text:
No money to pay rent and eat: Virus-hit Maldives economic woes bite hundreds in capital
Hundreds in Maldives capital have sought government help to pay rent and support their families as the financial strain from salary cuts and job losses stemming from the coronavirus pandemic takes a heavy toll on people living in one of the world's densely populated cities.
Fathimath Yumna, a deputy minister for gender and social services, told reporters Monday that families struggling with income shortfalls were on the rise.
So far 220 people have reported being homeless or unable to pay rent, she said.
It was a drastic rise from the three individuals that sought government help in the third week of April, when the authorities placed the capital on lockdown.
"Many people have been forced out of their homes, either because they were not able to pay rent, or their families are no longer able to support them financially," Yumna said.
Many have asked the authorities to allow them to relocate to their native islands, but have struggled to get the permit from the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
The homeless have been provided temporary shelters.
The social services ministry has set up a hotline — 1412 — for struggling families to report evictions and financial constraints.
The government has also submitted a bill to the parliament in a bid to prevent evictions. The proposed law, if passed, will also mandate the government to provide food and shelter to the homeless.
With the rapid development made possible by a tourism boom in the past four decades, Male has seen a drastic increase in migration from all across the archipelago of 1,192 coral islands.
As hundreds relocate to the capital every year seeking better education, employment and healthcare, the limited space has created a housing crisis in the 6.8 square kilometre island-city. Many live in cramped apartments with their extended families, pooling their incomes to pay the skyrocketing rentals and make ends meet.
Since March, many have reported job losses and income shortfalls.
The government has responded with an MVR 2.5 billion stimulus plan that seeks to save jobs by giving emergency funds to struggling businesses to meet their working capital needs.
Those that lose jobs are also eligible to get an income support allowance of MVR 5,000 ($323) per month.
The coronavirus outbreak has hit the Maldivian economy hard, as travel restrictions and other preventive measures affect the country's lucrative tourism industry, which contributes the bulk of the island nation's state revenue and foreign reserves.
All international airlines have suspended scheduled operations to the Maldives, as the island nation enforced a blanket suspension of on-arrival visa in late March in a bid to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Even before the visa suspension, the Maldives had closed its borders to arrivals from some of the worst-hit countries, including mainland China, Italy, Bangladesh, Iran, Spain, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Visitors from three regions of Germany (Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg), two regions of France (Île-de-France and Grand Est) and two regions of South Korea were also banned from entering the country.
All direct flights to and from China, Italy, South Korea and Iran were also cancelled.
Cruise ships and foreign yachts were also banned from docking at any of the country's ports.
Before the pandemic, the government had been bullish about tourism prospects, targeting two million, high-spending holidaymakers this year after last year's record 1.7 million.
However, tourist arrivals saw a year-over-year decline of 22.8 per cent in the first 10 days of March. Officials say the number of tourist arrivals to the Maldives could drop by half in 2020.
With arrival numbers falling and the visa suspension in effect, several resorts across the Maldives had been closed.
Tourism has been the bedrock of the Maldives' economic success. The $5 billion-dollar economy grew by 6.7 per cent in 2018 with tourism generating 60 per cent of foreign income.
However, the government is at present projecting a possible 13 per cent economic contraction this year — an estimated $778 million hit.
On March 8, Maldives reported its first cases of the novel coronavirus, as two hotel employees tested positive for Covid-19 at a luxury resort in the archipelago.
Eighteen more cases — all foreigners working or staying resorts and liveaboard vessels except five Maldivians who had returned from abroad — were later identified.
A six-case cluster of locals, detected in capital Male on April 15, confirmed community transmission of the coronavirus. Several more clusters have since been identified, bringing the total number of confirmed case in the Maldives to 1,841.
Seven deaths have been reported and 608 have made full recoveries.
The Maldives announced a state of public health emergency on March 12, the first such declaration under a recent public health protection law.
The public health emergency declaration has allowed the government to introduce a series of unprecedented restrictive and social distancing measures, including stay-at-home orders in capital Male and its suburbs, a ban on inter-island transport and public gatherings across the country, and a nationwide closing of government offices, schools, colleges and universities.
Non-essential services and public places in the capital such as gyms, cinemas and parks have also been shut.
Restaurants and cafes in the capital have been asked to stop dine-in service and switch to takeaway and delivery.
A nationwide shutdown of all guesthouses, city hotels and spa facilities located on inhabited islands is also in effect.
Photo: Sun Online
TagsCoronavirusCOVID-19


