides Shah Rukh Khan, Dunki also stars Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal and Boman Irani. It will be released in cinemas on December 22, 2023.
Also Read: Ranveer Singh is taking no chances with Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani; asks director Karan Johar to see rushes post shoot
Ranveer Singh is taking no chances with Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani; asks director Karan Johar to see rushes post shoot
Shanaya Kapoor replaces Rashmika Mandanna in Shashank Khaitan's Tiger Shroff starrer Screw Dheela


text:
Technology Area: Surface Coatings
57 Results for 'Surface Coatings'
Liquid-Infused Tympanostomy Tubes
Acute middle ear infections affect more than 700 million people each year, with children often experiencing the most recurrent and severe symptoms due to their underdeveloped physiology. By the age of three, 25-40 % of children have had at least three episodes of acute middle ear infection, which is commonly accompanied by excess fluids accumulating...
abbieSense Anaphylaxis Diagnostic
The molecule histamine plays a primary role in the anaphylaxis reaction, which is a major cause of illness and death in people with severe allergies. Histamine is a very small molecule composed of only seventeen atoms, making it a challenging target to detect. To date, no diagnostic test exists that can measure histamine levels accurately...
Nanoarchitectures for air purification
Illnesses caused by air pollution are the third-leading cause of death in developing nations, and over 5 million people worldwide die every year from air pollution exposure. Catalytic converters, the most widely used air purification devices, convert the toxic gases and pollutants produced by fuel combustion into benign chemicals before the exhaust is released into...
Tethered Liquid Perfluorocarbon (TLP), a non-stick coating for medical devices
Every device implanted in the body or in contact with flowing blood faces two critical challenges that can threaten the life of the patient it is meant to help: blood clotting and bacterial infection. To confront this challenge, Wyss Institute researchers created a super-repellent, Thin Layer Perfluorocarbon (TLP) coating specifically designed to prevent clot formation...
SLIPS (Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces)
The need for an inexpensive, super-repellent surface cuts across a vast swath of societal sectors—from refrigeration and architecture, to medical devices and consumer products. Most state-of-the-art liquid repellent surfaces designed in the last decade are modeled after lotus leaves, which are extremely hydrophobic due to their rough, waxy surface and the physics of their natural...
Awards Wyss Institute's Ida Pavlichenko Named MIT Technology Review 2019 Innovator Under 35
Video/Animation Saving the Planet with Robots, Microbes, and Nanotechnology
Awards Joanna Aizenberg elected to National Academy of Sciences
Light-driven fine chemical production in yeast biohybrids
Wyss Institute Core Faculty member Neel Joshi explains the concept of yeast biohybrids and how they can be used to harvest energy from light to drive the production of fine chemicals. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University
abbieSense
abbieSense is a Wyss technology that can detect histamine levels in human body fluids and determine the severity of an allergic reaction, which could help save the lives of patients with severe allergies. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University
FLIPS: Ferrofluid-Containing Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces
As a magnetic field is applied and moved, the ferrofluid component of FLIPS responds dynamically, allowing the surface to be endlessly reconfigured. Credit: Harvard SEAS
Catalytic Nanoarchitectures for Clean Air
The Wyss Institute is developing a new type of coating for catalytic converters that, inspired by the nanoscale structure of a butterfly's wing, can dramatically reduce the cost and improve the performance of air purification technologies, making them more accessible to all. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University
Fouling Marine Fouling
Marine fouling occurs when organisms attach themselves to underwater objects like boats, rope, pipes and building structures. Mussels are one of the biggest culprits. Once attached, they are difficult to remove, leading to operational downtime, increased energy use and damage. Paints and coatings are currently used to prevent marine fouling, but are frequently toxin-based and not...
Efficient Recovery of Stem Cell Sheets
See in this video how an intact sheet of mesenchymal stem cells, stained with a violet dye, can be lifted off the infused polymer substrate in the culture dish using a filter paper and transferred to a new surface. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University


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text:
\section{Introduction}

The existence of {\em dark matter} was postulated for the first time by
Zwicky\cite{zwi} in 1933. He showed that the virial masses of clusters of
galaxies exceed the mass of luminous matter by roughly one order of magnitude.
In the 1970's spectrographs became sensitive enough that rotation curves of
spiral galaxies could be observed in large numbers by Rubin and
collaborators\cite{RFT80,RBFT85}. They all showed a systematic tendency to
stay flat as function of galactocentric radius,
$v_\varphi (r) \simeq {\rm const.}$,
whereas the mass distributions of the bulges and the radially exponentially
declining surface densities of the galactic disks  lead to the prediction of
falling rotation curves. Evidence for an extra mass component became even more
decisive when HI--rotation curves\cite{ABBS} were observed, because the
neutral hydrogen gas extends radially outwards many disk scale lengths. Even
though there is a long debate\cite{Bo03} to what degree the inner parts of
galaxies are dominated by dark matter, the flat outer HI-rotation curves prove
beyond doubt the existence of dark matter halos. The analysis of the kinematics
of satellite galaxies\cite{zar2} showed that the dark halos extend out to
several hundred kpc with the cumulative mass still rising linearly with
galactocentric radius, $M(r) \propto r$, which corresponds to flat rotation
curves.

Persic {\em et al.}\cite{PS96} investigated statistical correlations between
structural parameters of visible and dark matter using a data set of
almost 1000
galaxies and developed the model of the so called `universal rotation curve'.
Accordingly, galaxies of low luminosity are more dominated by dark matter than
bright galaxies. Dwarf irregular galaxies and low surface brightness galaxies
seem to be dominated completely by dark matter. Burkert\cite{Bu95,BS99} finds
for such galaxies an empirical fit to the rotation curves which implies
asymptotically $v_\varphi^2 \rightarrow \ln r/r$, i.e.
a logarithmic modification of the Kepler law.

For several classes of gravitational theories, it has been argued
that the introduction of dark matter is necessary\cite{nester}, although
in the modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) scheme,
exact expressions were derived
for the Newtonian potential and for the rotation curve\cite{BM95}. However, recent
observational constraints\cite{AB01} make it more and more challenging to interpret
galactic rotation in terms of new gravitational physics\cite{Be88}.

An intriguing possibility is a {\em scalar field} model of the
halo first proposed by
one of us\cite{Sch94,schunck,sch97,Sc98,Sc99} using a
complex massless field coupled to the Einstein
equation, an idea which was later taken up by several other authors.
Hence, the complex massless scalar field forming star-like
galactic halos embodies another form of {\em dark energy}.

Massive compact halo objects, so-called MACHOs\cite{alc},
consisting of baryonic matter or, alternatively, of {\em boson star}s
(BSs)\cite{MS00,MS02a,SM03} do not seem to be
sufficient to resolve this problem completely.
More recent approaches\cite{SKM03,FM04} propose
connections between scalar field matter and the cosmological
constant.

On the other hand, the standard {\em cold dark matter} (CDM) model, where dark
matter particles interact only
through gravity, may be in conflict with observational features
on Mpc scale. In particular,  the
CDM model of Navarro, Frenk and  White (NFW)\cite{b1}
tends to predict density profiles of dark halos
which are cuspy at the center\cite{a17}.
Therefore, Spergel and Steinhardt\cite{{SS00}}
proposed that dark matter is self-interacting, an idea which found ramification in
 Refs.~\refcite{RT00,a13}. The evolution of the {\em self-interacting}
 dark matter  has been recently analyzed in
more detail\cite{BS02,BSI02}.

In the same vein,  we consider here a model\cite{MS02,MSP02} where dark matter is modelled by
a primordial scalar field with a {\em self-interaction} $U(\Phi)$.
Since the observed rotation
velocities are roughly bounded\footnote{The maximum velocity within
a rotation curve of almost
400 km/s is found in a Sa galaxy\cite{RFT80}; the velocity of 367 km/s
at the farest  measured
point  belongs also to a Sa galaxy\cite{RBFT85}.}  by
$v_\varphi \leq 10^{-3}c$, {\em i.e.} are non-relativistic,
a Newtonian type approximation sufficies.

The formation of dark halos as a gigantic Bose-Einstein condensation
in early Universe is discussed in Sec.~\ref{BEC}.
In particular, a boson star like toy model
with a $\Phi^6$ repulsive self-interaction is known\cite{Mi78} to allow
in the limiting case of {\em flat} spacetime  an exact spherically
symmetric {\em soliton} solution of the corresponding
nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation, as is shown in Sec.~\ref{ntssol}.
Simulating the halo by such a {\em non-topological soliton} (NTS) for
the {\em positive} range of the potential,
yields a Newtonian mass distribution which provides a qualitatively
rather good fit to the
rotation curve data of dwarf irregular and low surface brightness
galaxies,
see Sec.~\ref{rotcur} and the comparison with observations
in Sec.~\ref{observ}.
In Sec.~\ref{outlook}, we indicate the extension to the general
relativistic
formulation and speculated on the superstring nature of the dark matter
scalar.
In Sec.~\ref{lensing}, we display the gravitational lensing properties
of the NTS halo.

