text:
The Latest Encyclopedia Articles
Here are the latest encyclopedia articles:
light beams
Poynting vector
Faraday mirrors
polishing of fibers
Faraday effect
frequency-stabilized lasers
germanate fibers
high-energy lasers
modulational instability
zone plates
mid-infrared spectrometers
optical isolators
flat optics
delayed nonlinear response
dielectric materials
photonic metasurfaces
Stark level manifolds
quasi-three-level laser gain media
The encyclopedia already contains 1020 articles.
See also the regularly appearing articles of the The Photonics Spotlight and the RP Photonics Software News!
Buyer's guide > Suppliers > MPB Communications
MPB Communications
147 Hymus Boulevard
Montreal, Quebec H9R 1E9
Website: mpbcommunications.com
Social media: Facebook LinkedIn YouTube
Quality certificate: ISO 9001:2015
MPB Communications Inc. is a leading supplier of innovative, high-performance fiber laser and fiber amplifier systems. MPBC's telecommunication products include booster amplifiers, low noise preamplifiers and patented Raman amplification solutions adopted by system integrators world-wide to increase the reach and performance of their optical networks.
MPBC's visible fiber lasers, modelocked and pulsed fiber lasers, and high-power single frequency Raman fiber amplifiers are based on our telecom Raman fiber amplifier technology offering our customers unsurpassed flexibility, stability and reliability.
MPBC maintains its technological leadership through an on-going R&D commitment investing 20% of revenues into research and development. The company has been recognized with numerous awards including the Paul F. Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award, Berthold Leibinger Innovationspreis Award, and three Canada Awards for Business Excellence. Incorporated in 1976, all of MPBCs R&D and manufacturing are conducted in Canada.
See us at SPIE Photonics West Digital Marketplace 2023, January 28 – February 2 (booth 4817)!
MPB Communications in the Virtual Exhibition
News: Join Dr. Vladimir Karpov of MPB Communications Inc. for his on-demand product demo "Higher Power Single Frequency Raman and & Visible Raman Fiber Amplifiers for Quantum Physics" at Photonics West. Registration is free.
blue lasers S E
MPBC offers continuous wave blue fiber lasers with 300 mW at 465 nm or 200–500 mW at 488 nm in rack-mountable 2RU boxes with a 2-meter stainless steel conduit, allowing for easy integration into OEM or rack mount systems. A 1-mW 488-nm system is also available as part of our 2RU-VFL-P-488/515 Duet series. Fiber coupling options are also available.
Exceptional performance is achieved based on the all-fiber architecture, which inherently ensures a narrow linewidth, diffraction-limited linearly polarized output with unprecedented wavelength stability.
MPBC is at the forefront of CW visible fiber laser development, enjoying a close collaborative relationships with researchers world-wide developing lasers targeted at their applications.
erbium-doped fiber amplifiers S E
In 1995, MPB Communications provided their first generation of high-power boosters and quantum-limited noise-figure EDFAs for long-haul, unrepeatered telecom systems.
Today, our EDFA technology can be found in our line of network-ready telecom solutions, as well as in our extensive portfolio of gain modules – which includes ultra-compact amplets with low noise, high gain and low power consumption, but also full-size high power, low noise EDFAs.
High reliability combined with the ease of customization to fit client specific requirements make MPBC EDFAs the ideal choice for your demanding application.
femtosecond lasers S E
MPBC offers an all-fiber mode-locked femtosecond laser with a center wavelength of 1030 nm, an average output power of 10 mW, repetition rate of 25 MHz and pulse duration of 600 fs. Also, we have high-power mode-locked femtosecond fiber lasers which operate at 920 nm or 1190 nm – traditionally covered by ultrafast Ti:sapphire lasers and optical parametric oscillators. They generate linearly polarized nearly transformed-limited pulses with a pulse duration of 200 fs, at a repetition rate of 80 MHz, and an average power of 1 W.
fiber amplifiers S E
In 1995, MPB Communications provided its first generation of high-power boosters and quantum-limited noise-figure EDFAs for long-haul, unrepeatered telecom systems. MPBC amplification solutions have been adopted by system integrators in the terrestrial, submarine and utilities markets and continue to offer exceptional reliability which power communication backbones worldwide.
Today, our fiber amplifier technology can be found in our line of network-ready telecom solutions, as well as in our extensive portfolio of gain modules, and in our single-frequency Raman fiber amplifiers.
fiber lasers S E
MPBC's fiber laser product line has grown out of its highly reliable telecom Raman fiber lasers, which have been deployed for 25+ years in telecom fiber optic systems. Exceptional performance is achieved based on an all-fiber architecture, which draws on MPBC's telecom design practices. The all-fiber laser design eliminates the need for alignment, as no bulk components are used. It provides unprecedented wavelength and output power stability and ensures a diffraction-limited linearly polarized output.
MPBC's fiber laser product line includes CW visible to near-IR lasers, pulsed fiber lasers (with femto-, pico- and nanosecond pulse durations), and high-power single-frequency fiber lasers.
green lasers S E
Our green fiber lasers are available with emission wavelengths from 514 nm to 560 nm with output powers ranging from 200 mW to 5 W. For users requiring more flexibility, MPBC's 2RU-VFL-P-488/515 Duet series is the ultimate choice offering 488 nm and 515 nm outputs in a compact cost-efficient package.
The lasers are air-cooled and available in either an OEM compact package or a 2RU rack-mountable package with an integrated power supply. They are controlled through a user-friendly graphical user interface for ease of setup and operation. MPBC's fiber lasers are renowned for their beam quality (M2 < 1.1), high reliability (with lasers in the field accumulating plus 50,000 hours) and unsurpassed wavelength and power stability.
Applications of our green lasers include microscopy, genomics, holography, optogenomics, DNA/RNA etc.
high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers S E
MPBC has high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers in both their telecommunications and laser product lines.
For telecom, MPBC offers a series 2RU Boosters that provide up to 30 dBm of output power.
In the fiber laser line, high power can be found in their continuous wave near-IR lasers, available at up to 50 W in an air-cooled package, and 50 W to >100 W in a water-cooled package; and in the single-frequency Raman fiber amplifiers and lasers line, which provide low phase and intensity noise, narrow spectral linewidths and long coherence lengths. The Raman fiber amplifier system can amplify single-frequency seed sources from milliwatts to several watts in the NIR, which can then be frequency-doubled to provide stable, narrow linewidth, low noise visible output.
laser cooling and trapping systems S E
The ability to cool, manipulate and trap atoms using laser light has allowed a new, rapidly expanding field to emerge. Research is focusing on improving existing cooling techniques for applications ranging from atomic clocks, trapping Rydberg ions, studies of quantum degeneracy, spectroscopy, atomic interferometers, optics, lithography, and gravitational measurements. MPBC has provided high power single-frequency NIR Raman fiber amplifiers and up to 4 watts with visible Raman fiber amplifiers to leading research laboratories worldwide which target wavelengths previously unavailable. The flexibility of our technology allows us to develop sources with novel emission wavelengths for use in atomic physics research applications, where the need for both the preservation of single longitudinal mode and higher output power is a must.
laser guide stars S E
MPBC is part of the "GuideStar Alliance," contributing the Raman fiber amplifier and fiber laser pumps to the most powerful fiber laser guide star systems used in astronomy.
The Raman fiber amplifier technology was first developed and patented by the European Southern Observatory. MPB Communications Inc. licensed the technology, and have collaborated to develop reliable, maintenance-free, ruggedized systems installed at ESO's 4 Laser Guide Star Facility (4LGSF) in Paranal, Chile; KECK, Gemini North, and Subaru Observatories in Mauna Kea, Hawai'i; Gemini South in Cerro Pachón, Chile.
We have an expanded single-frequency amplification portfolio, and are able to offer virtually any wavelength where silica-based fibers are transparent, supporting novel applications for the scientific and commercial research community.
mode-locked fiber lasers S E
MPBC's high-power mode-locked femtosecond fiber lasers operate in the 920-nm, 1140-nm and 1190-nm spectral region – which is traditionally covered by ultrafast Ti:sapphire lasers and optical parametric oscillators. They generate linearly polarized nearly transformed-limited pulses with a pulse duration of 200 fs, at a repetition rate of 80 MHz and an average power of 1 W. Compact and maintenance-free, the lasers are fiber-based, have a very good beam profile, and do not require optical alignment.
MPBC's mode-locked picosecond fiber lasers operate in the 1-µm or the 1.5-µm regime. Based on an all-fiber design, the MLFL is highly reliable (10,000 hrs) and maintenance-free. Laser emission wavelength, repetition rate, pulse width and output power can be customized to meet specific customer requirements with average output powers of up to 3000 mW, depending upon the configuration. To ensure an environmentally-stable linearly-polarized output and turnkey self-start operation, all components are made of polarization-maintaining fiber.
nanosecond lasers S E
MPBC's line of nanosecond pulsed fiber lasers have been designed to give users flexibility in their application refinement. With user-selectable pulse widths and repetition rates, these lasers put more options into the hands of the users than traditional lasers with fixed parameters. In addition, the ability to externally trigger pulses on some of the models make these lasers an extremely flexible tool. Based on an all-fiber laser cavity design and offering excellent beam quality and wall plug efficiency, these compact air-cooled lasers are an ideal choice for your application.
narrow-linewidth lasers S E
MPBC's series of blue, green, yellow and orange, and red visible fiber lasers provides TEM00 mode output with low RIN. They are utilized world-wide in applications such as high resolution microscopy, genomics, cytometry, etc. MPBC's fiber laser technology is so flexible that we are able to offer our customers virtually any wavelength between 460 nm (920 nm) to 790 nm (1580 nm). By employing our own fiber Bragg gratings to lock the laser wavelength, we can produce in a very short turn-around time specific wavelengths addressing specific requirements.
optical fiber communication systems and devices S E
MPBC line of optical fiber communications systems offers system-ready amplification solutions to extend the reach of networks without the use of repeaters, and provide OSNR improvement to upgrade system capacity.
MPBC's VERSA2 (a small 1U system allowing for a mix of wavelength conversion, amplification, and dispersion compensation), 2RU, and 1RU series include amplification, wavelength conversion, and network management systems. MPBC's patented Super Raman technology, based on third-order pumping techniques, is recognized throughout the industry as a key enabling technology which provides of the order of a 30% performance improvement over conventional Raman pumping.
With a history of deployments worldwide dating back to the early 1990's, in conjunction with a multitude of terminal equipment suppliers, the company maintains its leadership position in this field.
picosecond lasers S E
Based on an all-fiber design, MPBC's picosecond mode-locked fiber lasers are highly reliable (10,000 hrs) and maintenance-free. Customized specifications are available for emission wavelengths from 1020 to 1100 nm and pulse durations of 2 to 50 ps. Average output power varies from 2 to 3000 mW, depending on the configuration. These lasers are designed to address a range of market applications including semiconductor inspection, micro-machining, metrology, multi-photon spectroscopy, and can be used as a seed source for optical amplifiers, and second harmonic generation.
pulsed lasers S E
MPBC's line of pulsed fiber lasers are designed to address a range of market applications including medical and bio-medical research, semiconductor inspection, micro-machining, metrology, and multi-photon spectroscopy.
High-power mode-locked femtosecond fiber lasers which operate at 920 nm or 1190 nm. They generate linearly polarized nearly transformed-limited pulses with a pulse duration of 200 fs, at a repetition rate of 80 MHz, and an average power of 1 W.
Mode-locked picosecond fiber lasers operate in the 1-µm or the 1.5-µm regime.
Nanosecond pulsed fiber lasers, with user-selectable repetition rates, are also based on an all-fiber laser cavity, offering excellent beam quality and wall plug efficiency.
Raman amplifiers S E
MPBC's Raman amplifiers are present in both our telecommunications and laser product lines.
In telecommunications, our 2RU product line features distributed Raman and patented Super Raman pumps with the best effective sensitivity improvement in the industry.
In lasers, we have Raman fiber amplifier systems capable of amplifying a narrow-band, linearly-polarized NIR input signal with negligible spectral broadening. NIR output powers up to 15 W at wavelengths between 1030 nm and 1370 nm can be achieved in our standard air-cooled enclosure, with higher powers available with our water-cooled enclosure. We also offer the option of converting the amplified NIR signal into the visible region using our second harmonic generator.
red lasers S E
Red fiber lasers were the earliest models developed for the cutting-edge microscopy platforms built in the laboratories of Dr. Stefan Hell, and flow cytometry platforms tested in the lab of Dr. William Telford of the Core Flow Cytometry Facility at N.I.H. where beam quality, reliability, and stability continue to be of the utmost importance.
Wavelengths from 620 nm to 775 nm are available in either an OEM compact package, and/or a 2RU rack mountable package with integrated power supply and are equiped with a user-friendly graphical user interface for ease of setup and operation. MPB offers an optional fiber coupling service which provides the user up to 1 watt out of the fiber.
Applications where MPBC red lasers are used include microscopy, genomics, optogenetics, DNA/RNA sequencing etc.
single-frequency lasers S E
MPBC single-frequency fiber lasers are sources of single-frequency polarized light offering low phase and intensity noise, narrow spectral linewidth and long coherence length. They are comprised of a single-frequency near-infrared Yb-doped fiber laser with a single-mode narrow-band output and electronics which provide temperature stabilization as well as active stabilization of the laser output power. Available in the NIR at 1028 and 1064 nm with output power up to 10 W, or in the visible at 514 nm and 532 nm with 200, 500 or 1000 mW of output power.
ultrafast lasers S E
yellow and orange lasers S E
The earliest models of yellow and orange fiber lasers were first developed for Dr. Vladislav Verkhusha of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2006. Upon seeing these first lasers, Nobel Laurate Dr. Stefan Hell approached MPBC with a request to increase output powers to over 1 watt whilst ensuring excellent beam quality, reliability, and stability. MPBC delivered then, and continue to deliver today with over 5000 lasers shipped since.
Our design flexibility is such that we can offer literally any wavelength in the yellow-orange spectrum from 568 nm (1136 nm) to 616 nm (1232 nm), with output powers from 200 mW to 3 W. The lasers are air-cooled, available in either an OEM compact package, and/or a 2RU rack-mountable package with integrated power supply and are shipped with a user-friendly graphical user interface for ease of set up and operation. MPB offers an optional fiber coupling service which provides the user up to 1 watt out of the fiber.
Information of MPB Communications Appears on the Following Pages
blue lasers, erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, femtosecond lasers, fiber amplifiers, fiber lasers, green lasers, high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers, laser cooling and trapping systems, laser guide stars, mode-locked fiber lasers, nanosecond lasers, narrow-linewidth lasers, optical fiber communication systems and devices, picosecond lasers, pulsed lasers, Raman amplifiers, red lasers, single-frequency lasers, ultrafast lasers, yellow and orange lasers
blue lasers, erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, femtosecond lasers, fiber amplifiers, fiber lasers, green lasers, high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers, laser cooling, laser guide stars, mode-locked fiber lasers, nanosecond lasers, narrow-linewidth lasers, optical fiber communications, picosecond lasers, pulsed lasers, Raman amplifiers, red lasers, single-frequency lasers, ultrafast lasers, yellow and orange lasers
MPB Communications is shown as alternative supplier on 399 pages of other suppliers offering the same kind of products without having an ad package.