text:
package org.darkstorm.minecraft.gui.layout;

import java.awt.*;

public class GridLayoutManager implements LayoutManager {
	private int columns, rows;

	public GridLayoutManager(int columns, int rows) {
		this.columns = columns;
		this.rows = rows;
	}

	@Override
	public void reposition(Rectangle area, Rectangle[] componentAreas,
			Constraint[][] constraints) {
		if(componentAreas.length == 0)
			return;
		int componentsPerColumn, componentsPerRow;
		if(columns == 0) {
			if(rows == 0) {
				double square = Math.sqrt(componentAreas.length);
				componentsPerColumn = (int) square;
				componentsPerRow = (int) square;
				if(square - (int) square > 0)
					componentsPerColumn++;
			} else {
				componentsPerRow = componentAreas.length / rows;
				if(componentAreas.length % rows > 0)
					componentsPerRow++;
				componentsPerColumn = rows;
			}
		} else if(rows == 0) {
			componentsPerColumn = componentAreas.length / columns;
			if(componentAreas.length % columns > 0)
				componentsPerColumn++;
			componentsPerRow = columns;
		} else {
			componentsPerRow = columns;
			componentsPerColumn = rows;
		}
		double elementWidth = (double) area.width / (double) componentsPerRow;
		double elementHeight = (double) area.height
				/ (double) componentsPerColumn;
		rowLabel: for(int row = 0; row < componentsPerColumn; row++) {
			for(int element = 0; element < componentsPerRow; element++) {
				int index = (row * componentsPerRow) + element;
				if(index >= componentAreas.length)
					break rowLabel;
				Rectangle componentArea = componentAreas[index];
				Constraint[] componentConstraints = constraints[index];
				HorizontalGridConstraint horizontalAlign = HorizontalGridConstraint.LEFT;
				VerticalGridConstraint verticalAlign = VerticalGridConstraint.CENTER;
				for(Constraint constraint : componentConstraints) {
					if(constraint instanceof HorizontalGridConstraint)
						horizontalAlign = (HorizontalGridConstraint) constraint;
					else if(constraint instanceof VerticalGridConstraint)
						verticalAlign = (VerticalGridConstraint) constraint;
				}
				switch(horizontalAlign) {
				case FILL:
					componentArea.width = (int) elementWidth;
				case LEFT:
					componentArea.x = (int) (area.x + element * elementWidth);
					break;
				case RIGHT:
					componentArea.x = (int) (area.x
							+ ((element + 1) * elementWidth) - componentArea.width);
					break;
				case CENTER:
					componentArea.x = (int) (area.x + (element * elementWidth)
							+ elementWidth / 2 - componentArea.width / 2);
					break;
				}
				switch(verticalAlign) {
				case FILL:
					componentArea.height = (int) elementHeight;
				case TOP:
					componentArea.y = (int) (area.y + row * elementHeight);
					break;
				case BOTTOM:
					componentArea.y = (int) (area.y
							+ ((row + 1) * elementHeight) - componentArea.height);
					break;
				case CENTER:
					componentArea.y = (int) (area.y + (row * elementHeight)
							+ elementHeight / 2 - componentArea.height / 2);
					break;
				}
			}
		}
	}