\section{Dark halo as a self-gravitating Bose-Einstein condensate? \label{BEC}}
Since Einstein and Bose it is well-known that
identical integer spin particles
can occupy the same ground state. Such a {\em Bose-Einstein condensate}
(BEC) has been experimentally realized in 1995 for cold atoms of even
number of electrons, protons, and neutrons, see Anglin and
Ketterle\cite{AK02} for a  review. In the mean-field ansatz, the
interaction of the atoms in a dilute gas is approximated by
the effective potential
\begin{equation}
U(|\Psi|)_{\rm eff}= \frac{\lambda}{4} |\Psi|^4 \, .  \label{Ueff}
\end{equation}
This leads to a {\em nonlinear} Schr\"odinger equation
for the macroscopic matter wave field $\Psi$,
in this context known as Gross-Pitaevskii equation.
In a microscopic approach, one introduces  bosonic creation and
annihilation operators $b^\dagger$ and $b$, respectively, satisfying
$[b,b^\dagger]  =1 $,
and finds that every number conserving normal ordered correlation
function
$\langle b_1 \cdots b_n \rangle$ splits into the sum of all possible
products of contractions $\langle b_i  b_j \rangle$ as in
Wick's theorem of quantum field theory (QFT). For $n=1$
one recovers the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, whereas the next order leads
to  Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov equations\cite{KB01}.

In the context of astrophysics, an assembly of massive  real scalar particles
has  already been considered  by Bonazzola and Pacini\cite{BP66} in 1966.
Later on, solutions for ``systems of
self-gravitating'' bosons were considered by Ruffini
and Bonazzola\cite{RB69} similarly to the Hartree-Fock atom.
Because a real scalar has no {\em anti-particle} states,
the corresponding Klein-Gordon field $\Phi$
can only be   decomposed into positive and negative
frequency field operators:
\begin{equation}
\Phi=\Phi^+ + \Phi^- \, .
\end{equation}

For  a spherically
symmetric configuration
\begin{eqnarray}
\Phi^+ & = & \sum_{nla} b_{nla}^\dagger R_l^n(r)
 Y^{|a|}_l(\theta, \, \varphi)
  e^{-i \omega_{nl} t}\,,\nonumber \\
  \Phi^- & = & \sum_{nla} b_{nla} R_l^n(r)
 [Y^{|a|}_l(\theta, \, \varphi)]^*
  e^{+i \omega_{nl} t}
\end{eqnarray}
can be   expanded in terms  of the wave function
of a {\em bound  state} similarly as for the hydrogen atom.
Here $b_{nla}$ and $b_{n'l'a'}^\dagger$ are again creation
and annihilation operators,
$R_l^n(r)$ are radial distributions,
$Y^{|a|}_l(\theta, \, \varphi)=(1/\sqrt{4\pi})
P^{|a|}_l(\cos\theta)\, e^{-i|a|\varphi}$ the spherical harmonics
given in terms of the
normalized Legendre polynomials, and $|a|\leq l$ are  the quantum numbers
of {\em azimuthal}  and {\em angular} momentum. (The nodeless radial field
solution $R_{0}^0(r)$ will later be denoted by $P(r)$.)

For the ground state of a cold configuration,
\begin{equation}
|N\rangle=|N,0,0,\ldots\rangle:=\prod_1^N b_{100}^\dagger \vert0\rangle
\end{equation}
is chosen\cite{RB69},
where $\vert0\rangle$ is a vacuum state in the curved spacetime
`background'.
The energy-momentum tensor $T_{\mu \nu}(\Phi)$ of the scalar
field becomes now an operator. When coupled to gravity,
 the vacuum expectation value
$\langle T_{\mu \nu}\rangle:= \langle N|:T_{\mu \nu}:|N\rangle$
for the ground state is inserted  into  the right-hand side of the Einstein equation
(\ref{phi152}), where
$:T_{\mu \nu}:$ denotes normal ordering of the operator products.

An {\em excited state}  $\vert N,n,l,a\rangle:= \Phi^+ \vert0\rangle$
of positive energy  can be obtained by applying creation operators.
Such a `gravitational atom'\cite{FG89} represents a {\em coherent}
quantum state, which nevertheless can have macroscopic size and large
mass.
The gravitational field is self-generated
via the mean value $\langle T_{\mu \nu}\rangle$ of the energy-momentum tensor, but remains
completely classical, whereas the real scalar is treated to some
extent as operator.

Below some  critical temperature (\ref{critT}), such
configurations of coherent
bosons would form  Bose-Einstein condensates on an astrophysical scale\cite{BB02},
and following T.D.~Lee\cite{lee} are
called boson stars (BSs).

Real scalars have the disadvantage that no local symmetry provides a
conserved particle number,
and so one needs to
introduce by hand a normalization condition in order to stabilize the system.

It is gratifying to note that {\em BSs} with
{\em repulsive} self-interaction $U(|\Phi|)$ considered
already by Mielke and Scherzer\cite{MS81} and Colpi {\em et al.}\cite{CSW86}
have their counterparts in the
effective potential (\ref{Ueff}) of BEC.
Thus  a cold BS can be considered as a {\em self-gravitating} BEC on an
astrophysical scale\cite{HBG00,JB01,BLV01}.
Moreover, BSs of rather different sizes can occur:
it could be just a `gravitational atom'; it could be as massive
as the presumed black hole in the central part
of a galaxy; or it could be an alternative explanation
for parts of the dark matter in the halo of galaxies, as we are
going to explain
below. BSs, if they exist, would be an astrophysical realization with a
self-generated gravitational confinement.

The idea of a cold mini-boson star as a BEC condensate on a galactic scale
was reiterated, without referring to the earlier papers,
in Refs.~\refcite{HBG00,HBG03} in a Newtonian approximation.
A comparison of the Jeans scale of
a dark matter halo  and the de Broglie wave length of the gravitationally
confined bosons provides the  estimate $m_\Phi \simeq 10^{-22}$ eV/c$^2$
for a tiny `bare' mass of the bosons.

Bosonic particles such as fundamental scalars allow the possibility of
a self-gravitating BEC on
an astrophysical scale, commonly referred to as BS.
However, a repulsive self-interaction
has the physical effect of  delaying the progressive
collapse of a cosmic assembly formed by accretion.
This, in particular, applies to a {\em cold} BS below the
critical temperature
\begin{equation}
T_{\rm c}= \frac{2\pi \hbar^2}{mk}\left[\frac{N}{\xi(3/2)V}\right] \, ,  \label{critT}
\end{equation}
where $\xi(z)$ is the Riemann zeta function, provided
an ideal gas approximation is employed. However,
for the possible formation of a BEC as a dark halo,
one has to take into account its immersion into the heat bath of
the cosmic background radiation  of nowadays
$2.726$ K.

The physical nature of gravitationally coupled scalar fields\cite{Br96}
is at best speculative:
{}From the field-theoretical
point of view, a {\em dilaton field} $\varphi$ coupled universally to the
trace of the energy-momentum tensor via
\begin{equation}
L_{\rm int}:= \frac{1}{M_{\rm Pl}}\varphi  T^\mu_\mu  \label{trace}
\end{equation}
is a rather natural candidate. In order to apply this to galactic halos,
one needs an ultralight
scalar field with a Compton wave length $\lambda= \hbar/2m$ of the
order of the galactic core
$r_{\rm c}\simeq 10^{20}$ m, corresponding to  $m_\varphi\simeq 10^{-22}$ eV/c$^2$.
On the other hand, ultra-light `gravi-scalars' arising
in the framework of five-dimensional
braneworlds are constrained\cite{DK03} by the precisely observed slow-down
of the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar due the gravitational wave emission.
The universal coupling (\ref{trace}) provides a natural mechanism\cite{DGS01} to protect
such a tiny mass from renormalization due to  quantum  loops arising in the Standard Model.
In order to suppress large long-range forces, an approximate global symmetry needs to be
postulated which, nevertheless,  allows a coupling of $\varphi$ to the
Pontryagin term of electromagnetism via  $(\varphi/M_*) F\wedge F$,
{\em cf.}  Carroll\cite{Ca98}.

A related proposal is that of Wetterich\cite{We01} which endows a
massless  dilaton (as a pseudo-Goldstone boson)
with a tiny mass via the conformal anomaly.  Such a dynamical scalar
``quintessence" may also account
for {\em dark energy}\cite{BB03}.
Another approach\cite{PC02} to unify clustered dark matter
and dark energy is based on a Born-Infeld type higher derivative
Lagrangian for the same hypothetical scalar field.

Recently\cite{SKM03}, we analyzed the {\em bifurcations} in the mapping
of a self-interacting scalar field $\Phi$ minimally coupled to
Einstein's general relativity (GR) to
a non-linear curvature scalar Lagrangian.
Intriguingly, the higher-order Lagrangian bifurcates in almost
linear Einsteinian patches, but with different effective gravitational
strength and cosmological constant (dark energy)
depending on the cosmological scale.
More precise constraints on dark energy are expected to come
from future data for the cosmic microwave background
(CMB) radiation\cite{BB03},
which may also get modified\cite{MS04} via  the
Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect  during its long journey.

\section{Newtonian non-topological solitons \label{ntssol}}
As a solvable toy model with {\em self-interaction}, let us consider the
Klein-Gordon equation (\ref{phi153}) with
a $\Phi^6$ type potential
\begin{equation}
U(\vert  \Phi \vert ) = m^2 \vert  \Phi \vert ^2 \left(1 -
\chi \vert  \Phi \vert^4 \right), \qquad \chi \vert  \Phi \vert^4\leq 1\,,
\label{pot6}
\end{equation}
where $m$ is the `bare' mass of the boson and  $\chi$
a coupling constant, which are thought of as constants of nature.
The self-interaction in the
radial Klein-Gordon equation  takes the form
$ dU(P)/dP^2=  m^2  - 3 m^2 \chi P^4$. In flat spacetime, such a
model  was first considered by one of us\cite{Mi78} for constructing
{\em non-topological  soliton} (NTS) solutions.