text:
Das Johannesbächlein (auch: Johanneshüttener Bächlein, Johanneshüttener Bach, tschechisch evtl. Mostecký potok) ist ein linker Zufluss der Radbuza in Tschechien und Deutschland.

Verlauf

Das Johannesbächlein entspringt am Südhang des Glöcklbergs (Malý Zvon) auf dem Gebiet der Gemeinde Bělá nad Radbuzou. Seine Quelle befindet sich nur ungefähr 10 Meter nördlich der deutschen Grenze. Der Bach fließt zunächst einige Meter in südöstlicher Richtung, wo er auf die Staatsgrenze trifft, entlang der er rund 150 Meter Richtung Ostsüdost fließt. Dabei wechselt er ein kurzes Stück auf deutsches Staatsgebiet.

Auf deutscher Seite bis an die deutsch-tschechische Grenze dehnt sich hier eine flache, aus Lichtungs- und Waldzonen bestehende Sattelfläche aus, auf der die gleichnamige, heute wüst liegende Siedlung Bügellohe  stand. Direkt entlang der Grenze liegen sumpfige Feuchtwiesen. Das Wasser, das aus ihnen sickert, speist kleine Rinnsale, die sich südöstlich seiner Quelle mit dem Bach vereinigen. Das Johannesbächlein fließt dann in östlicher Richtung den steilen Hang des Malý Zvon hinab. Nach einem Kilometer nimmt es von Süden einen weiteren Quellbach auf, der den Nordwesthang des Železný vrch herabströmt.

Das Johannesbächlein wendet sich sodann nach Nordosten. Ungefähr 400 Metern weiter unterquert es die Bergstraße, die von Pleš (Plöss) nach Mostek (Schwanenbrückl) führt. Hier passiert es die Wüstung Štráská Huť (Strasshütten).  Der Bach wechselt vom Gebiet der Gemeinde Bělá nad Radbuzou auf das der Gemeinde Rybník nad Radbuzou.

Die genannte Bergstraße folgt nun dem Bach in wenig Abstand rechts neben dem Bach neben weiter den Osthang des Malý Zvon hinab. Von Ende März bis Anfang April blüht zwischen Straßenrand und dem Bach die Weiße Pestwurz. Gegen Ende seines Bergtals passiert der Bach die Wüstung Jánská Huť (Johanneshütten).  Auf seinen folgenden letzten rund 500 Metern unterquert er die Talstraße neben seinem Vorfluter und mündet dann bei Mostek  von links in die Radbuza.

Einzugsgebiet und Europäische Hauptwasserscheide
Das Einzugsgebiet ist rund 3,3 km² groß. Es erstreckt sich, keilförmig nach Nordosten auslaufend, etwa vom Weingartenfelsen auf der südlich des Sattels Bügellohe liegenden Erhebung rund 3,6 km weit nordostwärts bis zur Mündung bei Mostek.

Es grenzt im oberen Teil an die Europäische Hauptwasserscheide zwischen Elbe diesseits und Donau jenseits. Vom Malý Zvon südwärts über den Sattel der Bügellohe bis zum Weingartenfelsen entwässert das außen anliegende Gebiet über die Ascha, die Schwarzach, die Naab und die Donau ins Schwarze Meer; nur etwa 200 Meter westlich der Quelle des Johannesbächleins liegt der Weißbrunnen, die oberste Quelle der zunächst Weißbach genannten Ascha. Vom Weingartenfelsen läuft diese hydrologisch bedeutende Scheide etwa ostsüdöstlich weiter auf die Velká Skalá, auf ihrer Gegenseite konkurriert die ebenfalls zur Schwarzach laufende Bayerische Schwarzach mit dem zweiten erwähnten Oberlauf des Johannesbächleins.

Der längere übrige Teil der Gesamtwasserscheide grenzt überall an andere Teileinzugsgebiete der Radbuza, deren Abfluss über Berounka, Moldau und Elbe die Nordsee erreicht.

Bilder

Einzelnachweise

Weblinks

 Karte von Lauf und Einzugsgebiet des Johannesbächleins auf:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Based on a unique case study-dataset, the paper analyses job satisfaction and public service motivation in Germany. A special issue of the investigation is related to the evaluation of performance pay scales that were introduced some years ago to German public employees within the frame of fostering New Public Management. The findings display a general dominance of intrinsic motivators. Additionally, this kind of motivators plays an important role with regard to building up and keeping job satisfaction in the public sector. Further results display the transferability of competences, autonomy, regular appraisal interviews and productivity feedback as factors incorporating a positive significance in terms of job satisfaction.


I saw a sad little exchange today. A brown dog and a black dog met, and, while their humans chatted, the brown dog play bowed and invited the black dog to engage. The black dog's human reacted by jerking his dog backward, away from the brown dog in what seemed a defensive or fearful response. Brown dog's human pulled his dog away too, then leaned down and gave brown dog a stern talking-to. It seemed that both humans completely misunderstood the play bow and the friendliness in brown dog's approach and demeanor.
This happened just a few minutes after a conversation with a friend who had described her communication with her birds. She doesn't teach them English; she doesn't exactly speak their language, but they have all evolved a communication that goes beyond words and human language to describe a relationship and mutual respect and understanding.
I know little of birds; I do strive for that sort of communication with the dogs in my life, though. The dogs learn many words of English (Hebrew, too, in Jana's case). They also excel at reading human body language. But there is another layer that comes from a deep, close relationship. It is communication. It might be language, but it's not something anyone outside the group would understand. When a person gets to that level of communication with her dog (or her bird), it is very satisfying and intimate. Jana and I had that kind of connection, and it's what makes her loss so hard.
Most dogs seem to try very hard to understand their people; many succeed at understanding lots of people and dogs, even cats, if they live with a cat or two. It would be nice if more people made the effort to learn the basics of dog-to-dog and dog-to-human communication.
Aweeee, but it's so cute when they play bow. How could anyone think that's bad?


Serve with Pita bread, Lavash, veggies.
Sundried tomatoes served in this sweet, spicy, tangy, slightly spicy mix of this mediteranean delicacy.
Really liked this! One of the better sundried tomato flavors available right now.