	@Override
	public Dimension getOptimalPositionedSize(Rectangle[] componentAreas,
			Constraint[][] constraints) {
		if(componentAreas.length == 0)
			return new Dimension(0, 0);
		int componentsPerColumn, componentsPerRow;
		if(columns == 0) {
			if(rows == 0) {
				double square = Math.sqrt(componentAreas.length);
				componentsPerColumn = (int) square;
				componentsPerRow = (int) square;
				if(square - (int) square > 0)
					componentsPerColumn++;
			} else {
				componentsPerRow = componentAreas.length / rows;
				if(componentAreas.length % rows > 0)
					componentsPerRow++;
				componentsPerColumn = rows;
			}
		} else if(rows == 0) {
			componentsPerColumn = componentAreas.length / columns;
			if(componentAreas.length % columns > 0)
				componentsPerColumn++;
			componentsPerRow = columns;
		} else {
			componentsPerRow = columns;
			componentsPerColumn = rows;
		}
		int maxElementWidth = 0, maxElementHeight = 0;
		for(Rectangle component : componentAreas) {
			maxElementWidth = Math.max(maxElementWidth, component.width);
			maxElementHeight = Math.max(maxElementHeight, component.height);
		}
		return new Dimension(maxElementWidth * componentsPerRow,
				maxElementHeight * componentsPerColumn);
	}

	public int getColumns() {
		return columns;
	}

	public int getRows() {
		return rows;
	}

	public void setColumns(int columns) {
		this.columns = columns;
	}

	public void setRows(int rows) {
		this.rows = rows;
	}

	public enum HorizontalGridConstraint implements Constraint {
		CENTER,
		LEFT,
		RIGHT,
		FILL
	}