For a spherically symmetric configuration and
 the choice $\omega =m$, the corresponding
nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation simplifies  to an {\em Emden type
equation}
\begin{equation}
P^{\prime\prime} + \frac{2}{x} P^{\prime}
  + 3\chi P^5 = 0\, ,
\label{Emden}
\end{equation}
familiar from the
astrophysics of gaseous spheres. It has
the completely {\em regular} exact solution
\begin{equation}
P(r) = \pm \chi^{-1/4} \sqrt{\frac{A }{1+A^2 x^2}} \, , \label{NTS}
\end{equation}
where  we introduced
the {\em dimensionless} radial coordinate $x:=m r$,
and $A = \sqrt{\chi} P^2(0)$ in terms of the central value.
The solution depends
essentially on the nonlinear coupling parameter $\chi$, since the limit
$\chi\rightarrow 0$ would be singular. This feature is rather
characteristic  for {\em soliton
solutions}.  Already 1978,  it has been generalized\cite{Mi78}
to a NTS with (quantized) angular momentum $l$.

In the following, it suffices to restrict
ourselves to the above given range  for which
the potential $U(\vert  \Phi \vert)$  remains {\em positive}.
If effects of
self-gravitation are taken into account, this scalar potential needs
not to be bounded from below: In the case of
general relativistic BSs\cite{MS81,kusmartsev,KMS91,SKM92,MS96,SM98,MS01}
with a self-interaction $\lambda |\Phi|^4$,
it has been proven numerically\cite{SL97} that NTS exist even for
negative values of $\lambda$.
The extension to {\em soliton stars}\footnote{Our potential (\ref{pot6})
is not bounded from below,
however, its positive range is sufficient for applying our toy model.
An example of a bounded potential
is $U(\vert  \Phi \vert ) = m^2 \vert  \Phi \vert ^2 \left(1 -
\ \vert  \Phi \vert^2/\vert  \Phi_0 \vert^2\right)^2$
typical for soliton stars,
but then simple analytical expressions are not available and one
needs, for large radius, to deal
with asymptotic solutions like
$P(r) \rightarrow \pm \sqrt{A/(1+B^2 e^{2x})} $.}
have been considered by Lee and Pang\cite{lee}  as well as Gleiser\cite{GL89}.

The canonical energy-momentum tensor of a relativistic spherically
symmetric
scalar field is diagonal,
{\em i.e.}~$T_\mu{} ^\nu(\Phi) = {\rm diag} \; (\rho , -p_r,$
$-p_\bot, -p_\bot )$ with
\begin{eqnarray}
\rho &=& \frac{1}{2} \left ( \omega^2 P^2  +P'^2  + U
 \right ) \; , \nonumber  \\
p_{\rm r} &=&  \rho -  U \; , \;  \nonumber  \\
p_\bot &=&  p_r -  P'^2  \; ,    \label{emt}
\end{eqnarray}
where $'=d/dr$. The form (\ref{emt}) is familiar from perfect fluids,
{\em except} that the radial and tangential pressure generated by the
scalar field are in general different, {\em i.e.}~$p_r \neq p_\bot $.
This {\em anisotropy} of scalar matter should not
 been ignored, since it holds even in
flat spacetime, or in the Newtonian approximation.

{}From (\ref{emt}) we find in flat spacetime the energy-density
\begin{eqnarray}
\rho &=& \frac{m^2}{2} \left [ 2 P^2
 + P'^2 - \chi P^6 \right ]  \nonumber \\
 & = & \frac{A m^2}{2\sqrt{\chi}(1+A ^2 x^2)}\left[2
 +\frac{ A ^4 x^2 -A ^2}{(1+A ^2 x^2)^2}  \right ]  \; .
\label{rhonts}
\end{eqnarray}
(If we would consider a real scalar field instead, there is merely
the change of the first proportionality constant  2 in the bracket to 1.)
The requirement of the positivity  of $U(\Phi)$ at the
origin yields the  constraint  $A < 1$, which we will adopt in the
following.

The leading term of the Newtonian type mass concentration (\ref{rhonts})
is exactly the density law of the {\em quasi--isothermal sphere}\cite{IS00}
\begin{equation}
\rho (r) \simeq
\frac{\rho_0 r_{\rm c}^2}{r_{\rm c}^2+r^2}  \; .
\label{quasirho}
\end{equation}
At large radii the density falls of like $\rho \propto r^{-2}$ which
corresponds to an asymptotically flat rotation curve. Comparing  with the
quasi--isothermal sphere (\ref{quasirho}), the central density of
 the NTS model is given by
$\rho_0 \simeq A  m^2/\sqrt{\chi}$ and the core radius is $r_{\rm c}\simeq
1/m A$. This implies a {\em scaling law} for the dark halos of the form
\begin{equation}
\rho_0 \simeq \frac{m}{\sqrt{\chi}}\frac{1}{r_{\rm c}}\propto \frac{1}
{r_{\rm c}} \; ,  \label{scallaw}
\end{equation}
where $A$, which may vary from halo to halo, {\em cancels out}.

This nonlinearly coupled scalar field excerts the
following radial and tangential pressures:
\begin{eqnarray}
p_{\rm r} &=& \frac{m^2}{2} \left [
 \chi P^6 + P'^2  \right ] =
\frac{A ^3 m^2}{2\sqrt{\chi}(1+A ^2 x^2)^2} \simeq
  \frac{A ^3 m^2}{2\sqrt{\chi}} \; , \label{radp} \nonumber \\
  p_\bot  &=& \frac{m^2}{2} \left [
 \chi P^6 - P'^2  \right ] =
\frac{A ^3 m^2(1-A ^2 x^2)}{2\sqrt{\chi}(1+A ^2 x^2)^3} \simeq
  \frac{A ^3 m^2}{2\sqrt{\chi}} \; , \nonumber\\
  \rho + p_{\rm r}&=&  m^2 [ P^2 + P'^2 ] \nonumber\\
  &=&
  \frac{A m^2}{\sqrt{\chi}(1+A ^2 x^2)}\left [
   1 + \frac{A^4  x^2}{(1+A ^2 x^2)^2}  \right ] \; .
\end{eqnarray}
Thus, at the center of the NTS, we have $p_{\rm r}(0)= p_\bot(0)$.
Asymptotically, we find at radial infinity
\begin{equation}
p_{\rm r}\, , - p_\bot \rightarrow \frac{m^2}{2\sqrt{\chi} A  x^4} \; .
 \label{radpa}
\end{equation}

{}From the energy density (\ref{rhonts})
the  {\em mass function}
\begin{equation}
M(r):= \int_0^r \rho y^2 dy  \label{massf}
\end{equation}
can be obtained by straightforward integration.
With the aid of {\sc Reduce}\cite{Sch99} we find for our model:
\begin{eqnarray}
M(r) &=& \frac{1}{m A \sqrt{\chi}}\left[x
 +\frac{A ^2 -8}{8A }\arctan(A  x)
 -\frac{A ^2 x}{8}\frac{1+3A ^2 x^2}{(1+A ^2 x^2)^2}
\right] \; , \nonumber \\
 &\simeq & \frac{A}{6 \sqrt{\chi }} m^2 \left ( 2 - A^2 \right )
    \cdot r^3 \; , \nonumber \\
 &\rightarrow & \frac{r}{A \sqrt{\chi}} \; .
\label{massfunc}
\end{eqnarray}

\section{Rotation curves \label{rotcur}}

The tangential velocity $v_\varphi$ of stars moving like
``test particles" around the center of
a galaxy is not directly measurable, but can be inferred from the
redshift $z_\infty$ observed at spatial infinity, for which
\begin{equation}
(1+z_\infty)^2 =\frac{e^{\nu_\infty}}{e^{\nu}}
 \frac{(1 \pm v_\varphi)^2}{1 - v^2_\varphi}
\end{equation}
holds. Due to their non-relativistic velocities in galaxies bounded
approximately by
$v_\varphi/c \leq 10^{-3}$, we observe $z_\infty  \simeq v_\varphi$
(as first part of a geometric series)
with the consequence that the lapse function necessarily
tends to unity, i.e.~$e^\nu \simeq
e^{\nu_\infty}/(1 -v^2_\varphi)\rightarrow 1$.
In general, there are two dominating influences
on the redshift of  stars: The gravitational potential of all
matter components within the galaxy (stars, gas, dark matter) and the
Doppler effect. (Since for
dwarf galaxies dark matter dominates up to the center, we can
neglect the  contribution of stars and gas.)
If $e^{\nu_\infty}=1$, the redshift for receding stars is
$z=e^{-\nu /2} \sqrt{(1-v_\varphi )/(1+v_\varphi )}-1$.
For example\cite{Sc98}, the influence of the gravitational field
of the dark matter on the redshift is just about 1.5 km/s, hence,
negligible. Of course, if the gravitational potential has the same
order of magnitude as the Doppler effect, then a velocity of 300 km/s
which observations reveal so far, would be actually just 150 km/s,
but this would certainly demand too strong gravitational potentials
for galaxies.