A fundamental mistake many novice forex traders make is to forget to assess what type of market they are working with and adjust their approach accordingly.
Navy Seals and Army rangers are trained to carry out missions on many different kinds of terrain: deserts, swamps, jungles, tundra, oceans, or Pipcrawler's castle.Without this training, their effectiveness would be limited: they'd struggle to survive on unfamiliar terrain because their skills wouldn't work (imagine a solider in white winter camouflage, trying to hide in a dark green jungle).
The first lesson they learn is how to evaluate their environment and consider what tactics and strategies from their skill set will work for where they are.
The same is true for new traders. Instead of geographic environments, you must pay attention to the market environments you are in, and use the right approaches for where you are. After all, the markets constantly change and what drives price action today, this week, or this year, will be different next year, next week, and even tomorrow.
In the world of forex trading you must be just as flexible and adaptive. You must adapt to changing trading environments, either ranging markets or trending markets.
You must be able to quickly change your bias on price direction as new information (i.e. economic report, political events) arises.
A short-term memory and not being stubborn leads to flexibility in your trading. Short term memory means that you start every trade fresh without any preconceived notions of what will lead to success or failure. Start from scratch. Not being stubborn means you are open to change and changing your opinions as necessary.
The flexibility to adapt not only leads to survival in nature, but in the markets as well. A single individual animal is not stronger than the forces of nature. A single trader is not stronger than all the aggregate forces in the market.
Don't relive yesterday's trades during today's trading session. The decisions or opinions you had yesterday that lead to success yesterday can lead to failure today.
Don't ever think you can stick to your outdated opinions and views, when the market tells you are obviously wrong, you will lose every time.


text:
import express from "express";
import winston from "winston";
import { exec } from "mz/child_process";
import { Schema } from "./schema-class";

const SP_SCHEMA_ANNOTATION = "stream.place/sp-schema";
const SP_PLUGIN_ANNOTATION = "stream.place/sp-plugin";

const app = express();

let currentSchema = new Schema().get();

const getSchema = function() {
  return exec("kubectl get configmap -o json")
    .then(([stdout, stderr]) => {
      const data = JSON.parse(stdout);
      const newSchema = new Schema();
      data.items
        .filter(configMap => {
          return (
            configMap.metadata.annotations &&
            configMap.metadata.annotations[SP_PLUGIN_ANNOTATION] !== undefined
          );
        })
        .forEach(configMap => {
          if (configMap.metadata.annotations[SP_SCHEMA_ANNOTATION] === "true") {
            Object.keys(configMap.data).forEach(name => {
              const yaml = configMap.data[name];
              const plugin =
                configMap.metadata.annotations[SP_PLUGIN_ANNOTATION];
              newSchema.addSchema({ plugin, name, yaml });
            });
          } else {
            const plugin = configMap.metadata.annotations[SP_PLUGIN_ANNOTATION];
            newSchema.addConfiguration({ plugin, data: configMap.data });
          }
        });
      currentSchema = newSchema.get();
    })
    .catch(err => {
      winston.error(err);
      throw err;
    });
};

app.options("*", function(req, res) {
  res.header("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*");
  res.header("Access-Control-Allow-Methods", "GET");
});

app.get("/schema.json", function(req, res) {
  res.header("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*");
  res.header("Access-Control-Allow-Methods", "GET");
  res.json(currentSchema);
});

getSchema().then(() => {
  const port = process.env.PORT || 80;
  winston.info(`sp-schema listening on port ${port}`);
  app.listen(port);
  setInterval(getSchema, 10000);
});

process.on("SIGTERM", function() {
  process.exit(0);
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
\section{Introduction}\label{sec:intro}

In the conventional cosmology which aims to track down the expansion and growth history of the whole universe \citep{linder05},
it is generally believed that the deeper we look into the past of the universe, the more cosmological information we would
obtain about the universe.  Quite true as this belief may be, the conventional cosmology is inevitably hindered by unknown
(but likely existent) systematics involved with the observations of distant objects.  For instance,  it has been
recently warned that the luminosity-distance relation of the distant type Ia supernovae (SNIa) which is regarded as the
first direct evidence for the cosmic acceleration \citep{SN98,SN99} may be substantially contaminated by the
systematics involved in the conversion of the brightness of SNIa into its intrinsic luminosity \citep{nielsen-etal16}.

For the past two decades,  we have witnessed the emergence of a "near-field cosmology", which utilizes the physical
properties of the local objects as a test statistics \citep{BP06}.  Although the evolution history of the universe cannot be
traced by observing the local objects, it was realized that the initial conditions of the universe may be imprinted
as fossil records in the local objects and thus can be inferred through careful analyses of the physical properties of
the nearby objects \citep{BP06}.  The obvious merit of using the near-field diagnostics is nothing but relatively low
uncertainties in the observations of the local objects, which will allow us to uncover the imprinted (and likely vagrant) fossil
records left from the early universe. Furthermore,  the near-field statistics will help us undertake a delicately difficult mission of
discriminating viable alternative cosmologies from the standard $\Lambda$CDM model where the cosmological constant
$\Lambda$ fuels the cosmic acceleration and the most dominant matter content is cold dark matter (CDM).

A variety of near-field diagnostics has so far been developed, which includes the environmental link of the dynamic-to-lensing mass
ratio of galaxy clusters, turn-around radii of the galaxy groups, emptiness of cosmic voids, dynamics of the Local Group, correlations
of the galaxy peculiar velocities, luminosity-to-mass ratio of isolated dwarf galaxies and so forth
\citep[][and references therein]{zhao-etal11,PT14,ade-etal17,carlesi-etal17,hut-etal17,pee17}.
The intrinsic spin alignments in the galactic pairs is one of those near-field diagnostics suggested by \citet{lee12} who claimed
that it would be useful not only to test the standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmology but also to distinguish between different coupled
dark energy (cDE) models in which the scalar field dark energy is coupled to dark matter particles
\citep[for a review][and references therein]{AT10}.

Analyzing the isolated halos consisting of only two subhalos from the adiabatic hydrodynamic simulations (H-CoDECS) that
were run for the cDE models as well as for the $\Lambda$CDM cosmology \citep{baldi-etal10,codecs},  \citet{lee12} explored
whether or not the directions of the three dimensional (3D) spin vectors of two subhalos are aligned with each other and found
that some cDE models produced a statistically significant signal of spin alignments in the isolated subhalo pairs while
the $\Lambda$CDM case yielded no signal.
Noting that the strength of the spin alignment in the isolated subhalo pairs depends on the strength of the DE-DM coupling as
well as on the shapes of the DE potentials, \citet{lee12} suggested  that the spin alignments in the isolated galactic pairs
could provide a powerful local diagnostics to test the dark sector coupling.

As mentioned in  \citet{lee12}, however, in order to verify the practical usefulness of this new local diagnostics, two additional
tasks must be performed.  The first task is to make a theoretical prediction based on a fully hydrodynamical simulation that is
capable of resolving luminous galaxies. What \citet{lee12} measured was the alignments of the spin axes not of the luminous galaxies
but of the DM subhalos resolved in the H-CoDECS which was not capable of simulating the formations of stars and galaxies
\citep{codecs}. Given that the spin axes of the luminous galaxies are not necessarily aligned with those of their underlying DM particles
\citep[e.g.,][]{hah-etal10,ten-etal17,ZS17},  the numerical result of \citet{lee12} cannot be directly compared with those from the
observations.

The second task is to improve the observational analyses.  Although several works already investigated the spin alignments
of the isolated galactic pairs \citep[e.g.,][]{GT78,SLW79,hel84,oos93,PC04,cer-etal10,lee12},
it is still inconclusive whether the intrinsic signals truly exist or not.
The main reason for having failed to confirm or to refute convincingly the existence of the spin alignments in the isolated galactic
pairs is the poor approximations that the previous works relied on for their analyses. For instance, \citet{cer-etal10} approximated
the alignment angles between the spin axes of the member galaxies by the differences in their position angles without
attempting to measure directly the 3D spin vectors.

Besides, in the previous works, an isolated galaxy pair was selected not as a bound system composed of two galaxies without
being embedded in a larger structure but just as two galaxies closely located with each other.
However, the mechanism which generates the alignments between the spin axes of the closely located neighbor
galaxies is different from what is responsible for the alignments in the isolated galaxy pairs.
While the former is usually ascribed to the combined effects of the spatial correlations of the
surrounding tidal field \citep{pee69,dor70,whi84,dub92,BE87,CT96,LP00,LP01,por-etal02} and the filamentary merging along the
cosmic web \citep{codis-etal12},
the latter is believed to be generated by nonlinear galaxy-galaxy interaction \citep{GT78,hel84}.
It should be necessary to sort out properly isolated galaxy pairs that forms a bound system, to properly measure the alignment
angles directly from the 3D spin axes, and then to employ a robust statistical test of the null hypothesis of no alignment.

Here, we intend to perform the above two tasks. The main contents of the next three Sections
can be summarized as follows. In Section \ref{sec:ob}, we present an observational evidence for the existence of the intrinsic spin
alignments in the isolated spiral pairs. In Section \ref{sec:num}, we show that the numerical analysis based on a full hydrodynamical
simulations fails to detect any signal of intrinsic spin alignment in the isolated pair system. In Section \ref{sec:dis}, we discuss
possible origins of the inconsistencies between the numerical and the observational results.

\section{An Observational Signal of Intrinsic Spin Alignments in the Isolated Pairs}\label{sec:ob}

\citet{tempel-etal14} identified the galaxy groups by applying a modified friends-of-friends (FoF) group-finding algorithm
to the flux-limited sample of the galaxies from the tenth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky \citep[SDSS DR10][]{sdssdr10}.
According to them, the modification of the FoF group finder was made to accommodate the finger-of-god effect on the radial
distances to the SDSS DR10 galaxies.  The group catalog of \citet{tempel-etal14} provides various information on the properties
of the member galaxies belonging to each group such as their galaxy identification number (ID), redshifts, equatorial positions,
morphologies, absolute magnitudes, and so forth.

The morphological type of each member galaxy was obtained from the Galaxy Zoo Project of \citet{zoo} and from the Bayesian
analysis of \citet{hue-etal11}. The former classified the morphological types ($T_{z}$) of the galaxies as unclear ($T_{z}=0$),
spiral ($T_{z}=1$) and elliptical ($T_{z}=2$). Meanwhile, the latter estimated the four  Bayesian probabilities,
$P(E),\ P(S0),\ P(Sab),\ P(Scd)$, of each Sloan galaxy being classified as an elliptical (E), lenticular (S0), early-type spiral
(Sab), and late-type spiral (Scd), respectively.

From the FoF group catalog of \citet{tempel-etal14}, we search for the isolated spiral pairs which satisfy the following three
conditions:  (1) $n_{g}=2$ where $n_{g}$ is the number of the member galaxies constituting a FoF group; (2)
$P_{\rm x} = P(Scd)$ or $P_{\rm x}=P(Sab)$ where $P_{\rm x}\equiv {\rm max}\{P(E),\ P(S0),\ P(Sab),\ P(Scd)\}$;
(3) $T_{z} = 1$. An {\it isolated pair} means a FoF group composed of only two members without being embedded in any
other larger FoF groups.
From here on, the Sab galaxies refer to those spiral galaxies satisfying the conditions of $T_{z}=1$ and $P_{\rm x}=P(Sab)$,
while the Scd galaxies to those satisfying $T_{z}=1$ and $P_{\rm x}=P(Sab)$.

We end up having a total of $3021$ isolated spiral pairs from the FoF group catalog of \citet{tempel-etal14}.  For each isolated
spiral pair, we compare the absolute $r$-band magnitudes of its two members with each other and define a primary (secondary)
member as the one with larger (smaller) values of $\vert M_{r}\vert$.  The first two columns of Table \ref{tab:ob} list the range of the
redshifts and the absolute $r$-band magnitudes of the member galaxies in the isolated spiral pairs.
Figure \ref{fig:delz} shows the number distribution of the redshift difference, $\vert z_{p}-z_{s}\vert$ between the primary and the
secondary members of the selected isolated spiral pairs.
As can be seen, the majority of the pairs has $\vert z_{p}-z_{s}\vert \le 0.001$.