	public enum VerticalGridConstraint implements Constraint {
		CENTER,
		TOP,
		BOTTOM,
		FILL
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Muslim Brotherhood is the strongest political force in Egypt, which is holding presidential elections this week, yet opinions are divided over the nature of the movement and what it really wants. A visit to Ismailia, the small city on the Suez Canal where the movement began, provides an insight into the Islamists' goals.
A dredger moves slowly through the glistening, soupy waters of Egypt's Lake Timsah, also known as Crocodile Lake. A Mubarak doll, dressed in faded jeans and with a noose around its neck, hangs at the jetty for the ferry across the Suez Canal.
If it weren't for Hassan al-Banna, there wouldn't be much else to report from Ismailia, a provincial city redolent of eucalyptus, located two hours northeast of Cairo next to Lake Timsah. Banna was a 20-year-old elementary school teacher who came to the city in 1927.
Banna's arrival in Ismailia marked the beginning of a story that has had as much of an impact on Egypt and the world as the famous canal. It is the story of the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to become the strongest organized force in political Islam, as well as a powerful player in Egypt, where a new president will be elected on May 23 and 24. One of the key issues in the election is the question of what role Islam will play in the future life of the republic.
Candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh represents, for the first time, a reasonable chance that a former top member of the Brotherhood could assume one of the most powerful offices in the Arab world. For some it would be the culmination of the revolution, but for more secular skeptics it would mark its end.
It all began in Ismailia on the Suez Canal when Banna decided to take Egypt from the modern age back to its roots. He was the founder of the movement.
The West was to blame, say supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood today. "Why Ismailia?" asks Midhat Saki, a minor official with the Muslim Brotherhood in Ismailia who has a dark, crusty prayer bump on his forehead. He goes on to answer his own question. "Because the colonialists walked around here as if the country belonged to them. They allowed thousands to perish during the construction of the canal."
"They drank wine, built churches and brought missionaries into the country," Saki continues. "Sheikh Banna began the resistance against the missionaries."
The Brotherhood has its headquarters next to an auto parts shop. The chairs are still covered with plastic wrap, and the symbol of the Brotherhood, two crossed swords above the Koran, and the words "Prepare Yourselves," hangs in the stairway.
Saki tells the story of Hassan al-Banna, and of how he and six canal workers founded the first cell against evil -- in the form of Western decadence, exploitation and proselytizing -- and for good -- namely Islamic values, charity and justice. With Banna at its helm, the Brotherhood grew, and had more than half a million members by the time that Banna was shot and killed by an assassin in 1949. Saki relates how the Brotherhood built mosques, hospitals and factories, and how it tried to spread "true Islam" from the bottom up, using itself as a model, instead of from the top down, as the revolutionaries would later do in Iran.
"No violence," says Saki, as he toys with a car key. For decades, the Muslim Brotherhood was brutally repressed at the hands of Egyptian regimes under Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak. He too was beaten, says Saki, when he was in prison.
The Muslim Brotherhood has since become the driving force in the Middle East. It influences politics from Rabat to Damascus, and its growing strength is as feared in Dubai as it is in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh and in the suburbs of London and Paris.
The Brotherhood has about 600,000 members in Egypt today. Its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), became the strongest party in the Egyptian parliament last winter. The Brotherhood has a strict hierarchical structure that is unchanged since Banna's days. Its supreme leader is the chairman of its executive board. The members are organized into cells called "families." Each family consists of five Brothers.
The magazine Foreign Affairs recently compared the movement to Scientology, describing it as secretive, with a sect-like power structure and exercising tight control over its members. The Foreign Ministry in Berlin, however, calls it a "major party capable of securing a majority in the long term." German officials in the ministry see the movement as an Islamic version of Bavaria's conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), devout and sometimes radical in its rhetoric, and yet shaped by the middle class and ultimately pragmatic. Both predispositions exist within the Brotherhood -- that of the sect and that of the big tent party.
In June 1947, Banna sent a list of 50 proposals to the leaders of the Islamic world, and the Egyptian king, in particular. The manifesto, "Towards the Light," is one of his few political texts. To this day, his critics cite it as an indication of how little the supposedly moderate character of the Brotherhood has in common with reality. It reads like something the Taliban could have written.
In the text, Banna calls for the reintroduction of corporal punishment, the moral supervision of government officials, and the prohibition of prostitution, gambling, alcohol and "ostentation in dress and loose behavior."
He demands that dance halls be closed and theater and singing performances be subjected to rigorous control and purified of immoral thoughts. Banna's political program also includes gender separation in schools, the encouragement of memorization of the Koran and the reunification of Islamic countries to form a caliphate.
Today, Banna's manifesto is disseminated on Ikhwanweb, the Brotherhood's international website, which states: "Many of the view points and directives it contains still represent the dearest hope of every Arab and every Muslim."
"Of course we want the caliphate," says Saki. "All Islamic countries must become one nation, but without violence." He gives the interpreter a serious look. Everything else, he says, including Sharia law and clean living, can only be introduced in the long term, and certainly not by decree. "We must serve as role models, so that others will follow."
Then Saki says something that points directly at the core of the movement: "We want to change people. Without violence! First the individual, then the family and then the world."
He is referring to an educational program that culminates in a better human being, which the Brotherhood calls "Renaissance." It explains why the party wants to occupy key positions in education and culture. For the Brotherhood, this is more important in the long term than gaining control over the police or the judiciary.
And it's precisely what worries some people. At the beginning of the month Adel Imam, a popular Egyptian comedian and actor, was convicted of offending Islam. But the films in question, in which he portrays confused, bearded men with prayer bumps on their foreheads, are more than 10 years old.


The RSL10 Solar Cell Multi-Sensor platform is a complete, low-cost solution for developing self-powered sensor nodes using harvested solar energy. Based on the RSL10 SIP- the industry's lowest power Bluetooth ® 5 radio, the RSL10 Solar Cell Multi-Sensor platform supports continuous Bluetooth Low Energy transmission of sensor information without requiring any batteries. The fully-integrated platform features multiple smart sensors, an ultra-low quiescent current LDO regulator (NCP170), and a 2-port connector for the provided solar cell (FlexRB-25-7030 from Ribes Tech). Also included is a low-profile 47 uF storage capacitor and a programming and debug interface.
Fully re-programmable with SEGGER J-Link with Arm® Cortex® Debug connector (10-pin) adapter.
Compatible with BLE Scanner applications (iOS® or Android™).