In general, for the static spherically symmetric metric (\ref{met})
considered lateron, an observer at rest at the equator of the  Schwarzschild
type
coordinate system measures the following
tangential velocity squared as a point particle
(or a star, regarded as a sufficient small body\cite{EG04})
flies past him in its circular orbit,
{\em cf.} Misner {\em et al.}\cite{mtw}, p.~657, Eq.~(25.20):
\begin{eqnarray}
v^2_\varphi &:=& e^{-\nu} r^2 \left ( \frac{d\varphi}{dt} \right )^2
= \frac{1}{2} r\nu^\prime
= \frac{1}{2}\left[1 -
 e^{-\lambda}  +\kappa p_{\rm r}r^2 \right]e^{\lambda }\nonumber\\
 &=& \frac{\kappa}{2}\left[\frac{M(r)}{r} + p_{\rm r}r^2\right]\exp\left\{
 \frac{r}{r-\kappa M(r)}\right\}
 \nonumber \\
 &\simeq& \frac{\kappa}{2}\left[\frac{M(r)}{r} + p_{\rm r}r^2\right]
 \, . \label{tanvel}
\end{eqnarray}

Outside of matter ($\nu = -\lambda$) for a weak gravitational field,
Eq. (\ref{tanvel}) reduces to the
Newtonian form $v_{\varphi,{\rm Newt}}^2 \simeq M(r)/r$.
As is well-known\cite{wald,SH03}, a naive application of the Newtonian limit
would have led us to geodesics in flat spacetime, i.e.~as if
gravity would not affect the motion of test bodies like our stars moving
in the dark matter halo. Thus it is mandatory to go beyond, as is
indicated by our approximation of the generally
relativistic formula (\ref{tanvel}).
Then,  also the  pressure component $p_r \neq 0$ of an anisotropic `fluid'
contributes, our prime example being the case of scalar
fields. In our NTS model, however, due to the fast decrease of $p_r$,
{\em cf.}~Eq.~(\ref{radpa}), its contribution to the asymptotic value of
the rotation velocity is almost negligible.

{}From the mass function
(\ref{massfunc}) of the Newtonian NTS solution (\ref{NTS}) and its radial
pressure (\ref{radp}), we find for the rotation velocity
\begin{equation}
v^2_\varphi /v^2_\infty =
 1 +\left(\frac{A ^2}{8}-1\right)\frac{\arctan(A  x)}{A  x}
 + \frac{A ^2}{8}\frac{A ^2 x^2-1}{(1+A ^2 x^2)^2}
  \, , \label{NTSrot}
\end{equation}
for which the following approximations
\begin{eqnarray}
 v^2_\varphi &\simeq& \frac{\kappa A  (1+A ^2)m^2}{6\sqrt{\chi}} r^2
\nonumber\\
 v^2_\varphi &\rightarrow&  v^2_\infty = \frac{\kappa}{2A \sqrt{\chi}}=
 \frac{\kappa}{2\chi P^2(0)} \leq 10^{-6},
\end{eqnarray}
hold near the center and at the far field, respectively. Together with
(\ref{massfunc}) we conclude that asymptotically $M\rightarrow 2 v^2_\infty r$.

Observationally, there is the rough restriction $v_\varphi/c \leq
10^{-3}$ of the rotation velocities of galaxies, which
can be used to constrain the mass $m\leq 10^{-22}$ eV/c$^2$ and the
coupling constant $\chi$  of our NTS model.

\section{Astronomical tests \label{observ}}

The theoretical model predictions against rotation curve
data of
a set of low surface brightness galaxies taken from Ref.~\refcite{a11,a12}
have recently been tested by Fuchs and Mielke\cite{FM04}.
There the  rotation curves of in total 54 galaxies
have been measured with high resolution. For about half of
them surface photometry is available. For these galaxies not
only kinematical data have been provided,
but also constructed dynamical models of
the galaxies. The observed rotation curves are modelled as
\begin{equation}
  v_\varphi^2(r)= v_{\varphi,\rm bulge}^2(r)+v_{\varphi,\rm disc}^2(r)+
  v_{\varphi,\rm isgas}^2(r)+v_{\varphi,\rm halo}^2(r),
\label{obrotcur}
\end{equation}
where
$v_{\varphi,\rm bulge}$, $v_{\varphi,\rm disc}$, $v_{\varphi,\rm isgas}$, and
$v_{\varphi,\rm halo}$ denote the contributions due to the bulge, the stellar
disc, the interstellar gas, and the dark halo, respectively. The radial
variations of
$v_{\rm c,bulge}(r)$, $v_{\rm c,disc}(r)$, and $v_{\rm c,isgas}(r)$
were derived from the observations, while the normalizations by
the mass--to--light ratios were left as free parameters of the
fits of the mass models to the data.

{}Fits of the form (\ref{obrotcur}) to observed rotation are notoriously ambiguous.
Thus, for each galaxy several models are provided, one with zero bulge and
disc mass, one model with a `reasonable' mass--to--light ratio of the
bulge and
the disc, and finally a `maximum--disc' model with bulge and disc masses
at the maximum allowed by the data. Furthermore, for each galaxy
two types of dark halo models are tried. One is the cusped NFW density law
and the second is the quasi--isothermal sphere,
whose observational consequences
are recently been reviewed by Bosma\cite{Bo03}. While varying
the disc contribution to the observed rotation curve leads to fits of the
same quality, it is found that the quasi--isothermal sphere
models of the dark halos give significantly better
fits to the data than the cusped NFW density law. Thus the scalar field
model presented here is in this aspect even superior to the cold dark matter
model in its present form.

Prada {\em et al.}\cite{c18} used data from the Sloan digital sky survey
on satellite galaxies of isolated host galaxies to probe on 100 kpc scale the
{\em outer} halo mass distributions. They find that the line--of--sight
velocity
dispersions of the satellites follow closely the radially declining
velocity
dispersion profile of halo particles in a NFW halo. This implies an outer
mass density distribution of the form $\rho \propto r^{-3}$
which is at variance with
the prediction of the quasi--isothermal sphere (\ref{quasirho}).
In the cold dark matter
model the system of satellite galaxies is assembled during the same
accretion
processes as the dark halo, and Prada {\em et al.}\cite{c18}
assume consistently for the
satellites the same distribution function in phase space as for the halo
particles. In the NTS model, however, the dark halo provides for
the baryonic matter simply a Newtonian force field,
for which self-gravity has been neglected in zeroth approximation. The distribution function
of satellite galaxies in phase space is thus not specified and can be
modelled
according to the observations, even if the potential trough of the
quasi--isothermal sphere has a shallower profile than a NFW halo.

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\epsfxsize=8.0cm
   \leavevmode
      \epsffile{scalin_f1.eps}
 \caption{Central densities versus the inverses of the core radii of dark
halos
  of low surface brightness galaxies derived from modelling their rotation
  curves. The halo models are constructed assuming `realistic'
mass--to--light
  ratios for the discs. The solid line is the predicted
  $\rho_0 \propto r_c^{-1}$ relation.}
         \label{imag1}
   \end{center}
   \end{figure}

   \begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\epsfxsize=8.0cm
   \leavevmode
      \epsffile{scalin_f2.eps}
 \caption{Same as Fig.~\ref{imag1},
  but the halo models are constructed assuming `maximum
  discs'. Open symbols: low surface brightness galaxies, filled symbols:
nearby
  bright galaxies.}
         \label{imag2}
   \end{center}
   \end{figure}

Next we have examined the predicted scaling relation (\ref{scallaw}).
A relation of this type was
found empirically by Salucci and Burkert\cite{SB00},
although this was based on the
universal rotation curve model of Persic {\em et al.}\cite{PS96} and
the, also empirically derived, halo density profile of Burkert\cite{Bu95}.
This density
law resembles the quasi--isothermal sphere in that it has also a
homogeneous core. In Fig.~\ref{imag1}
we show central densities versus the inverses of the core radii
of quasi--isothermal dark halo models constructed in Refs.~\refcite{a11,a12}
assuming for the discs mass--to--light ratios consistent
with current population synthesis models.
Despite some scatter, there is a clear correlation between $\rho_0$ and
$r_c^{-1}$ over several orders of magnitude, $\log(\rho_0) \propto
(1.46\pm 0.55)\log(r_c^{-1})$. Thus the dark halo model data seem to
confirm statistically the scaling relation (\ref{scallaw}).
The scatter in the correlation diagram is probably due to the
near degeneracy of the fits to the observed rotation curves, even if the
disc contributions to the rotation curves are fixed. Moreover, practice shows
that the radial exponential scale lengths of the discs cannot be determined
more precisely than about 20\%. This has a considerable effect for the disc
contributions to the rotation curves (\ref{obrotcur})
and, consequently, for the
dark halo models and might also explain some of the scatter of the
correlation diagram in Fig.~\ref{imag1}.
We believe, however, that this has not changed the general trend.