As in \citet{lee11},  we adopt the {\it thin circular disk approximation} to estimate the directions of the spin angular momentum
vectors of two members of each isolated spiral pair, which requires such information as the equatorial positions (RA and Dec),
position angles ($\psi_{p}$), axial ratios ($R_{a}$) and morphological types of the member galaxies.
Although the FoF group catalog of \citet{tempel-etal14} does not contain information on $\psi_{p}$ and $R_{a}$, we extract the
values of $\psi_{p}$ and $R_{a}$ of each member galaxy
from the web-site of the SDSS DR10\footnote{http://www.sdss3.org/dr10/} by matching the galaxy ID's.

For the convenience of the readers, we briefly review the thin circular disk approximation:
Let $\hat{\bf J}$ denote a unit vector in the direction of the spin axis of a member galaxy in a given isolated spiral pair.
Expressing $\hat{\bf J}$ in the  spherical polar coordinates such as $\hat{\bf J}=(\hat{J}_{r}, \hat{J}_{\theta}, \hat{J}_{\phi})$,
one can say that its radial component, $\hat{J}_{r}$, is the projection of $\hat{\bf J}$ onto the direction of the line-of-sight toward
the spiral galaxy while its polar and azimuthal coordinates, $\hat{J}_{\theta}$ and $\hat{J}_{\phi}$, are the projection onto the plane
orthogonal to the line of sight direction.
Under the assumption that a spiral galaxy is a thin circular disk and its spin axis is perpendicular to the disk plane, the observed
axial ratio, $R_{a}$, of a spiral galaxy should be the same as the cosine of the inclination angle, which is in turn equal to
the {\it magnitude} of the radial coordinate of the spin vector:
$\vert\hat{ J}_{r}\vert\approx \cos I_{a} = R_{a}$ \citep[see][and references therein]{pen-etal00}.
Additional information on the position angle, $\psi_{p}$, of a spiral galaxy determines the other two coordinates:
$\hat{J}_{\theta} = \sqrt{1 - \hat{J}^{2}_{r}}\sin\psi_{p}$ and
$\hat{J}_{\phi} = \sqrt{1 - \hat{J}^{2}_{r}}\cos\psi_{p}$ (see Figure \ref{fig:spin_con}).

This simple routine based on the thin circular disk approximation for the determination of $\hat{\bf J}$ has two downsides.
First, it is blind to the sign of the radial component $\hat{J}_{r}$ \citep{pen-etal00}.
Second, it's validity depends sensitively on the thinness of a disk. In other words, for a real spiral galaxy which usually have a
central bulge, this routine is likely to fail.  While the first weak point is a rather generic one that cannot be avoided, the second
one may be overcome by making the following modification in the relation between $I_{a}$ and $R_{a}$, as \citet{HG84}
suggested:
\begin{equation}
\label{eqn:I_f}
\hat{J}_{r}\cos^{2}I_{a}\approx (R^{2}_{a} - I^{2}_{f})/(1 - I^{2}_{f})\, ,
\end{equation}
where $I_{f}$ is a {\it flatness parameter} introduced by \citet{HG84} to account for the deviation of a spiral galaxy with a thick bulge
from a thin disk.  Following the suggestion of \citet{HG84}, we set the values of the flatness parameter at $I_{f}=0.1$ and $I_{f}=0.2$
for the Sab and Scd galaxies, respectively.

If the radial component of $\hat{\bf J}$ is positive, then the Cartesian coordinates,
$\hat{\bf J} = (\hat{J}_{x}, \hat{J}_{y}, \hat{J}_{z})$, of the unit spin vector of a spiral galaxy can now be written as
\citep{pen-etal00}:
\begin{eqnarray}
\hat{J}_{x+}&=&+\hat{J}_{r}\sin\theta\cos\phi + \hat{J}_{\theta}\cos\theta\cos\phi  - \hat{J}_{\phi}\sin\phi\, ,\\
\hat{J}_{y+} &=&+\hat{J}_{r}\sin\theta\sin\phi  + \hat{J}_{\theta}\cos\theta\sin\phi + \hat{J}_{\phi}\cos\phi\, , \\
\hat{J}_{z+} &=&+\hat{J}_{r}\cos\theta - \hat{J}_{\theta}\sin\theta\, ,
\end{eqnarray}
while, for the case of the negative radial component, the sign in front of $\hat{J}_{r}$ should be reversed as
\begin{eqnarray}
\hat{J}_{x-} &=&-\hat{J}_{r}\sin\theta\cos\phi + \hat{J}_{\theta}\cos\theta\cos\phi  - \hat{J}_{\phi}\sin\phi\, ,\\
\hat{J}_{y-} &=&-\hat{J}_{r}\sin\theta\sin\phi  + \hat{J}_{\theta}\cos\theta\sin\phi + \hat{J}_{\phi}\cos\phi\, ,\\
\hat{J}_{z-} &=&-\hat{J}_{r}\cos\theta - \hat{J}_{\theta}\sin\theta\, .
\end{eqnarray}
The sign ambiguity in the determination of $\hat{\bf J}$ leads us to have four different realizations
(say, $\alpha_{1},\ \alpha_{2},\alpha_{3},\ \alpha_{4})$ of the alignment angles
between the spin axes of the primary and the secondary member galaxies in each isolated spiral pair,
as shown in Figure \ref{fig:spin_deg} \citep[see discussions in][]{pen-etal00,lee11}:
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{eqn:cost1}
\cos\alpha_{1} &=& \vert\hat{\bf J}_{p+}\cdot\hat{\bf J}_{s+}\vert\, , \\
\label{eqn:cost2}
\cos\alpha_{2} &=& \vert\hat{\bf J}_{p+}\cdot\hat{\bf J}_{s-}\vert\, , \\
\label{eqn:cost3}
\cos\alpha_{3} &=& \vert\hat{\bf J}_{p-}\cdot\hat{\bf J}_{s+}\vert\, , \\
\label{eqn:cost4}
\cos\alpha_{4} &=& \vert\hat{\bf J}_{p-}\cdot\hat{\bf J}_{s-}\vert\, .
\end{eqnarray}
From a total of $N_{sp}$ isolated spiral pairs, we have $4N_{sp}$ realizations of $\cos\alpha$.

Partitioning the range of $[0,\ 1]$ into five small intervals each of which has an equal length of $\Delta\cos\alpha = 0.2$,
we calculate $p(\cos\alpha_{i})$ at each interval of $[\cos\alpha_{i}, \cos\alpha_{i} + \Delta\cos\alpha_{i}]$ as
$p(\cos\alpha_{i}) = n_{i, sp}/(\Delta\cos\alpha\cdot 4N_{sp})$, where $n_{i, sp}$
denotes the number of the realizations of $\cos\alpha$ belonging to the $i$th interval of $\cos\alpha$.
The top-left panel of Figure \ref{fig:pcosa} displays as filled circles the probability density function of the cosines of
the angles of the isolated spiral pairs, $p(\cos\alpha)$, from the flux-limited samples of the SDSS DR10. The errors are
Poissonian calculated as $1/\sqrt{(n_{i,sp}-1)}$.
If there were no alignment between the spin vectors of the two members in the isolated spiral pairs, then the expectation of the
probability density function would be constant as $p(\cos\alpha)=1$ (dotted line).  As shown, the probability density function
exhibits an obvious tendency to increase with the increment of $\cos\alpha$, revealing that the directions of the spin axes of the
primary and the secondary members in the isolated spiral pairs are not random but preferentially aligned with each other.

To see if the strength of the intrinsic spin alignment depends on the morphological types of the spiral
galaxies,  we divide the isolated spiral pairs into three different subsamples: Sab-Sab, Scd-Scd and Sab-Scd pairs.
The first (second) subsample consists only of two early-type (two late-type) galaxies, while the third sample contains those
pairs consisting of one Sab and one Scd galaxies. For each of the three subsamples, we redo all of the calculations described
in the above. The numbers of the Sab-Sab, Sab-Scd and Scd-Scd pairs are listed in the last three columns of Table \ref{tab:ob},
respectively.
The top-right, bottom-left, and bottom-right panels of Figure \ref{fig:pcosa} show $p(\cos\alpha)$ versus $\cos\alpha$
as filled circles for the three cases of the Sab-Sab, Sab-Scd and Scd-Scd pairs, respectively.
As shown, the Sab-Sab pairs exhibit a clear signal of intrinsic spin alignment, while no statistically significant
signals are found from the Sab-Scd nor from the Scd-Scd pairs. For the case of the Sab-Scd pairs, the
probability density function $p(\cos\alpha)$ shows an abrupt drop at the fourth bin from the left.

Any systematics in our measurements of the alignment angles could cause spurious correlations between the values of
$p(\cos\alpha)$ at two adjacent $\cos\alpha$-intervals. Concerning about the existence of this possible correlations, we
calculate the generalized chi-squared as
\begin{equation}
\label{eqn:chi2}
\chi^{2} = \sum_{i=1}^{5} \left[p(\cos\alpha_{i})-1\right]C_{ij}\left[p(\cos\alpha_{j})-1\right]\, ,
\end{equation}
where the covariance matrix ${\bf C}=(C_{ij})$ is calculated from the $10000$ Bootstrap resamples as
\begin{equation}
\label{eqn:cov}
C_{ij}= \frac{1}{N_{boot}}\sum_{k=1}^{N_{boot}}
\left[p^{k}(\cos\alpha_{i})-p(\cos\alpha_{i})\right]\left[p^{k}(\cos\alpha_{j})-p(\cos\alpha_{j})\right]\, .
\end{equation}
where $p^{k}(\cos\alpha_{i})$ is the probability density function from the $k$th Bootstrap resample and $N_{boot}=10000$ is the
total number of the Bootstrap resamples.
The subtraction of unity from $p^{k}(\cos\alpha_{i})$ in Equation (\ref{eqn:cov}) is in accordance with the fact that the null hypothesis
predicts $\langle p(\cos\alpha_{i})\rangle=1$ at each $\cos\alpha$-interval. This generalized chi-squared statistics reject the null
hypothesis at the confidence levels of $98.37\%$ and $99.99\%$ for the cases of all spiral and Sab-Sab pairs, respectively.

We investigate the dependence of the strength of intrinsic spin alignments on the luminosity ratios by calculating
$\langle\cos\alpha\rangle$ as a function of $10^{(M_{r,p}-M_{r,s})/2.5}$,
where $M_{r,p}$ and $M_{r,s}$ denote the $r$-band absolute magnitudes of the primary and secondary galaxies in each
isolated spiral pairs, respectively. Dividing the whole range $10^{(M_{r,p}-M_{r,s})/2.5}$ into several short intervals of
equal length, we evaluate the mean value of $\cos\alpha$ averaged over those pairs whose luminosity ratios lie in
the range of a given interval. The results are shown in the top and bottom panels of Figure \ref{fig:mean_md} for the cases of
all spiral and Sab-Sab pairs, respectively.  As can be seen, for both of the cases, the alignment signals tend to be stronger as
the luminosity ratios are closer to unity (i.e., $10^{(M_{r,p}-M_{r,s})/2.5}\approx 1$). This result implies that those isolated spiral
pairs with members having more comparable masses yield stronger signals of spin alignments.