text:
Biochar for waste management and environmental sustainability
Meththika Vithanage, Anushka Upamali Rajapaksha, Mahtab Ahmad, Yoshiyuki Shinogi, Kye Hoon Kim, Geonha Kim, Yong Sik Ok
Bioproduction Environmental Sciences
Waste management is inadequate in most cities in developing countries, as a significant portion of the population lacks access to a waste-collection service and only a fraction of the generated waste is actually collected. Biochar is potentially an immediate, economically viable solution for reducing the global impact of bio-waste and wastewater. This chapter discusses biochar and its properties and uses for waste management. Despite widespread interest in applying biochar for soil amelioration and potential mitigation of climate change, substantial uncertainties remain about the impact, capacity, and environmental sustainability of biochar production and its applications, particularly in the long term. Due to the irreversibility of applying biochar to soils, any potential risks should be thoroughly examined before widespread use of biochar is adopted.
Sustainable Solid Waste Management
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784414101.ch10
Environmental Science(all)
Vithanage, M., Rajapaksha, A. U., Ahmad, M., Shinogi, Y., Kim, K. H., Kim, G., & Ok, Y. S. (2016). Biochar for waste management and environmental sustainability. In Sustainable Solid Waste Management (pp. 273-292). American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784414101.ch10
Biochar for waste management and environmental sustainability. / Vithanage, Meththika; Rajapaksha, Anushka Upamali; Ahmad, Mahtab; Shinogi, Yoshiyuki; Kim, Kye Hoon; Kim, Geonha; Ok, Yong Sik.
Sustainable Solid Waste Management. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 2016. p. 273-292.
Vithanage, M, Rajapaksha, AU, Ahmad, M, Shinogi, Y, Kim, KH, Kim, G & Ok, YS 2016, Biochar for waste management and environmental sustainability. in Sustainable Solid Waste Management. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), pp. 273-292. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784414101.ch10
Vithanage M, Rajapaksha AU, Ahmad M, Shinogi Y, Kim KH, Kim G et al. Biochar for waste management and environmental sustainability. In Sustainable Solid Waste Management. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). 2016. p. 273-292 https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784414101.ch10
Vithanage, Meththika ; Rajapaksha, Anushka Upamali ; Ahmad, Mahtab ; Shinogi, Yoshiyuki ; Kim, Kye Hoon ; Kim, Geonha ; Ok, Yong Sik. / Biochar for waste management and environmental sustainability. Sustainable Solid Waste Management. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 2016. pp. 273-292
@inbook{1f1f1ef61d494e00b59314f995841cfc,
title = "Biochar for waste management and environmental sustainability",
abstract = "Waste management is inadequate in most cities in developing countries, as a significant portion of the population lacks access to a waste-collection service and only a fraction of the generated waste is actually collected. Biochar is potentially an immediate, economically viable solution for reducing the global impact of bio-waste and wastewater. This chapter discusses biochar and its properties and uses for waste management. Despite widespread interest in applying biochar for soil amelioration and potential mitigation of climate change, substantial uncertainties remain about the impact, capacity, and environmental sustainability of biochar production and its applications, particularly in the long term. Due to the irreversibility of applying biochar to soils, any potential risks should be thoroughly examined before widespread use of biochar is adopted.",
author = "Meththika Vithanage and Rajapaksha, {Anushka Upamali} and Mahtab Ahmad and Yoshiyuki Shinogi and Kim, {Kye Hoon} and Geonha Kim and Ok, {Yong Sik}",
doi = "10.1061/9780784414101.ch10",
isbn = "9780784414101; 9780784414101",
booktitle = "Sustainable Solid Waste Management",
T1 - Biochar for waste management and environmental sustainability
AU - Vithanage, Meththika
AU - Rajapaksha, Anushka Upamali
AU - Ahmad, Mahtab
AU - Shinogi, Yoshiyuki
AU - Kim, Kye Hoon
AU - Kim, Geonha
AU - Ok, Yong Sik
N2 - Waste management is inadequate in most cities in developing countries, as a significant portion of the population lacks access to a waste-collection service and only a fraction of the generated waste is actually collected. Biochar is potentially an immediate, economically viable solution for reducing the global impact of bio-waste and wastewater. This chapter discusses biochar and its properties and uses for waste management. Despite widespread interest in applying biochar for soil amelioration and potential mitigation of climate change, substantial uncertainties remain about the impact, capacity, and environmental sustainability of biochar production and its applications, particularly in the long term. Due to the irreversibility of applying biochar to soils, any potential risks should be thoroughly examined before widespread use of biochar is adopted.
AB - Waste management is inadequate in most cities in developing countries, as a significant portion of the population lacks access to a waste-collection service and only a fraction of the generated waste is actually collected. Biochar is potentially an immediate, economically viable solution for reducing the global impact of bio-waste and wastewater. This chapter discusses biochar and its properties and uses for waste management. Despite widespread interest in applying biochar for soil amelioration and potential mitigation of climate change, substantial uncertainties remain about the impact, capacity, and environmental sustainability of biochar production and its applications, particularly in the long term. Due to the irreversibility of applying biochar to soils, any potential risks should be thoroughly examined before widespread use of biochar is adopted.
U2 - 10.1061/9780784414101.ch10
DO - 10.1061/9780784414101.ch10
SN - 9780784414101; 9780784414101
BT - Sustainable Solid Waste Management
PB - American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
10.1061/9780784414101.ch10