Using arguments of the density wave theory of galactic
spiral structure, one of us has pointed out, judging from the implied
internal dynamics of the galactic discs, that the discs might be
near to maximum\cite{a18,a15,a19}.
This would imply for the discs of some galaxies mass--to--light
ratios which are significantly higher than in current population synthesis
models of the discs of low surface brightness galaxies. These can be
modified, though, to yield higher mass--to--light ratios.
Therefore we show in Fig.~\ref{imag2} the central densities
versus the inverses of the core radii of the dark halo models, if they are
constructed assuming `maximum discs'. Although the dark halo parameters
are shifted to other values, the linear correlation persists. With
\begin{equation}
\log(\rho_0)
\propto (1.08 \pm 0.39)\log( r_c^{-1})
\end{equation}
the dark halo models fit nearly
ideally to the predicted scaling relation (\ref{scallaw}).
Included into Fig.~\ref{imag2} are also `maximum disc' dark halo
parameters of nearby bright galaxies\cite{a16,a19}
which fit also well to the scaling law. We conclude from this
discussion that the astronomical tests are rather encouraging for the
scalar field model of dark halos presented here.

\section{General-relativistic corrections\label{outlook}}
In the first part we were focused on a $\Phi^6$ toy model. In order to
advance to more realistic models which include {\em self-gravity}, a full
{\em general-relativistic framework} will be employed which departs from
the coupled Einstein-Klein-Gordon equations
\begin{eqnarray}
 G_{\mu \nu }:=  R_{\mu \nu } - \frac{1}{2} g_{\mu \nu } R
             & = & -\kappa T_{\mu \nu } (\Phi ) \; , \label{phi152} \\
      \left
              \sqcup \kern-9pt \sqcap + \frac {dU}{d\vert  \Phi \vert ^2} \right ) \Phi
             & = & 0 \; . \label{phi153}
\end{eqnarray}
Here $R$ is the curvature scalar, $\kappa = 8\pi G$, the
gravitation constant ($\hbar=c=1$),
$g$ the determinant of the metric $g_{\mu \nu }$, and
$\Phi $ a {\em  complex} scalar field. Moreover,
$
\Box := \left (1/\sqrt {\vert  g\vert  }\right )\,
 \partial_\mu  \left (\sqrt{\vert  g\vert  } g^{\mu \nu }
 \partial_\nu \right)
$
denotes the generally covariant d'Alembertian.

The stationarity ansatz
\begin{equation}
\Phi (r,t)=P(r) e^{-i\omega t}
\end{equation}
 describes a spherically symmetric bound
state of the scalar field with frequency $\omega $. Note that
the case of a real scalar field can readily be accommodated
in
our formalism by putting $\omega=0$ in our Ansatz.

For  spherical symmetry of the halo, the line-element reads
\begin{equation}
ds^2 = e^{\nu (r)} dt^2 - e^{\lambda (r)} dr^2 - r^2 \left(
 d\theta^2 + \sin^2\theta d\varphi^2 \right)  \; ,  \label{met}
\end{equation}
in which the functions $\nu =\nu (r)$ and
$\lambda =\lambda (r)$ depend on the Schwarzschild type radial
coordinate $r$.

Then, the diagonal components of the energy-momentum tensor
$T_\mu{} ^\nu(\Phi) = {\rm diag} \; (\rho , -p_r,$
$-p_\bot, -p_\bot )$ generalize to
\begin{eqnarray}
\rho &=& \frac{1}{2} \left ( \omega^2 P^2 e^{-\nu} +P'^2 e^{-\lambda} + U
 \right ) \; , \nonumber  \\
p_{\rm r} &=&  \rho -  U \; , \;  \nonumber  \\
p_\bot &=&  p_r -  P'^2 e^{-\lambda } \; ,
\end{eqnarray}
and the Emden equation (\ref{Emden}) to the radial Klein-Gordon equation
\begin{equation}
P''(r) + \left ( \frac {\nu' - \lambda'}{2} + \frac {2}{r} \right )
 P'(r) +e^{\lambda}  \left(e^{- \nu }
\omega^2 - \frac{dU(P)}{dP^2} \right) P(r)  = 0  \; . \label{2ska}
\end{equation}

The decisive non-vanishing components of the Einstein equation are
the `radial' equations
\begin{eqnarray}
\nu' + \lambda' & = & \kappa (\rho + p_{\rm r}) r e^\lambda
\; ,  \label{nula}\\
\lambda' & = & \kappa \rho r e^\lambda - \frac {1}{r} (e^\lambda - 1)
\; . \label{la}
\end{eqnarray}
Two further  components are identically fulfilled because of
the contracted Bianchi identity $\nabla^{\mu} T_{\mu}{}^{\nu}\equiv 0$
which is equivalent to the equation
\begin{equation}
 \frac{d}{dr} p_{\rm r}= -\nu^\prime\left(\rho + p_{\rm r} -\frac{2}{r}(
p_{\rm
 r}-p_\bot)\right)
\end{equation}
of `hydrostatic' equilibrium for
an anisotropic fluid, a generalization\cite{MS96} of the
Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation.

The general solution of Eq.~(\ref{la}) is
\begin{equation}
e^{-\lambda } = 1 - \kappa\frac{M(r)}{r} \rightarrow 1-2v^2_\infty \, ,
\label{lamb}
\end{equation}
where the mass function $M(r)$ is according to (\ref{massf})
only determined by the energy density $\rho$.

According to Eq. (\ref{massfunc}) of the NTS model,
the radial metric component $e^{- \lambda }$ asymptotically approaches
the value
$1-2v^2_\infty<1$. This is not unproblematic: After a redefinition of the
radial coordinate $r \rightarrow \tilde r:= r/\sqrt{1-2v^2_\infty} \; ,$
the asymptotic space has a {\em deficit solid angle}. The area of a sphere
of
radius $r$ is not $4 \pi r^2$, but $4 \pi (1-2v^2_\infty) r^2$;
{\em cf.}~analogous results for global monopoles
and global textures\cite{barr,Sc98}.
 In order to avoid
a linear increase of the mass function which would pose
problems for the asymptotics, GR allows to redefine the radial
coordinate.
In the case of the more {\em realistic} phenomenological
Burkert fit\cite{Bu95} the velocity tends to zero at
spatial infinity, with the consequence that
{\em no} such deficit angle is to be expected.

So far we have considered a solvable model in flat spacetime. However,
when the tangential velocity $v_\varphi= v_\varphi(x)$ is empirically known, we
readily find from (\ref{tanvel}) that
the metric components are in general given by
\begin{eqnarray}
e^\nu&=&\exp \left \{ 2 \int v^2_\varphi d\ln x \right \}
  \rightarrow  x^{2 v^2_\infty} + K \, , \label{metnu}
   \\
e^\lambda&=&
  \frac{1 + 2 v^2_\varphi }{1+\kappa p_{\rm r}r^2}
\rightarrow  1 + 2 v^2_\infty
\simeq(1 - 2v^2_\infty )^{-1} \, , \label{metla}
\end{eqnarray}
where $K$ is a constant of integration; in the last line we used
(\ref{lamb}).
The approximation for $e^\lambda$ is valid only for $p_{\rm r}r^2\simeq
0$,
{\em i.e.}~for non-singular radial pressure at the origin or for
sufficiently
fast decreasing pressure at infinity.   Fortunately,
 in  our NTS model, this  condition is satisfied at the
origin as well as at
infinity, {\em cf.}~the asymptotic function (\ref{radpa}).

For our NTS rotation curve (\ref{NTSrot}), we have derived the scalar
field
by setting the metric components to one in zeroth order  Newtonian
approximation.
Then, we calculated the mass function and, consequently, the rotation
curve.
Now, we can do better and determine the metric potentials in first order
approximation. For the lapse function we find
\begin{eqnarray}
e^\nu &=& \exp \Biggl \{ \frac{v_\infty^2}{2} \Bigl [
 \ln \Bigl \{ x^7 \sqrt{1+x^2} \left ( \frac{1+A^2x^2}{A^2x^2} \right
)^{7/2}
     \Bigr \} \nonumber\\
 &\quad& \qquad\qquad - \frac{1}{1+x^2}+ \frac{7A}{x}\arctan (Ax)
 \Bigr ] \Biggr \} \; .
\end{eqnarray}
The shift function $e^\lambda$ is influenced by both,  the rotation
velocity
(\ref{NTSrot}) and  the radial scalar field pressure (\ref{radp}). Therefore, a full account of self-gravity
seems to demand  numerical methods.

A more ambitious approach is to {\em reconstruct}
a viable scalar potential  $U(\vert \Phi \vert )$ from the empirical
rotation curves on the basis of the Einstein equations,
similarly as in the case of inflation\cite{MS95}.

As a starting point, we may use
the empirical Burkert profile\cite{Bu95} which can be expressed in the following
close analytical form:
\begin{eqnarray}
 v^2_{\varphi{\rm B}}/v^2_\infty = \frac{1}{2x}\left\{\ln[(1+x)^2(1+x^2)] -
2\arctan(x)\right\}&\simeq& 1 -\frac{\arctan(x)}{x} \nonumber\\
&\rightarrow& 2\frac{\ln x}{x}\,.  \label{Bur}
\end{eqnarray}
It has  a maximum at $x=3.3$ in dimensionless units $x=r/r_{\rm c}$ and amounts
at spatial infinity  to a {\em  logarithmic modification} of the
Kepler law. Then,
we find for the lapse function via {\sc Reduce}
{\small
\begin{equation}
 e^\nu = \exp \left \{ \frac{v^2_\infty}{x}\left[x
\ln\frac{1+x^2}{(1+x)^2} +
  2(1+x)\arctan(x) -
 \ln\left(1+2x +2x^2+2x^3+x^4\right)\right] \right \} \; .
\end{equation}}
Assuming a negligible radial pressure term, i.e. $p_{\rm r}r^2\simeq 0$,
the shift function $e^\lambda = 1 + 2 v^2_\varphi $ is simply determined
by the Burkett rotation velocity (\ref{Bur}).