The dependence of the strength of intrinsic alignment on the angular separation distances between the primary and the
secondary galaxies in the isolated spiral pairs is also investigated in a similar manner by measuring $\langle\cos\alpha\rangle$
versus the angular separation distance, $\varphi$, which can be readily calculated from the equatorial coordinates of the
member galaxies:
\begin{equation}
\cos\varphi = \cos({\rm Dec}_{p})\cos({\rm Dec}_{s}) - \sin({\rm Dec}_{p})\sin({\rm Dec}_{s})\cos({\rm RA}_{p}-{\rm RA}_{s})\, ,
\end{equation}
where $\{{\rm Dec}_{p},\ {\rm RA}_{p}\}$ ($\{{\rm Dec}_{s},\ {\rm RA}_{s}\}$) is the equatorial coordinates of the primary
(secondary) members in each isolated spiral pair. Note that this 2D projected distance between the two members in each
isolated spiral pair can be obtained without specifying the background cosmology.
The top and bottom panels of Figure \ref{fig:mean_sep} show $\langle\cos\alpha\rangle$ versus $\varphi$ for the cases of
all spiral and Sab-Sab pairs, respectively.
As can be seen, the intrinsic spin alignments in the isolated spiral pairs show a mild tendency to increase with the decrement of the
angular separation distances: The more closely located the member galaxies are, the more strongly their spin axes are aligned
with each other.

So far, we have relied on the {\it parametric} chi-squared statistics to find the non-uniformity in the distributions of the alignment angles
between the 3D spin axes of the spiral galaxies in the isolated pairs.  The confidence level, $98.37\%$, at which the chi-squared test
rejects the null hypothesis for the case of all spiral pairs, however, is not high enough to confirm the detection of the non-uniformity.
To complement the chi-squared statistics, we perform a {\it non-parametric} Rayleigh test operating directly on the alignment angles
\citep{FB12}.  For each isolated pair, we project the 3D unit spin vectors of the primary and the secondary spiral galaxies
($\hat{\bf J}_{p}$ and $\hat{\bf J}_{s}$, respectively) onto the plane of the sky perpendicular to the line-of-sight direction, $\hat{\bf r}_{p}$
to obtain the corresponding 2D spin vectors ($\hat{\bf j}_{p}$ and $\hat{\bf j}_{s}$, respectively)
\begin{equation}
\label{eqn:hatj}
\hat{\bf j}_{\gamma}=\frac{\hat{\bf J}_{\gamma} - (\hat{\bf J}_{\gamma}\cdot\hat{\bf r}_{p})\hat{\bf r}_{p}}{\vert\hat{\bf J}_{\gamma}
- (\hat{\bf J}_{\gamma}\cdot\hat{\bf r}_{p})\hat{\bf r}_{p}\vert},\ \qquad {\rm for}\quad \gamma = {\rm p},\ {\rm s}\, ,
\end{equation}
and then calculate the alignment angles, $\beta$, as
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{eqn:2dangle}
\beta=\left\{
        \begin{array}{ll}
            +\cos^{-1}{(\hat{\bf j}_{p}\cdot\hat{\bf j}_{s})}\, & {\rm if}\quad (\hat{\bf j}_{p}\times\hat{\bf j}_{s})\cdot\hat{\bf r}_{p} < 0\, , \\
            -\cos^{-1}{(\hat{\bf j}_{p}\cdot\hat{\bf j}_{s})}\, & {\rm if}\quad (\hat{\bf j}_{p}\times\hat{\bf j}_{s})\cdot\hat{\bf r}_{p} \geq 0\, .
        \end{array}
    \right.
\end{eqnarray}

Dividing the full range, $[-\pi,\ \pi]$, of $\beta$,  into a dozen of short intervals each of which has an equal length of
$\Delta\beta = 2\pi/15$, we determine $p(\beta_{i})$ at each interval of
$[\beta_{i}, \beta_{i} + \Delta\beta_{i}]$ as $p(\beta_{i}) = n_{i, sp}/(\Delta\beta\cdot 4N_{sp})$,
where $n_{i, sp}$ denotes the number of the realizations of $\beta$ belonging to the $i$th interval of $\beta$.
The top and bottom panels of Figure \ref{fig:pbeta} displays the probability density functions of the alignment angles, $p(\beta)$,
(solid circular dots) along with the Poisson errors, $\Delta p(\beta_{i}) = 1/(2\pi\sqrt{n_{i,sp}-1})$ for the cases of all spiral pairs and of
the Sab-Sab pairs, respectively.  As shown, the observational results significantly deviate from the circular uniform distributions
$p(\beta)=1/2\pi$ (dotted lines).  It is found that the Rayleigh test rejects the null hypothesis of no alignment at the
confidence levels as high as $99.9999\%$ for both of the cases.

Deviation of $p(\beta)$ from the uniform distribution and its Gaussian-like shape spurs us to fit it to the following von Mises
distribution characterized by two characteristic parameters, $\mu$ an $\kappa(>0)$ \citep{briggs93,fisher93,pew-etal13}:
\begin{equation}
\label{eqn:von}
p(\beta\ \vert\ \mu,\kappa)=\frac{e^{\kappa\cos(\beta-\mu)}}{2\pi I_{0}(\kappa)}\, ,
\end{equation}
where $I_{0}(\kappa)$ is the modified Bessel function of the first kind of order $0$. The two parameters, $\mu$ and $1/\kappa$, are to
the von Mises distributions what the mean and the variance are to the Gaussian distribution. The value of $\mu$ represents
the location where the probability density function, $p(\beta)$, reaches its maximum, while $1/\kappa$ measures the width of
the distribution. The von Mises distribution will be reduced to the uniform distribution provided $\kappa=0$.
The larger the value of $\kappa$ is, the narrower shape the von Mises distribution will have.

The best-fit values of $\mu$ and $\kappa$ for the cases of all spiral and Sab-Sab pairs are found by the maximum likelihood method and
listed in Table \ref{tab:best_fit}. As can be read, the best-fit values of $\mu$ are effectively zero for both of the cases, which implies that
the 2D spin vectors of the primary and the secondary galaxies in the isolated pairs are indeed preferentially aligned with each other.
The significant deviation of the best-fit values of $\kappa$ from zero also confirms our finding of non-uniformity in the probability
density function of $p(\beta)$. The von Mises distributions with these best-fit parameters are plotted as dashed lines in
Figure \ref{fig:pbeta}. As can be seen, the overall shapes of the probability density function, $p(\beta)$, indeed, match well the von Mises
distributions with the best-fit parameters, for both of the cases.

\section{Numerical Predictions of the $\Lambda$CDM Cosmology}\label{sec:num}

To compare the observational results obtained in Section \ref{sec:ob} with the theoretical prediction of the $\Lambda$CDM
cosmology, we utilize the data from the EAGLE project of cosmological hydrodynamic simulations that were run on a periodic
box of $100$ comoving mega parsecs (cMpc) with a total of $2\times 1504^{3}$ dark matter particles
\citep{eagle_subgrid,eagle_catalog,eagle}.
Assuming a $\Lambda$CDM universe with initial conditions constrained by the angular power spectrum of the temperature
fluctuation field of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) from the Planck survey \citep{planck14a}, the EAGLE project
computed the influences of various baryonic processes as well as gravity to simulate the realistic evolutions of the luminous
galaxies that reside in the DM halos. \citep{eagle}.  The standard FoF group finder and the SUBFIND algorithms
\citep{subfind,eagle_catalog} were used by the EAGLE project to find DM halos and to resolve the subhalos within
the virial radius of each DM halo, respectively.
From the website of the EAGLE hydrodynamic simulations\footnote{http://icc.dur.ac.uk/Eagle/database.php},  one can access the
catalogs of the FoF groups and their subhalos at various redshifts from $z=127$ to $z=0$ and extract such information as the spin
angular momentum vectors, position vectors and virial masses of the subhalos.

We consider two different redshifts, $z=0$ and $0.1$, to match the redshift ranges of the isolated spiral pairs analyzed in
Section \ref{sec:ob}.  We use the following criteria to select a halo as an isolated pair system from the DM halo catalog:
(i) $N_{\rm sub}=2$; (ii) $N_{t}\ge N_{t,c}=1000$; (iii) $N_{s}\ge N_{s,c}=100$, where $N_{\rm sub}$ is the number of the subhalos
contained in a host halo, $N_{t}$ and $N_{s}$ are the numbers of the constituent particles of a host halo and its secondary subhalo,
respectively,  while $N_{t,c}$ and $N_{s,c}$ represent the thresholds on the values of $N_{t}$ and $N_{s}$, respectively.
The primary and the secondary subhalos of a host halo with $N_{\rm sub}=2$ are determined by their virial masses.
The second and third criteria are required to reduce possible systematics caused by the low resolution.

Each subhalo carries three different angular momentum vectors: One from the DM particles, another from the gas particles, and the
third from their stellar components. Since the spin axes of the observed spiral galaxies we have determined in Section \ref{sec:ob}
are the angular momentum vectors of the stellar components but not of the DM nor of the gas particles, we use the third ones to
measure the intrinsic spin alignments in the isolated pair systems. For each isolated pair system at each redshift, we compute the
cosine of the angle between the angular momentum vectors of the stellar components of the two subhalos. Unlike the case of the
observed spiral galaxies, there is no ambiguity in the directions of the spin angular momentum vectors of the stellar components of the
subhalos. Therefore each isolated halo system yields only one value of the cosine of the alignment angle.  Through the same
procedures described in Section \ref{sec:ob}, we determine the probability density functions of the cosines of the alignment angles
between the angular momentum vectors of the stellar components of the primary and the secondary subhalos in the isolated pair
systems at $z=0$ and $0.1$, which are plotted along with the Poisson errors in the top two panels of Figure \ref{fig:pcosa_eagle}.

As can be seen, the numerical results at both redshifts are consistent with the uniform distribution (dotted line), showing no signal of
intrinsic alignment.  To examine the robustness of this result against the numerical resolution, we vary the threshold value, $N_{s,c}$,
from $100$ to $300$ and to $500$, we remeasure the alignments angles and then redetermine $p(\cos\alpha)$. The middle and bottom
panels of Figure \ref{fig:pcosa_eagle} show the same as the top panels but for the cases of $N_{s,c}=300$ and $500$, respectively,
which confirms that the consistency of $p(\cos\alpha)$ with the uniform distribution is robust against the variation of $N_{s,c}$.

To answer the question if a signal of intrinsic spin alignment can be found from those pair systems with
two subhalos having comparable masses, we calculate $\langle\cos\alpha\rangle$ as a function of the ratio of the mass of
a primary subhalo to that of a secondary subhalo, $M_{s}/M_{p}$, and show the results with the Bootstrap errors
in Figure \ref{fig:mean_mr}.
For all of the six cases, $\langle\cos\alpha\rangle$ is found to be uncorrelated with $M_{s}/M_{p}$, revealing that even for those
pair systems in which two subhalos have comparable masses, the directions of their spin axes are randomly oriented relative
to each other.