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
🎥 Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Jul 31, 2020 ∙ 3 min read ∙ ★★☆☆☆ ∙ spoilers
The second Avengers film made it standard to have both a giant and a tiny Ant-Man. So, this iteration of Ant-Man does all that and also introduces a second flying tiny superhero called "The Wasp". All this to impress an audience that is already fazed after the events of Infinity War.
The movie begins with a socially awkward FBI agent inflicting what is a thinly veneered monologue on Scott Lang's daughter in order to explain why the Ant-Man has been under house arrest for the past two years. We find out that fraternizing with Captain America is a punishable offense and that both Hank Pym and his daughter Hope are also on the FBI's wanted list. Scott then has a weird dream where it appears as though he is Pym's wife. He secretly contacts Hank and Hope to inform him of this. They then set out on an adventure to recover Pym's wife from what is dubbed the "quantum realm'. They do this while constantly trying to evade a series of foes which includes a phase shifting kung-fu master, an underworld illegal arms supplier and also the FBI. The laboratory-in-a-suitcase gag serves as a recurring MacGuffin, the possession of which is the primary source of contention in the plot.
In the usual Marvel fashion the action is well choreographed, replete with humorous contrast and witty one-liners. The idea of Ant-Man becoming becoming a giant, swimming and intercepting a ferry is possibly the largest and most amusing set piece in the film. The overarching plot manages to be coherent though it risks over-stretching towards the end of its run time.
The primary antagonist is one Ava Starr who is also called the "Ghost" and has phase-shifting capabilities that allow her to walk through walls and other solid objects. Her father dies in a fatal laboratory accident after an apparent betrayal by Hank Pym, early in his career. Thus she wants revenge on Pym and to fix her own situation in the process. The problem with her backstory is that all of it is completely new to the audience and needs to be covered within the already long run time of the film. Her current father figure and guide is another one of Pym's disgruntled assistants, named Bill Foster. Foster's attempt to convey her backstory is a drawn out expository affair interspersed with bland flashbacks. It seems that the movie is also aware of this issue and liberally sprinkles random jokes over the scene to ensure the audience is hooked. This entire subplot is a check mark on a larger list, without any real attachment for the audience. Later on, what should've been a poignant parting moment between Foster and Ava, actually ends up being a very flat series of actions with no real meaning. It is hard to take these emotional moments seriously, when the film itself never wants to.
The other pursuants have far more conventional reasons for acquiring the suitcase ranging from following the law to making huge amounts of money. This causes the other problem of the film, having no true antagonist. One could argue that a MacGuffin chase isn't always about the villains. But introducing villains and then doing a shoddy job of integrating their motivations into the plot is unacceptable.
Overall, the CGI business is the only aspect that holds up. Avoid this one, as you won't remember it anyway.
⟵ Zombieland


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7212bea We export high quantities NSK 7212BEA Bearing and relative products, we have huge stocks for NSK 7212BEA Bearing and relative items, we supply high quality NSK 7212BEA Bearing with reasonbable price or we produce the bearings along with the technical data or relative drawings, It's priority to us to supply best service to our clients.