For this Burkert fit, we have  attempted to {\em reconstruct}\cite{MS02} a
self-interaction
potential $U(\Phi) =\rho -p_{\rm r}$ from the astronomical data,
 by resolving the radial Einstein
equations (\ref{la}) for $\rho$ and $p_{\rm r}$ with the general result
\begin{equation}
U = \rho -p_{\rm r}=\frac{1}{\kappa r e^\lambda}\left[\lambda^\prime
 -\nu^\prime + \frac{2}{r}(e^\lambda -1)\right] \; . \label{potre}
\end{equation}

Accordingly, $U$ is  positive when
\begin{equation}
d\ln v_\varphi/d\ln x + v^2_\varphi +1/2 \geq 0
\end{equation}
 holds, which is satisfied by the Burkert fit.
However, since the radial dependence of the scalar field $\Phi(x)$ is still
unknown, a numerical approach is needed in order  to  reconstruct
the potential $U(\Phi)$ explicitly.

In view of the occurrence of scalar fields, like the dilaton or
Kalb-Ramond axion in effective superstring models leading to
{\em axidilaton stars}\cite{MS01}, the concordance of
theory and observations in a viable self-interaction potential
deserves further study.

\section{Gravitational lensing of dark halos \label{lensing}}

Another promising approach to study the dark halos of galaxies is weak
{\em gravitational lensing}, since
it can be measured out to large projected distances from the lense.
Hence, gravitational lensing of a
{\em transparent} spherically symmetric NTS dark matter halo will be
 compared here with
the scenario of a mini-BS lens\cite{SM99,DS00}.
We assume that the lens interior
is almost empty of baryonic matter, such that deflected
photons can travel freely through the space between the halo stars
which embody only ``small'' disturbances\cite{Mi02}.

The deflection angle is then given by
\begin{equation}
\hat{\alpha}(r_0) = 2 \int\limits_{r_0}^\infty
\frac{be^{\lambda /2}}{r\sqrt{r^2 e^{-\nu} - b^2}} dr  - \pi \; ,
\label{alpha}
\end{equation}
where $b=r_0 \exp (-\nu(r_0))$ is the impact parameter
and $r_0$ denotes the closest distance between a light ray and
the center of our halo.
The lens equation {\em for small deflection angles} can be expressed as
\begin{equation}
\sin\left(\theta-\beta\right)
 = \frac{D_{\rm ls}}{D_{\rm os}} \sin\hat{\alpha} \, ,
 \label{lens1}
\end{equation}
where $D_{\rm ls}$ and $D_{\rm os}$ are the distances from the lens
(deflector) to the source and from the observer to the source,
respectively.
The true angular position of the source is denoted by $\beta$,
whereas $\theta$ stands for the image positions.
One usually defines the {\em reduced deflection angle} to be
$
\alpha \equiv \theta - \beta = \sin^{-1}\left(D_{\rm ls}
\sin\hat{\alpha} /D_{\rm os} \right) \, .
$
However, equation (\ref{lens1}) relies on substitution of the
distance from the source to the point of minimal approach by the
distance from the lens to the source $D_{\rm ls}$.
{\em For large deflection angles} the distance $D_{\rm ls}$
cannot be considered a constant but it is a function of the deflection
angle so that the form of the lens equation changes\cite{DS00} into
\begin{equation}
\sin{\alpha} = \frac{D_{\rm ls}}{D_{\rm os}} \cos{\theta}
\cos \left[ \mbox{arsin}
\left ( \frac{D_{\rm os}}{D_{\rm ls}} \sin (\theta - \alpha )
  \right) \right]
\left[\tan{\theta} + \tan(\hat{\alpha} - \theta)
\right] \, .  \label{lens2}
\end{equation}
The reduced deflection angle can be kept defined as
$\alpha \equiv \theta - \beta$; {\em cf.}~Ref.~\refcite{Pe03}
with more details on the lens equation.

Since our dark matter halo, the NTS soliton, has only a weak
gravitational field, we can apply (\ref{lens1}) together with
(\ref{alpha}). The deflection angle is determined by
the gravitational potentials (\ref{metnu}), (\ref{metla})
which are functions of the NTS rotation curve (\ref{NTSrot})
and the radial pressure (\ref{radp}). As an imput, we use the best fit
value\cite{MSP02} of $A=0.805$ to the Burkert profile (\ref{Bur}).
The asymptotic rotation velocity is taken to be $v_\infty = c/1000$.

\begin{figure}[t]
\begin{center}
\leavevmode\epsfysize=6.5cm
      \epsffile{alpha.eps}
 \caption{Reduced deflection angle for the NTS dark matter halo.}
         \label{imag3}
  \end{center}
   \end{figure}

Numerical computations of the reduced deflection angle for the NTS
halo were performed by assuming that the halo lens is half-way between the
observer and the source, i.e.~$D_{\rm ls}/D_{\rm os}=1/2$.
The result is shown in Fig. \ref{imag3}
where $\alpha$ and $\theta$ are measured in arcsecond, but in general
the units of $\theta$ depends on the oberserver-lens distance
(further details, see Refs.~\refcite{DS00,ST00}).
We recognize prominent features of the NTS lens
due to the linear increasing mass (\ref{massfunc}).
There exists a limiting value of the reduced deflection angle
of about $\alpha =0.93$ arcsecond. Hence, if the true angular
position of the source $\beta$ increases, nevertheless
the halo lens deflects the light with a constant value.
This behavior would change if the mass of the halo becomes finite.

We can compare this result with the strong gravitational source
of a BS for different potentials $U$, when
the BS lens is again half-way between the
observer and the source\cite{DS00,ST00}.
Observable differences are found depending on the choice of the
self-interaction. In the case of a simple mass term
$U(\vert  \Phi \vert ) = m^2 \vert  \Phi \vert ^2$,
the largest possible value of $\alpha$ is
23.03 degrees with an image at about $\theta = n \times 2.88$
arcsec where $n=n(D_{\rm ol},\omega)$ is the distance factor which is a
function of the distance from the observer to the lens and the
scalar field frequency the inverse of which is associated with the
BS radius. For non-relativistic BS approximations, smaller angles will
occur. The angle $\theta$ of the image position can have very
different orders of magnitude, depending on $n$.
For example, $n=1$ fixes $\theta$ to be measured in arcsec.
Under the assumption that the BS mass is 10$^{10}$ $M_{\odot}$,
the distance $D_{\rm ol}$ is about 100 pc.
If the distance factor is $n=10^{-3}$,
then $\theta $ is measured in milli-arcsec and the
BS-lens is at about 100 kpc from the observer.

In comparison, halos modelled by the Burkert profile will not
produce strong lensing as well\cite{PF03}.
Differences of our NTS model and the Burkert fit can be
traced back to the fact that the metric corresponding to an
asymptotically constant velocity $v_\infty$ in general
exhibits a {\em deficit angle} similarly as a cosmic string\cite{Sr87}.
The linear mass density peaks at the location of the string,
thereby producing a strong lensing.

The properties of dark matter halos inferred from weak lensing\cite{HY03}
provides a strong support for
the existence of dark matter, wheras alternative theories of
gravity such as MOND can almost be excluded.

\section*{Acknowledgments}

We would like to thank Fjodor Kusmartsev, Humberto Peralta and Remo Ruffini
for helpful discussions and comments.
One of us (F.E.S.) acknowledges
research support provided by a personal fellowship.
Moreover, (E.W.M.) acknowledges the support of SNI and
thanks  Noelia,  Markus G\'erard Erik, and Miryam Sophie Naomi
for encouragement.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
When It's at the Border, Your Data Is Fair Game — Even on Your Laptop
United States Customs and Border Protection
By Philip Bump,
No need for a warrant in the international zone at O'Hare airport.
Americans are protected from warrantless search in America — but not at the nation's borders. The imaginary line separating the United States from the rest of the world has become a critical demarcation for the privacy of the country's citizens, as new documents from the ACLU and the ongoing Snowden leaks make clear.
David House worked as a fundraiser for the defense of Chelsea Manning in her court-martial for uploading classified information to Wikileaks. That brought him to the attention of the government, perhaps predictably; he was questioned by authorities about his relationship to the Army private. What he didn't know, though, is that he'd been flagged in the Department of Homeland Security's TECS system. (TECS is not an acronym for anything.) That flag, according to documents obtained by the ACLU , looked like this.
From a DHS report
DHS letter to the Army CIC
The Associated Press reports that House, who relied on that Asus PC for his work, had no sign that the seizure was coming. During the questioning several months prior, the government made no suggestion that it sought the contents of his hard drive. Were it to want to search the device at that point, of course, it would need a warrant. Once House arrived in the international zone at O'Hare, however, that need was obviated.
Read the full story at TheAtlanticWire.com.
NEXT STORY: Pirates in Germany Dodge the NSA's Watchful Gaze