To see if a signal of intrinsic spin alignment can be found from those pair systems where two subhalos are more closely
located to each other than the average, we calculate $\langle\cos\alpha\rangle$ as a function of the 3D separation (comoving)
distances between the subhalos and show the results with the Bootstrap errors in Figure \ref{fig:mean_3d}. As can be seen, the
average of the cosines of the alignment angles does not show any significant sign of increment with the decrement of the separation
distance, indicating that no matter how closely located the two subhalos are, their spin axes are not aligned.

As done with the observational data in Section \ref{sec:ob}, it is also investigated whether or not we can find any signal of intrinsic
alignments between the 2D spin vectors in the isolated pair systems which are obtained by projecting the 3D spin vectors of the
primary and the secondary subhalos onto the plane perpendicular to the directions of the position vectors of the primary subhalos.
Measuring the alignment angles between the 2D spin vectors of the primary and the secondary subhalos, we determine the probability
density functions, $p(\beta)$, and plot them with the Poisson errors in Figure \ref{fig:pbeta_eagle}.
Although a rather high value of $p(\beta)$ is witnessed at the first bin from the left for the case of $z=0.1,\ N_{s,c}=500$
(bottom right panel), all of the other values of $p(\beta)$ seem to agree well with the uniform distribution at both of the redshifts,
regardless of the threshold values of $N_{s,c}$.  We fit the von Mises distribution to the numerical result for the case of
$z=0.1,\ N_{s,c}=500$, and show the fitting result as dashed line.  As can be seen, the von Mises distribution does not provide
a good fit to the numerical result for this case, which implies that the marginally significant deviation of $p(\beta)$ from the uniform
distribution at the first bin for this case is likely to be a numerical fluke.
The comparison of Figure \ref{fig:pbeta_eagle} with Figure \ref{fig:pbeta} ensures that the numerical results from the EAGLE
hydrodynamic simulations is quite consistent with the null hypothesis of no spin alignments in the isolated pair systems.

\section{Summary and Discussion}\label{sec:dis}

We have investigated whether or not the 3D spin vectors of the member galaxies belonging to the isolated spiral pairs are
aligned with each other by utilizing the FoF group catalog of the SDSS DR10 galaxies \citep{sdssdr10,tempel-etal14}.
Defining the isolated spiral pairs as the FoF groups composed of only two spiral (Sab or Scd) galaxies without being embedded in any
other larger FoF groups, we have detected a clear signal of intrinsic spin alignment between the directions of the 3D spin axes of the
two member galaxies, showing that the Sab-Sab spiral pairs exhibit the strongest signal. The generalized chi-squared test have
rejected the null hypothesis of no signal at the $98.37\%$ and $99.99\%$ confidence levels for the case of all and the Sab-Sab spiral
pairs, respectively.  The strength of the alignment signal has been found to have a mild dependence on the luminosity ratios of the
member galaxies and their separation distances. A stronger alignment tendency is yielded by the isolated spiral pairs whose member
galaxies are more closely located to each other and by the pairs whose members have comparable luminosities.

To complement the parametric chi-squared test operating on the cosines of the angles between the 3D spin vectors, we have employed
the non-parametric Rayleigh test operating directly on the angles between the 2D spin vectors projected on the plane of sky and
showed that the null hypothesis is rejected at the $99.9999\%$ confidence level even for the case of all spiral pairs. The comparison of
the probability density function with the von Mises distribution has determined the best-fit parameters, which again confirmed the
presence of non-uniformity in the distribution of the angles between the 2D projected spin vectors of the members in the isolated spiral
pairs.

To see whether or not the detected signal of intrinsic spin alignment in the isolated spiral pairs can be naturally explained
by the $\Lambda$CDM cosmology, we have also conducted a similar investigation with the data from the EAGLE cosmological
hydrodynamic simulations \citep{eagle,eagle_catalog}. Selecting the isolated dark matter halos consisting of only two subhalos from
the EAGLE cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, we have determined the probability density functions of the alignment angles
between the spin angular momentum vectors of the stellar parts of two subhalos in each pair. In contrast to the observational result,
we have failed to find any alignment signal, showing that both of the probability density functions of the cosines of the 3D angles
and of the 2D angles are quite uniform. We have also found that this numerical result of no alignment tendency is robust against
varying the threshold values of the particle numbers of the DM halos and the subhalos.
This result agrees well with the previous one obtained by \citet{lee12} who found no signal of alignments between the angular
momentum vectors of the subhalos in the isolated FoF groups from the H-CoDECS \citep{codecs}.  Recalling that in \citet{lee12} the
angular momentum vectors of the subhalos were calculated not from the stellar parts but from the DM particles that constitute the
subhalos, the agreement between the two results implies that for a $\Lambda$CDM cosmology there is no gravitational nor
hydrodynamical mechanism that can create the alignments between the spin vectors of the subhalos in the isolated pairs.

As the tension between the observational and the numerical results calls for a physical explanation, we bring up three possible
scenarios. The first scenario concerns about the inaccuracy in the measurements of the directions of the spin axes of the spiral
galaxies from the SDSS DR10. Since the shapes of real spiral galaxies are not perfectly circular nor infinitesimally thin, the directions
of their spin axes determined by the circular thin disk approximation may be inaccurate enough to produce systematics in the
measurements of intrinsic spin alignments in the isolated spiral pairs.
Furthermore, there is a notable difference between the observational and the numerical analyses. For the former, we
have considered only the spiral galaxies, excluding the lenticular and ellipticals, simply because the circular thin disk approximation is
not applicable to the excluded ones.  For the numerical analysis, however, we have considered all isolated pair systems, regardless
of their morphological types. This difference might be responsible partly for the inconsistency between the observational and the
numerical results on the intrinsic spin alignments in the isolated pairs. To overcome these difficulties in the measurements of the spin
directions of the observed galaxies, it will be necessary to develop a more realistic model by which the directions of the spin vectors of
the spiral, elliptical and lenticular galaxies could be all determined with higher accuracy, which is beyond the scope of this work.

The second scenario ascribes the inconsistency to some missing baryon process that was not included in the EAGLE
hydrodynamic simulations.  Although the spin vectors of the DM components of the subhalos in the isolated pair systems are not
aligned with each other as shown by \citet{lee12}, some unknown baryon processes might be able to generate alignments between
the spin vectors of the stellar counterparts.  If this process were incorporated into a hydrodynamical simulation, then the simulation
would yield an alignment signal as strong as the detected one from observations.  It will be, however, a daunting task to figure
out what that missing baryon process should be.

The third scenario is the most radical one, claiming that the observed signal of intrinsic spin alignments should be a
new local anomaly that challenges the $\Lambda$CDM model on the small-scale.  The spin alignments in the isolated spiral pairs
can be produced if the member galaxies interact strongly with each other after they form a bound pair and reside in a dynamically
isolated state \citep{GT78,hel84,lee12}.  This scenario basically interprets the numerical results from the EAGLE and H-CoDECS
simulations as an indication that in a $\Lambda$CDM cosmology the mutual interaction between the subhalos do not occur
efficiently enough to produce the intrinsic alignments, and claims that in the cDE models the fifth force produced by the dark sector
coupling could stimulate the interactions between the member galaxies in the isolated pairs, generating the intrinsic spin alignments
\citep{lee12}.
In this scenario, the stronger signal of intrinsic spin alignment detected from the Sab-Sab pairs may be also explained with the
same logic: Since the Sab-Sab galaxies are expected to have formed earlier than the Scd-Scd and Scd-Sab pairs,  their members
must have interacted for a longer period of time during which stronger spin alignments are induced.
Radical as this third scenario may sound, it would be less difficult to test than the first two, requiring only a
hydrodynamical simulation for a cDE cosmology.  We plan to explore the above three different scenarios and report the results
elsewhere in the future.

\acknowledgments

We thank an anonymous referee for providing very helpful suggestions.
We acknowledge the Virgo Consortium for making their simulation data available. The EAGLE simulations were performed
using the DiRAC-2 facility at Durham, managed by the ICC, and the PRACE facility Curie based in France at TGCC, CEA,
Bruy\`{e}res-le-Ch\^{a}tel. This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research
Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education(2016R1D1A1A09918491). It was also partially supported by a
research grant from the NRF to the Center for Galaxy Evolution Research  (No.2017R1A5A1070354).