text:
Q: App Engine Can't get appId from Remote API Java I have used Remote API to have access of Remote Datastore, with authentication options: Google Account API. In my code i have done proper servlet entries in web.xml. Then too, I am getting error log as:

Uncaught exception from servlet
  java.io.IOException: can't get appId from remote api; status code = 404
      at com.google.appengine.tools.remoteapi.RemoteApiInstaller.getAppIdFromServer(RemoteApiInstaller.java:304)
      at com.google.appengine.tools.remoteapi.RemoteApiInstaller.loginImpl(RemoteApiInstaller.java:267)
      at com.google.appengine.tools.remoteapi.RemoteApiInstaller.login(RemoteApiInstaller.java:228)

I have also tried it for different SDKs (1.5.2 & 1.6.4) but I am getting the same log.
My web.xml code is:
<servlet>
    <display-name>Remote API Servlet</display-name>
    <servlet-name>RemoteApiServlet</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>com.google.apphosting.utils.remoteapi.RemoteApiServlet</servlet-class>
    <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>RemoteApiServlet</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>/remote_api</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

<servlet>
    <servlet-name>CPUstats</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>controller.CPUstatsServlet </servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>CPUstats</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>/cpustats</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
.
.
.

The command-line I am running is:
..\bin>appcfg.cmd -e gggodhwani@gmail.com --enable_jar_splitting update C:\Gaurav\New-projects\Crawler1.4\war