text:
a week in wireless
It's hip to be square
Written by The Informer
12 November 2010 @ 13:11
When the Informer was a schoolboy the humble Rubik's Cube was all the rage. There would be many a playground standoff, which inevitably dragged through one lunch hour and into the next, driven by hormone-fuelled bravado about who could solve the puzzle in the fastest time. Now the Informer hasn't picked up one of those cubes in many years, but he clearly recalls solved puzzles sitting in pride of place on many a mantelpiece (although who knows what disassembling of the device went on behind closed doors?) after many hours of manipulation. But apparently the Rubik's Cube can now be solved in 12.5 seconds. By a phone.
An HTC Nexus One, powered by Android 2.1 running on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor along with 500MB of system RAM, has been demonstrated solving the 3x3x3 puzzle in just 12.5 seconds using "arms" built out of a Lego Mindstorms robotics kit.
The demonstration took place at this week's ARM developer conference in Silicon Valley, with ARM principal engineer David Gilday showing off his 18 months of work on the system. He actually ported the application from an original bit of Java MIDP 2.0 software running on a Nokia N95. Clearly, when the new robots come along the old ones are replaced, and that's the story all over for Nokia this week.
According to the latest figures from analyst house Gartner, Android took a significant chunk out of Symbian's market share during the third quarter of 2010 and steamed ahead of the iPhone and BlackBerry platforms in the smartphone space.
What with devices getting cheaper and more powerful, the definition of a smartphone can be a little vague, but nevertheless, Gartner said that the third quarter of 2010 produced record sales of more than 81 million devices based on open operating systems. Android accounted for 25.5 per cent of worldwide smartphone sales, making it the number two OS behind Symbian and particularly dominant in North America. This was up from an Android market share of 3.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2009, while Symbian slipped from 44.6 per cent in 2009 to 36.6 per cent. Apple's iOS also dropped from 17.1 per cent to 16.7 per cent and RIM's BlackBerry OS shrank from 20.7 per cent to 14.8 per cent.
"Google is maintaining a fast pace of OS updates. Each version brings new features and polish to Android, and the level of innovation is a major differentiator," Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner.
Total worldwide mobile phone sales to end users totalled 417 million units in the third quarter of 2010, a 35 per cent increase from the third quarter of 2009, with smartphones accounting for 19.3 per cent of overall mobile phone sales. Although the top three worldwide mobile device manufacturers Nokia, Samsung and LG remained the same – albeit with reduced market share – the third quarter saw Apple rise into the top five manufacturers, surpassing RIM for fourth place.
But perhaps all is not lost for Symbian. As the Symbian SEE show kicked off in Amsterdam this week, all the rumours were proved true: the Symbian Foundation will transition into another entity and the operating system itself will finally be absorbed by Nokia. Hurrah!
In the wake of mass abandonment of the platform by the OEMs, leaving Nokia as its sole supporter, and amid strong rumour of financial troubles, the Symbian Foundation will take on the role of a "legal entity responsible for licensing software and other intellectual property, such as the Symbian trademark." Well all of that wacky branding has to live somewhere doesn't it? But of course, licensing that trademark requires a lot less manpower, so widespread job cuts are expected.
According to Tim Holbrow, executive director of the Symbian Foundation: "There has been a seismic change in the mobile market but also more generally in the economy, which has led to a change in focus for some of our funding board members. The result of this is that the current governance structure for the Symbian platform – the Foundation – is no longer appropriate." This moves has paved the way for Nokia to finally accept the inevitable and commit to making the future development of the Symbian platform its own responsibility while "continuing to make the OS available to the ecosystem via an alternative direct and open model," if anyone else wants it that is.
There were changes afoot at Vodafone this week, which has clearly been spending some time in the gym, emerging much leaner – and meaner – than before. Under the strict governance of CEO Vittorio Colao (maybe he is a "living, breathing, precision instrument of war" after all?), Vodafone has shed its Softbank flab for a cash boost of £3.1bn and there are some that suspect stakes in SFR and Verizon Wireless may soon be for the chop too.
Vodafone reported a year on year revenue growth of 3.9 per cent for the six months to the end of September, to reach £22.6bn, as the operator refocuses on three regions: Europe, Africa and India and strives to become "a more valuable Vodafone," with a winning growth strategy through mobile data, targeting the enterprise segment, emerging markets, convergence in Europe, and new services such as M2M.
In a bid to increase data revenues from mobile broadband access, Vodafone is also transitioning its data pricing plans to tiered plans and differentiated service levels, having experimented with this approach in Spain. It's a bold but welcome move and Ovum analyst Emeka Obiodu seems impressed. "Growth will need to come from a leaner, more efficient organisation. That was our assessment of Vittorio Colao's intentions when he became CEO and he looks to be following through on it," said Obiodu. "The new strategic agenda, especially with the emphasis on data services, M2M, tiered data pricing, enterprise services and wholesale data (as seen in the Netherlands) are all designed to squeeze out more value from Vodafone's existing assets," Obiodu added.
The Informer spent some time this week in Cape Town, where the AfricaCom conference was taking place. The message being hammered home by MTN South Africa CEO Karel Pienaar at the event was that operators need to partner with regulators and suppliers to enable sustainable, long term investment in communications infrastructure if Africa is to become globally competitive.
Much has been made of the potential for growth in the African telecoms sector and Pienaar said that growth can only come from such investment. MTN has invested $3bn in infrastructure over the past year but targets are essential to bringing about improvements to these figures, he said, suggesting that ensuring 50 per cent penetration for household internet connectivity by 2020 could be one such aim.
Indeed, positive developments in technology should help to bring about such improvements. "All of our investments are going rural," Pienaar said. "The technology is so ripe for that, now. Base station power consumption is down 70 per cent. We're deploying solar and wind power solutions. The economics for this kind of thing are becoming so much better."
Due to this expansion into rural areas, the number of active mobile subscriptions in Africa crossed the half billion mark in the third quarter of 2010, to reach 506 million at the end of September, according to research released this week by Informa Telecoms & Media.
At the end of the quarter, Africa accounted for 10 per cent of the world's mobile subscriptions and was one of the world's fastest-growing regions – with subscription numbers increasing 18 per cent over the year to September – as a result of the still low mobile penetration rate on the continent as well as demand for new services, such as mobile internet access, that increase the need for telecoms connectivity.
"Although the rate of growth in mobile subscriptions in Africa will slow as markets mature, the continent continues to offer great opportunities for investors in the voice segment in under-penetrated markets and also in the non-voice segments with mobile broadband and mobile-money services taking off," said Thecla Mbongue, senior analyst at Informa.
MTN's Pienaar was all over this. According to the CEO, around 60 per cent of all mobile phones being sold by MTN in its own-branded shops in South Africa are smartphones. The operator is also selling 3,000-5,000 mobile broadband-enabled laptops per month. Also, MTN has joined forces with Western Union over a cross-border mobile money transfer service that will be available in 21 countries. The service will first be introduced in Uganda, where MTN's MobileMoney service has already over one million registered users.
Speaking of registered users, perhaps the Informer's prediction that Apple's Ping social network initiative, the one based on exclusivity, was a little hasty. Twitter's gone and made it so that users can use their twitter accounts with Ping/iTunes, thereby opening up the platform by putting Ping activity, song previews and links to purchase and download music from the iTunes Store right in their tweets.
Still, some competition has launched in the shape of Simon Buckingham's Appitalism app store, which pushes community reviews of content catering to smartphones, tablets, PCs and ereaders with a catalogue of more than five million apps, songs, books, games and videos.
Appitalism claims to offer an unbiased and personalised experience for members based on their interests and on feedback from the wider community through a chat feature that allows members to discuss, rate and review all of the content on the site and collectively determine the best apps and content with community recommendations being a big part of the offering. Active members are rewarded with App Rewards for their contributions to the community, which can be redeemed for any items in the Appitalism content catalogue.
"Appitalism is an open marketplace, combining a large variety of content with the ability for consumers to discuss, review and rate that content," said Buckingham. "Our store is programmed by members for members and powered by conversations, not algorithms."
Perhaps that's true when it comes to choosing music or books but as the Informer's memory of his unsolved Rubik's Cube reminds him, sometimes the computer algorithms are better.


I grew up living all over the world including in the United States. The beauty and relaxed pace of life in the Northwest triggered my latest move to Portland. I chose primary care because I love to build relationships and especially enjoy Family Medicine as I get to know entire families. After my Family Medicine residency I completed a one year fellowship in Women's Health and Obstetrics. In addition, I have extensive training and experience working with underserved and under resourced Spanish-speaking populations, most recently at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, California. I speak fluent Spanish. Se habla espanol y me gusta cuidar para su familia completo.
I chose Family Medicine because I like its holistic, family-oriented approach to patient care. I feel that if I can provide care for all ages and stages of life, I can build the best relationships with and provide the best treatment for my patients. I find providing care to women and children especially rewarding and include prenatal care and pediatrics in my practice.
I enjoy hiking, running, cooking vegetarian food, yoga and meditation, and international travel.


text:
Q: How to get the greatest increment number of folder name in Powershell? I have folders that were named incrementally, for example Folder 01 TAG Folder 02 TAG Folder 03 TAG and so on. However in the same path, there will be folders that have different name too if that's relevant. Any idea to make powershell return a simple largest increment folder name? Thanks in advance.