\clearpage

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
After Mount Ida's surprise closing, official supports more warning
Katie LannanState House News Service
Carlos Santiago, the state higher education commissioner, found out about the closure of Newton's Mount Ida College when a reporter approached him at an event last spring and asked about it.
"That's the first I had any sense of what was potentially transpiring," Santiago told the Higher Education Committee on Monday, speaking in support of a bill Gov. Charlie Baker offered that would impose new notice requirements and oversight around the closures of colleges and universities.
Santiago said the bill "attempts to address shortcomings in the current regulatory structure" and to move the state board from a reactive approach to a proactive one.
In written testimony, Santiago said the state was "blindsided" when Mount Ida's board and administration announced in April 2018 that the small liberal arts college in Newton would close. His staff was faced with "the daunting task of facilitating the transition work" on short notice, while students with weeks remaining in the semester "were left in the dark and alone to figure out how to complete their degrees at other institutions."
Baker's bill (S 2183) would require any college or university in Massachusetts to notify the Board of Higher Education if it is facing financial challenges that could jeopardize its ability to serve its current and admitted students, and to submit a closure contingency plan including provisions for notifying students and staff and arrangements for students to complete their studies.
As other small colleges face shifting demographics and tight finances - Newbury College in Brookline graduated its final class over the weekend, and Hampshire College in Amherst admitted a class of 15 students for the fall as it seeks to restructure to remain sustainable - and state officials weigh how to best manage future closings, the specter of Mount Ida looms.
"The financial challenges faced by Mount Ida were not unique, but the circumstances and decisions made were," said Laura DeVeau, who was Mount Ida's vice president for student affairs. "I know for a fact that the phrase, quote, 'We aren't going to be the next Mount Ida,' end quote, has been uttered on college campuses across New England and campus leaders are making efforts to not only prevent such actions, but to lead with integrity."
In his opening remarks, Rep. Jeffrey Roy, the committee's House chair, called college closures an "unfortunate issue" that lawmakers had been hearing a lot about lately.
"Clearly while there may be other college closures in the state, the way things were handled by Mount Ida College is not something we want to see repeated," the Franklin Democrat said.
Santiago said 18 colleges and universities in Massachusetts have closed, merged or expressed intent to close over the last five years.
Education Secretary James Peyser said the state should reconsider the role of the Board of Higher Education and provide "reasonable" consumer protections as colleges and universities grapple with the "persistent pinch of austerity" and demographic trends that translate to fewer students.
"The ground is shifting beneath our feet," Peyser told the committee. "Clearly not all institutions are struggling. Indeed, most are thriving, but we know that some colleges will be significantly impacted by this changing environment, and any school closing, especially one that is sudden and unexpected, increases market uncertainty and reduces confidence in the sector as a whole."
Peyser said Baker's bill aims to safeguard confidentiality and ensure that notice of financial problems is provided "not too soon, but not too late."
"If an institution is at risk of imminent closure, it is not fair to wait until every possible turnaround option is fully explored before informing students and staff of the hard realities," he said. "This is what happened at Mount Ida. Neither is it fair to prematurely sound a public warning bell, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that can mortally damage a college or university."
Rep. Stephan Hay, a Fitchburg Democrat who serves on the committee, told Peyser and Santiago he understands the difficulty the board faces in timing around disclosures.
"I do want to make clear, at least from my perspective, that if it comes down to protecting students or the institution and their board of trustees, board of directors, I hope we side with the students every single time," he said.
Richard Doherty, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts, said his group is "not opposed to adopting new regulations in response to Mount Ida" but must do so in a "responsible and focused manner."
He said AICUM members are working with Peyser and Santiago to identify weaknesses in the current process around college closings and "develop appropriate targeted solutions."
"Our nonprofit colleges are simply too important to the state's innovation economy to risk the unintended consequences that will result from a rushed process," Doherty said.
In addition to the legislation, the Board of Higher Education is working to strengthen its college closure regulations. Santiago said he expects draft regulations to be presented to the board at a June 18 meeting, with a public comment period to follow.
At an April 30 forum on college closures, hosted by The Boston Foundation, Roy said he was "delighted" policymakers were engaging in a conversation about how to improve the college closure process. He noted that of the 18 closings in the past five years, "you really only heard about one of them," and said that dynamic indicates "there are some pieces in place that are working well."
"We want to give the tools to the board and the commissioner to help this particular issue, but we also want to engage the colleges and the universities, the accrediting body, in this conversation," Roy said then.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The ANTHEM◊ Total Knee System was designed to provide an advanced and anatomically fit prosthesis and instrumentation system.
The ANTHEM Total Knee System coupled with ORTHOMATCH◊ Universal Instrumentation platform has been developed in conjunction with leading surgeons from Emerging Markets and Europe providng benefits by creating efficiency through intelligent design which translates into tangible value for surgeons, patients and healthcare providers.
1. Victor et al, Total knee arthroplasty at 15–17 years: Does implant design affect outcome? International Orthopaedics; 2014. 38:235–24.
2. Wei, David H., et al. "Improving Value in Musculoskeletal Care Delivery."The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery 97.9, 2015.
3. Hwang J, Christensen C, Disruptive Innovation in Health Care Delivery: A framework for Business Model Innovation, Health Affairs, 2008.
4. Smith & Nephew, Inc. ANTHEM◊ PS Total Knee System: 510(k) Summary. Pg E2-1-2.
5. Bourne et al. Survivorship of the GENESIS◊ II Total Knee Arthroplasty at a Mean of 15 years. COA poster presentation. 2014.
ANTHEM is available in select countries. Please check with your local sales rep or office for more information on availability.
The ANTHEM knee system is based upon trusted design pedigree incorporating clinically advanced technology such as the tibio-femoral articulation and patello-femoral function equivalent to the GENESIS◊ II Total Knee System.
The ANTHEM Total Knee System has been developed in conjunction with leading surgeons from the Emerging Markets and Europe. The ANTHEM Knee System can be used with the ORTHOMATCH◊ Universal Instrument platform, creating efficiency through intelligent design, providing tangible value for surgeons, patients and healthcare providers.
Post-traumatic arthritis, osteoarthritis, or degenerative arthritis.
Failed osteotomies, unicompartmental replacement, or total knee replacement.
Posterior stabilized knee systems are designed for use in patients in primary and revision surgery, where the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments are incompetent and the collateral ligaments remain intact.
Bourne et al. Survivorship of the GENESIS◊ II Total Knee Arthroplasty at a Mean of 15 years. COA poster presentation. 2014.
Mehdi Moghtadaei, Javad Moghimi, and Gholamreza Shahhoseini; Distal Femur Morphology of Iranian Population and Correlation with Current Prostheses. Iran Red Crescent Medical Journal. 2016 February; 18(2).
In an effort to replicate the innovation behind the ANTHEM platform, the Smith & Nephew collaborated with Touch Surgery, an app based technology company that specializes in medical training, to create an equally innovative, interactive surgical simulation for the ANTHEM TKR to educate surgeons on the procedure.
1. To download the app, please go to the links below and setup an account.
2. Once the app installed and user profile created, enter the Touch Surgery app and tap theglobal search bar at the top of the screen.
3. Type "ANTHEM" in the search bar.
4. Tapping to "View all" phases will display all 9 ANTHEM modules within the simulations available.


text:
Q: Why does pandas apply calculate twice I'm using the apply method on a panda's DataFrame object.  When my DataFrame has a single column, it appears that the applied function is being called twice.  The questions are why? And, can I stop that behavior?
Code:
import pandas as pd

def mul2(x):
    print ('hello')
    return 2*x

df = pd.DataFrame({'a': [1,2,0.67,1.34]})
df.apply(mul2)

Output:
hello
hello

0  2.00
1  4.00
2  1.34
3  2.68

I'm printing 'hello' from within the function being applied.  I know it's being applied twice because 'hello' printed twice.  What's more is that if I had two columns, 'hello' prints 3 times.  Even more still is when I call applied to just the column 'hello' prints 4 times.
Code:
df.a.apply(mul2)

Output:
hello
hello
hello
hello
0    2.00
1    4.00
2    1.34
3    2.68
Name: a, dtype: float64

A: This behavior is intended, as an optimization.
See the docs:

In the current implementation apply calls func twice on the first
  column/row to decide whether it can take a fast or slow code path.
  This can lead to unexpected behavior if func has side-effects, as they
  will take effect twice for the first column/row.

A: Probably related to this issue.  With groupby, the applied function is called one extra time to see if certain optimizations can be done.  I'd guess something similar is going on here.  It doesn't look like there's any way around it at the moment (although I could be wrong about the source of the behavior you're seeing).  Is there a reason you need it to not do that extra call.
Also, calling it four times when you apply on the column is normal.  When you get one columnm you get a Series, not a DataFrame.  apply on a Series applies the function to each element.  Since your column has four elements in it, the function is called four times.

A: This behavior has been fixed with pandas 1.1, please upgrade!
Now, apply and applymap on DataFrame evaluates first row/column only once.
Initially, we had GroupBy.apply and Series/df.apply evaluating the first group twice. The reason the first group is evaluated twice is because apply wants to know whether it can "optimize" the calculation (sometimes this is possible if apply receives a numpy or cythonized function). With pandas 0.25, this behavior was fixed for GroupBy.apply. Now, with pandas 1.1, this will also be fixed for df.apply.

Old Behavior [pandas <= 1.0.X]
pd.__version__
# '1.0.4'

df.apply(mul2)
hello
hello

      a
0  2.00
1  4.00
2  1.34
3  2.68

New Behavior [pandas >= 1.1]
pd.__version__
# '1.1.0.dev0+2004.g8d10bfb6f'

df.apply(mul2)
hello

      a
0  2.00
1  4.00
2  1.34
3  2.68

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


NOTE: Size and Patterns are all different. Our carpets are made by the same team of makers. Same Process. Same Quality. Different Patterns. Different Sizes. Each carpet is unique. Select the one you want. 1 piece per name (or per SKU number). For any questions, contact us.
Beni Ourain: The Ultimate Wool Carpet. Handmade in Morocco from the very finest wool by our team of 6 women in the Atlas Mountains. They are very soft and they can be passed from generation to generation.
How do I pay? Credit Cards only. We don't accept COD for orders over US$200.
7 working days - DHL Express or Fedex. We ship worldwide.
Description: diamond shapes fringes on one side.
Material: 100% natural sheep wool. Super soft.
100% Authentic. Handmade in Morocco.


The International Society for Subsurface Microbiology is a unique group made up of microbiologists, ecologists, geoscientists, and other researchers and students around the world who are captivated with the various aspects of subsurface microbiology, a rapidly expanding field that focuses on microbial life below the surface of the earth.
Please join us in beautiful city of Utrecht for ISSM 2020. More details can be found at http://www.issm2020.com/.
The Society is best known for organizing week-long symposia on subsurface microbiology every 3 years in locations as diverse as California, Germany, Japan, Wyoming, Florida, and England.
Seventh International Symposium for Subsurface Microbiology: November 16-21, 2008. Shizuoka, Japan.
Eighth International Symposium of Subsurface Microbiology: September 11-16, 2011. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
2014 Ninth International Symposium of Subsurface Microbiology: October 5-10, 2014. Pacific Grove, California.
Integrating microbiology and the geosciences, the field of subsurface microbiology explores the ecology and evolution of microbial life in subsurface environments such as marine sediments, terrestrial groundwater, and the deep subsurface. The outcomes of this research can affect our current state-of-knowledge and future advancements in many industries.
At the 2008 Symposium in Shizuoka, Japan.
The largest communities of living organisms can't be found on land or sea — they are underground, beneath the land and seafloor surface.


What our users say about traveling in Northern Mariana Islands. Have something to say, too? Add your comments here.
Beautiful Northern Mariana Islands! But only less than a week, unfortunatelly.
This is a wonderful island. he looks like a paradise.


(idiom) To continue or persist, despite adversity or difficulty.
He soldiered on through the night, working hard and not sleeping.
Supplemental Details:Sponsor an extended definition for soldier on for as little as $10 per month. Click here to contact us.


Lost in a Good Book. Viking, 2002.
In order to enjoy this series, it is helpful to understand that if you had re-engineered a dodo to keep as a pet, it would say "plock plock" and love marshmallows, that a suitable job for a Neanderthal is piloting subway trains, that the Goliath Corporation is really out to rule the world. But the most important thing is to understand that the author is one of those people who loves fiction and literature so much that he knows that a reader can get lost in a book, and become literally transported into its fictional world. Any novel with Miss Haversham and the Red Queen has possibilities. The first book, The Eyre Affair, finds our heroine Thursday Next, attempting to correct the plot of Jane Eyre -- the wonderful part is that her entry into the Bronte book actually seems -- in a weird way -- logical. Add to this mix a cast of characters with outrageously punning names, time travel, amazing inventions and hairbreadth escapes, and you've got a true winner.