A: You can use something like the following as starting point...
$numbers = $null
$numbers += (dir "Folder * TAG" | select Name).Name | % {
   if ($_ -match "(.*)(\d)(.*)") {
      $Matches[2]
   }
}
$maxNumber = [int]($numbers | sort-object -Descending)[0]
$maxNumber++
$foldername = "Folder $maxNumber TAG"
$foldername

A: Since the numbers have a fixed width, sorting on NTFS file systems isn't neccessary.
In case of unsorted file systems and numbers with different places,
 I'd use $ToNatural from Ronan Kuzmin it extends every number to 20 places.
$ToNatural = { [regex]::Replace($_, '\d+', { $args[0].Value.PadLeft(20) }) }

Get-ChildItem "Folder [0-9]* TAG" -Dir|Sort-Object $ToNatural|Select-Object -Expand Name -Last 1

A: here's yet another way to do it ... [grin]
# fake reading in a list of directories
#    in real life, use Get-Content -Directory
$DirList = @(
[System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'Folder 02 TAG'
[System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'Folder 03 TAG'
[System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'Dir Some Word'
[System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'Dir Other Word'
[System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'Folder 66 TAG'
[System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'Folder 05 TAG'
[System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'Folder 01 TAG'
)

$NextNumber = [int](($DirList |
    Where-Object {$_ -match ' \d{2} '} |
    Sort-Object |
    Select-Object -Last 1).Name -replace '[^0-9]') + 1

$NextDirName = 'Folder {0:D2} TAG' -f $NextNumber

$NextNumber
$NextDirName

output ...
67
Folder 67 TAG

what it does ...

*

*filters out any dir name that has no digits in it

*sorts the items [defaults to full name]

*selects the last one

*grabs the .Name of that object

*replaces any non digit with nothing

*coerces the [string] to an [int]

*adds one to it

*uses the -f string format operator to make a new Dir name with the new highest number


text:
Archive for category: Immigration
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Welcome to our VC Policy Pulse series, where we speak with a VC or founder on a policy issue that is having a major impact on the venture and startup ecosystem. Today, we're speaking with Scott Raney, Managing Director at Redpoint, and Sophie Alcorn, Founding Attorney of Alcorn Immigration Law, about a Startup Visa category for immigrant entrepreneurs who want to come to the U.S. to create a new company. Read more
It only took four years, eight months, and ten days, but the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER) is now set to unleash new entrepreneurial energy in the United States. It is said that good things come to those who wait. But waiting is not enough in policy advocacy: IER is here today due to a sustained campaign of support from NVCA and others across the startup ecosystem. Read more
Welcome to our VC Policy Pulse series, where we speak with a VC or founder on a policy issue that is having a major impact on the venture and startup ecosystem. Today, we're speaking with the founder of a VC-backed startup about the International Entrepreneur Rule. Yiannis Yiakoumis founded Selfie Networks in 2017 and since then has raised VC financing from Bowery Capital, Lightspeed, and individual investors. Yiakoumis is originally from Greece and has been able to stay in the U.S. to build and continue to grow his company here through the International Entrepreneur Rule. We spoke with him about his immigration journey, utilizing the International Entrepreneur Rule, and what the rule could do for other founders who want to found new companies in the United States. Read more
Immigration Policy Isn't Working for the Economy. Let's Fix That.
blog, Immigration, Public Policy January 31, 2019 /by Jeff Farrah
Policymakers are constantly looking for ways to boost economic growth. They tweak the tax code, write and rewrite regulations, and deploy a variety of other tools at their disposal. But one underutilized tool is immigration policy; specifically immigration policy that facilitates the creation of new companies, which research shows is the true growth engine of the economy. The best part is it won't cost the federal government one red cent. Read more
https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png 0 0 Jeff Farrah https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png Jeff Farrah2019-01-31 11:31:232019-11-05 17:00:20Immigration Policy Isn't Working for the Economy. Let's Fix That.
NVCA Gets Its Day in Court on Immigration Case
blog, Immigration, Public Policy October 26, 2017 /by Jeff Farrah
NVCA has worked hard in 2017 to make the United States a friendlier place to immigrant entrepreneurs. The venture industry knows first-hand the many incredible contributions of foreign-born entrepreneurs, like how more than half of U.S. "unicorns" were started by immigrants, or that one-third of U.S. venture-backed companies that went public between 2006 and 2012 had at least one immigrant founder.
Our immigration advocacy takes on multiple forms. We continue to be the leading advocate on Capitol Hill for creation of a Startup Visa and have welcomed efforts by Senator Flake (R-AZ), as well as Senators Moran (R-KS) and Warner (D-VA), to do just that. Separately, we also lead the fight for the International Entrepreneur Rule, which would allow foreign-born founders to remain in the U.S. for up to five years to grow a startup. In July, the Trump Administration announced it would delay and move to end the rule. This unfortunate development followed months of intense advocacy by NVCA and our allies to maintain the rule so that foreign-born founders could start and scale their enterprises here in the U.S. Read more
https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png 0 0 Jeff Farrah https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png Jeff Farrah2017-10-26 11:36:192019-11-05 17:03:36NVCA Gets Its Day in Court on Immigration Case
We're Suing the Government over Immigration. Here's Why.
blog, Immigration, Public Policy September 20, 2017 /by
American entrepreneurship and immigration are deeply intertwined, and our community is thankful for the many contributions that immigrant entrepreneurs have brought to our country. The stats are astounding: immigrants have started more than half of America's "unicorns;" one-third of U.S. venture-backed companies that went public between 2006 and 2012 had at least one immigrant founder; and more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies have at least one founder who either immigrated to the U.S., or was the child of immigrants. Read more
https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png 0 0 Bobby Franklin https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png Bobby Franklin2017-09-20 12:58:172019-11-05 17:03:55We're Suing the Government over Immigration. Here's Why.
Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs are Crucial for America's Future
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security was scheduled to begin receiving applications from foreign-born startup founders under the International Entrepreneur Rule. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration delayed the rule with an eye on eventually rescinding it, shutting down a commonsense policy tool that would have kept job-creators in the U.S. to build their companies here and hire American workers.
As a quick refresher, the International Entrepreneur Rule was put in place during the final days of the Obama Administration and would have created a regulatory structure similar to a Startup Visa, which NVCA has supported for over a decade. While the Startup Visa has been caught up in the broader immigration reform efforts that have stalled in Congress, the International Entrepreneur Rule had the potential to accomplish many of the same outcomes. Read more
https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png 0 0 Devin Miller https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png Devin Miller2017-07-21 10:38:052019-11-05 17:04:21Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs are Crucial for America's Future
An Unforced Error for Job Creation
blog, Immigration, Public Policy July 10, 2017 /by Jeff Farrah
Stop me if you've heard this one before: an entrepreneur comes to the United States from her home country with dreams of growing an idea into a blockbuster company. The entrepreneur starts the company here because of our culture of innovation and risk-taking, coupled with robust financing options and the world's best universities. Working shoulder-to-shoulder with a venture capitalist, the entrepreneur succeeds and creates an exceptional company that employs thousands of Americans, improves lives, and delivers technological or medical advancement.
Given the many benefits new companies bring the U.S., you would think our government would be clamoring to attract the world's best entrepreneurs like policymakers have in Canada, France, and the U.K. Sadly, that's not the case. Earlier today the Trump Administration announced it would do the exact opposite and delay International Entrepreneur Rule with an eye toward rescinding the rule in the next several months. That's a missed opportunity and one that competitor countries are cheering today. Read more
https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png 0 0 Jeff Farrah https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png Jeff Farrah2017-07-10 15:33:522019-11-05 17:04:58An Unforced Error for Job Creation
Shaping the President's Executive Order on Immigration to Benefit the Startup Ecosystem
blog, Immigration, Public Policy February 2, 2015 /by
As the Obama Administration begins to sketch out the details of the President's executive order on immigration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has requested that interested stakeholders submit their recommendations on how best to implement the president's proposed reforms.
With immigration reform having long been a top priority of NVCA, we wasted no time in engaging our member firms and their portfolio companies to develop and submit our own recommendations on behalf of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Read more
https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png 0 0 Ben Veghte https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/42865ff45b916762c541e2bffe9fa791b4165a45.png Ben Veghte2015-02-02 12:24:462019-11-05 17:09:51Shaping the President's Executive Order on Immigration to Benefit the Startup Ecosystem


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Home Breaking News Trump administration freezes half its funding of UN's Palestinian relief agency
Trump administration freezes half its funding of UN's Palestinian relief agency
Donald Trump at joint presser with Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem
The Trump administration froze more than half its funding for the U.N. organization assisting Palestinian refugees and their descendants, citing what it depicted as the oversize U.S. role in the funding.
The State Department said Tuesday that it had put a hold on $65 million of the $125 million now due to UNRWA, which distributes its assistance in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as to refugee camps in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
President Donald Trump and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations had threatened in recent weeks to cut the funds after the Palestinian Authority walked away from an attempt to revive the peace talks, citing among other factors Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
However, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, announcing the cut to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said the decision had more to do with what the Trump administration sees as an imbalance in the U.S. contributions.
"Our main point today is asking other countries to step up to the plate, not asking the United States to be the single largest donor," she said, briefing reporters.
Asking other nations to increase funding for international endeavors is consistent with a number of other Trump administration initiatives, notably in demanding greater non-U.S. funding for the NATO alliance.
Last year, the United States paid about 30 percent of UNRWA's funding, $370 million — more than twice the second largest donor, the European Union.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that long term, UNRWA's mission should be transferred to other agencies, but has stopped short of endorsing an immediate cut in funding. Israeli security officials see the agency's role as critical in preventing a collapse of Palestinian society, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
Nauert said administration officials rejected freezing the entire transfer because it would "have a negative impact."
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