The Mentoring Partnership brings together recent skilled immigrants and established professionals in occupation-specific mentoring relationships.
75% of participants found employment in their occupation or related field within 1 year of completing the program.
Now operating for 11 years in the Greater Toronto Region, The Mentoring Partnership has facilitated close to 11,000 mentoring relationships between skilled immigrants and established Canadian professionals.


text:
Dialog projects on track
Tuesday, 16 Apr 2019
PETALING JAYA: Dialog Group Bhd 's expansion projects are on track and nearing completion, with Pengerang Phase 2 joint-venture (JV) profit contributions expected to commence in the second half of the year.
According to a UOB KayHian report, the Pengerang Terminal Phase 2 (PT2SB), which has 1.3 million cubic metres dedicated to the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development's requirements, is expected to complete all commissioning phases by the middle of the year.
As such, the JV profits will have strong growth, as these new growth projects are to contribute immediately in the first quarter of the financial year ending June 30, 2020 (1Q20).
Apart from that, new growth projects in Langsat 3 and Pengerang Phase 1E are near completion for full start-up by 1Q20.
The new 100,000-cubic-metre storage capacity for Langsat 3 terminal is at 80% completion, while another 200,000 cubic metres are still open for negotiations.
The Pengerang Phase 1E expansion (430,000 cubic metres), meanwhile, is undergoing commissioning and is at 80% completion for the targeted start-up from the second half of 2019.
However, revenue is expected to decline in financial year 2019 (FY19) due to the completion of PT2SB's RM5.5bil engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) in December last year, a significant EPCC project for the group. Additionally, Dialog is still executing the EPCC for several other projects, including the Pengerang Phase 1E expansion.
"In tandem with its normal business model, these projects will transition from EPCC to recurring income from the fabrication and maintenance phases (O&M) for downstream projects, which has been growing at 10% to 15% per annum.
"Nevertheless, management has hinted that the maintenance income is not sufficient to offset the drop in EPCC profits in the near term.
"Overall, we project an almost flattish year-on-year (y-o-y) earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation growth, given that the EPCC shortfall will be adequately covered by maintenance income and the full consolidation of the Langsat terminal earnings into revenue since mid-1Q18," said UOB KayHian.The research house's new profit forecasts assume a y-o-y growth of 17%, 19% and 11%, respectively, as compared to Dialog's guidance for a 10% to 15% growth.
This is mainly due to UOB KayHian's upgrade to JV earnings as Phase 2's take-of-pay earnings will not be materially impacted by the resized capacity to 1.3 million cubic metres.
In comparison, Dialog's first-half FY19 and FY18 core earnings recorded a y-o-y growth of 24% and 31%, respectively.
"We believe these growth rates are achievable due to the on-schedule commissioning of the JV projects, which will significantly drive group earnings growth in the near term.
"This is slightly offset by our lower FY19 revenue forecast, from RM3.1bil to RM2.8bil, due to EPCC, until Dialog secures offtakers for Pengerang Phase 3," said UOB KayHian.
The research house projects revenue to recover by FY21, as it expects Dialog to secure new EPCC projects and potential fabrication-related works for O&G decommissioning demand across the region.


Paul Lynch has thirty years of experience practicing law coupled with management and business skills gained through a MBA, managing a law office and military duty (Retired Naval Reserve Officer). Mr. Lynch has a diverse caseload with emphasis on auto finance compliance and business litigation. He is well versed in state and federal laws and regulations governing both direct and indirect lenders. He has extensive experience representing large and small clients. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and has an MBA from the University of San Diego. He has practiced in California, Alaska and Massachusetts.
Reserve Duty: Supply Officer, USS Racine (LST-1191); Contracting duties at SUPSHIP Bath in connection with construction of Aegis Cruisers and Destroyers.


Today's story originally appeared in the Summer 2015 launch issue of the sadly short-lived Bahamut magazine, publishing literary fiction with an international focus by many noted speculative authors.
Content notice: The story involves animal attacks on people, including children, and animal extermination.
See my changes & comments. Please discuss with Lisa before sending to me again.
We've edited the text for the panels to be put in the 10th year anniversary exhibition in August for National Day, and are seeking your approval before we send it to print.
Ten years ago, Singapore faced its biggest crisis since the Communist conspiracies of the 1980s and the escape of Mas Selamat in the early 2000s. For two weeks the nation united to fight the scourge of Grenade rats. The enemy was small, nimble, and deadly, tunneling under our hills and homes and threatening our lives. But eventually Singaporeans, and Singapore, prevailed.
In this special exhibition curated by the National Library, we take a look back at Operation Springclean, and the people who made it possible.
Text: It was a normal evening on the 6th of December, 2014. 23-month-old Clarice Lee was out on a Saturday evening walk with her mother in the Bukit Batok Nature Reserve when the toddler was set upon by a dozen rats on a walking path near the playground, and pulled into the trees nearby.
Several bystanders heard her mother's screams and immediately came to the rescue, plunging into the forest and fighting off the rampaging rats, some of them with their bare hands.
Although Clarice was immediately sent to KK Hospital, she unfortunately succumbed to her injuries and died later that evening.
NSman Amos Chua was out for his usual evening jog that evening when he heard Mrs Lee screaming. "I didn't even think about it. I wanted to save that little girl. After jungle training, you think rats are nothing." He suffered cuts and bites in the incident.
The five heroes who rescued Clarice from the rats were later given an Outstanding Citizen Award.
"You don't expect something like that to happen, especially in your neighborhood… they invited Clarice's first month. She was very cute little girl, even though we don't see her so much because both parents are working.
Text: The incident shocked a nation used to that took pride in its safe and clean parks. Calls for action came from every quarter, some more strident than others. A task force was immediately assembled to address the problems, headed by NParks and helped by the Bukit Batok Town Council.
The Sunday after Clarice was killed, a team of 21 pest exterminators assembled at Bukit Batok Nature Reserve. The reserve had been sealed off to public, but a large group of concerned bystanders and gawkers gathered to watch the proceedings. Many people were invested in seeing the threat to the local area contained.
The exterminators were armed with ropes and poisons and traps. It seemed certain that the situation would be resolved simply.
– Video loop: Channel 5 and CNA news reports, including interview with one of the exterminators transcript??
Text: On the first day the exterminators killed 71 rats. The public welcomed these results, but the exterminators knew they had only scratched the surface. From the size and complexity of the warrens they found in the dirt they knew this rat colony numbered in many hundreds. It was one of the worst rat infestations they had seen in their lives.
On Monday, the day many had to return to work, disaster struck. The exterminators, digging in the ground in the centre of the warren, triggered a concealed pocket full of noxious gas and toxins. The rats had sprung a trap of their own. Two exterminators had to be sent to the hospital.
But worse was to come. The exterminators, digging further, found that the tunnels led straight to the drainage system of the Park Connector Network. The bulk of the rats had escaped the hill. The hunt was on.
That night, the Prime Minister took to the airwaves to make an important announcement.
Grenade rats are a special breed of rat that were designed by scientists for use in experiments. They were specially modified and selected for their high intelligence and complex brains, and are used in scientific laboratories worldwide to help understand human behaviour and the human brain. Because they are so smart, however, it is sometimes a challenge to keep them contained. There have been instances of Grenade rats escaping from labs all over the world, despite the best efforts of their minders. However, due to the tight social connections they form with each other, In the wild, they are highly unlikely to mate with normal wild rats, and generally pose no problems to the public. This is why the attack on baby Clarice was particularly shocking.
Text: On the evening of 8th November, the Prime Minister appeared on national television to announce the beginning of Operation Springclean. The rats were a threat to public safety and they could be anywhere on the island. It was a situation that required swift and drastic measures.
The armed forces were mobilized. A state of emergency was declared, but only because rats are nocturnal and a curfew needed to be implemented so the army could hunt safely at night without endangering the public. Life would go on as usual for as much as possible, he promised.
The hunt for the rogue rats faced many challenges. Although Grenade rats are larger than ordinary rats on average, it is difficult to differentiate the bigger wild rats from Grenade rats by sight, so the army had to cull wild rats too, just in case. They were also now dealing with drains in housing estates and built-up areas, and not just forested areas.
To help them, animal experts were called in. The exterminators who had front-line experience with these rats provided advice. Operation Springclean was a tightly coordinated team effort.
Can we have interviews with army commanders & the experts please??
– CNA doorstop interview with Chief of Army, 8th December context???
Text: Not everyone was on board with the operation. Criticisms and conspiracy theories came from many quarters, but particularly from Netizens. Animal behaviourists said that the rats were being unfairly maligned for the actions of a few bad ones. Some pointed to the dead bodies left behind in the warrens, which had signs that they were killed by fellow rats, as proof that the rats had already taken justice into their own hands. "They want to co-exist with us, and we should give them a chance," said Vernon Chua, an expert on animal behaviour with the SPCA.
A particular rumour that gained a lot of attention was an essay posted anonymously online, written by a person who claimed to be a former research scientist with DSTA. The letter claimed that the rats had been part of experiments to study the control of human behaviour, and the army operation was just a cover-up for the fact that these experiments had taken place.
True or not, these rumours started campaigns to end the operation and spare the lives of the rats, with hashtags on social media such as #OperationClearMinds and #RatsAreCreaturesToo gaining some traction.
Text: The majority of the public, however, The public fell in step with Operation Springclean. People worked together and supported the soldiers as they scoured the streets, laid rat traps and put down poison in the day. The curfew was kept to so that the roads and void decks were clear for the troops to carry out their operations at night.
Many also volunteered to help the army with their rat-culling efforts. However, it was considered too dangerous for people to catch and kill rats on their own, so citizens were asked to help by reporting rat sightings to the army instead. A hotline was set up, and a mobile app was developed for members of the public to send in tips.
There were other ways citizens could contribute to the effort. The Health Promotion Board started an anti-littering, anti-dumping campaign to cut down on available food sources for the rats. Several hawker associations pledged to keep clean stalls to stop vermin breeding.
But the most important part was this: People carried on with their affairs as much as possible so that the nation was kept running. Even in a state of emergency, business went on as usual, and investors kept faith in the country the lives of ordinary citizens were minimally affected.
Text: 18th of December. Christmas was fast approaching, but none of the Operation Springclean task force was in a festive mood. Something far more important had happened—they had located the leaders of the rat colony in Bukit Brown. Several of them had been microchipped in the lab, and scientists from DSTA were able to track them down via the chips. with help from local scientists, who were able to track the rats down.
Two hundred men were sent into the forest, fully equipped. They were the best Singapore had to offer. The battleground was dense and difficult. They knew that the enemy was fast, clever and elusive. They expected the worst.
But it did not come to pass. Our troops found the scourge of rats defenceless, perhaps weakened by weeks of running. and overwhelmed them completely (pls rephrase) The soldiers dug up the centre of the warren and killed the five rats scientists had said were the leaders and founders of the group. All in all, more than 300 rats were gassed and rounded up. It was almost as if they had given up without a fight.
But at least, the threat to Singapore was over.
Text: It was ten days that changed the nation. Ten days where the mettle and determination of the people were tested. At the end of it, we emerged victorious. Swift action from all quarters meant that the threat to the country was neutralised effectively. Singaporeans woke to a cleaner, calmer city, the streets cleared of vermin. It took many years before the wild rat population of Singapore returned to normal.
– List of media for this panel???
Jonathan Lui of the 1st Commando Battalion came to be known as the hero of Operation Springclean. Part of the elite team that tackled the problem in the most challenging areas, Jonathan distinguished himself through his boundless energy. His tireless devotion reaped rewards: Throughout the ten-day campaign, Jonathan killed over a hundred and fifty rats by himself.
This e-mail and any attachments are only for the use of the intended recipient and may be confidential and/or privileged. If you are not the recipient, please delete it or notify the sender immediately. Please do not copy or use it for any purpose or disclose the contents to any other person as it may be an offence under the Official Secrets Act.
JY Yang is the Hugo and Nebula-nominated author of the Tensorate novellas from Tor.Com Publishing (The Red Threads of Fortune, The Black Tides of Heaven and the forthcoming The Descent of Monsters). They live in Singapore and identify as queer and non-binary. Find them online at http://jyyang.com, or on Twitter: @halleluyang.