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
This is how massive student developments will transform Swansea's city centre
Cranes and diggers are on site in several locations as blocks and towers start rising upwards
Richard YouleLocal Democracy Reporter
Swansea from above, before a series of purpose-built student accommodation came to the city
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From High Street to SA1 and the Tawe riverside to The Kingsway, large student developments are starting to materialise across Swansea.
The soft whirring of cranes and clickety-clack of earth movers have become part of the city's background din.
By September 2020, nearly 2,000 student bedrooms will be ready for occupation in four substantial developments.
A year later, two further schemes will open their doors to another 1,425 students and postgraduates.
Meanwhile, more accommodation is being built at Swansea University's Bay Campus, although students are being moved out of Hendrefoilan Student Village in Killay.
Investors in these schemes will hope student numbers at the city's two universities - now well over 20,000 - rise in line with forecasts to provide a financial return.
Council chiefs will hope these purpose-built accommodation blocks will help reinvigorate the city centre - during term time at least - without causing major parking problems.
Man held as 'slave' for two years and subjected to brutal beatings
People living in places like Brynmill, Uplands and St Thomas will hope they halt the march of houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).
Speaking at a council meeting this month, cabinet member for delivery David Hopkins said he wanted students to be fully integrated in the city, giving them a reason to stay and potentially boost the economy further.
"For far too long we've had entrepreneurs who go elsewhere," he said.
Cabinet colleague, councillor Robert Francis-Davies, said 19% of Swansea's population lived in the city centre, considerably lower than comparable cities.
"We are lucky to have two universities that are growing," said Cllr Francis-Davies.
He added: "What we want is a lot more accommodation - social housing, affordable housing, private housing. We need that social mix in the city centre."
Here we take a look at the largest student developments under way or in the pipeline in Swansea.
The Unigate Dairy site, Morfa Distributor Road
The former Unigate Dairy site, Morfa Distributor Road, as it is now
This is how the finished scheme will look
This £34 million Bricks Capital scheme will deliver 706 bedrooms in four blocks of five and six storeys.
It will have a cinema, library, gym, cafe and numerous bike spaces.
It is due to be ready for occupation for the start of the 2020-21 academic year.
Kings Road, SA1
The Kings Road site in SA1, as it is now
How the 645-bed apartment block will look
After a lengthy planning wrangle and a change of site owner, this £45 million development on the banks of the River Tawe will eventually be home to 645 students.
The Crown Student Living scheme will be nine storeys at its highest, and host a gym, small cinema and canteen.
It will cater mainly for overseas students, and be completed by September 2021.
Oldway Centre, High Street
The Oldway Centre, High Street, as it is now
How the Oldway Centre will look when completed
This slab-like building facing High Street and Orchard Street has been enmeshed in scaffolding for what seems like an eternity.
The wraps will come off this summer when it opens in September for 556 students, complete with a games area, cinema room and courtyard, after a wholesale facelift costing more than £30 million.
Coppergate, The Kingsway
The Coppergate development on The Kingsway is making quick progress
How the Coppergate development will look (Image: DAY Architectural)
With an estimated build cost of £17 million, this 310-bed development will also welcome its first tenants in September 2019.
The building will comprise a 14-storey tower and two six-storey blocks, a central courtyard and some commercial space.
St David's site, New Cut Road
Work is under way on the final phase of the St David's student development, New Cut Road
Much of the St David's student development has already been built
The final phase of this huge 967-bed student development will be six to seven storeys, and house 245 students.
A large crane has swung into action as contractors prepare the building for occupation next year.
There have been parking issues at this site, prompting residents living in an adjacent estate to employ a private management company to deal with students' parked cars.
Mariner Street car park, opposite Swansea rail station
Diggers are now on site at the Mariner Street car park plot
How the Mariner Street scheme will look (Image: Corstorphine + Wright)
The biggest of the lot - this site is now being cleared by earth movers, ready for a 780-bed development with some commercial space.
The £50 million scheme will reach 17 storeys into the sky and be seen as a gateway into Swansea by train passengers and city centre-bound motorists driving along High Street and Dyfatty Street.
The first students are expected there in September 2021.
Schemes which have not gone ahead
A number of other student developments in Swansea have, however, not progressed - for now at least.
These include one at a prime site in Swansea Marina, and another on St Helen's Road.
Trawler Road, Swansea Marina
The empty Trawler Road plot, Swansea Marina
How the Trawler Road side was expected to look when planning permission was approved in 2016
This four to six-storey development at the old Spontex site - once earmarked for a 164-bed hotel - has lain dormant since Swansea Council granted planning permission in 2016.
Three commercial units are planned as part of the 287-bed student scheme, which is a stone's throw from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David's new SA1 Waterfront campus.
The Local Democracy Reporter Service has been unable to contact the applicant.
Jockey Street, near Swansea railway station
This is the Jockey Street site, near Swansea rail station
Image of the student block at Jockey Street which was turned down - new plans are being drawn up
This six to 14-storey scheme for 414 students was turned down by Swansea Council's planning committee.
A Welsh Government-appointed planning inspector upheld the refusal decision, describing the design as "monolithic".
A spokesman for the applicant said a new planning application was being prepared for a smaller development.
Former Sun Alliance House, St Helen's Road
The former Sun Alliance House, St Helen's Road, as it is now
Planning permission was granted for this office block to be converted into 78 student studios in 2016, but the conversion hasn't happened as yet.
University of Wales Trinity St David
St David's


text:
Date of Acceptance 22-Sep-2021
Keywords: Laparoscopic hernia repair, literature review, mesh repair, obturator hernia
Mazzola Poli de Figueiredo S, Tastaldi L, Mao RMD, Lu R, Tyler D, Perez A. A case report and a contemporary review of incarcerated and strangulated obturator hernia repair. Int J Abdom Wall Hernia Surg 2021;4:166-73
Mazzola Poli de Figueiredo S, Tastaldi L, Mao RMD, Lu R, Tyler D, Perez A. A case report and a contemporary review of incarcerated and strangulated obturator hernia repair. Int J Abdom Wall Hernia Surg [serial online] 2021 [cited 2022 Jan 20];4:166-73. Available from: http://www.herniasurgeryjournal.org/text.asp?2021/4/4/166/334564
Obturator hernias (OHs) are rare and usually seen in frail elderly female patients with multiple comorbidities.[1],[2] The symptoms are often related to an acute small bowel obstruction. Mortality has been reported to reach up to 47.6%,[3],[4],[5],[6],[7],[8] warranting prompt surgical intervention.
Numerous techniques have been described to repair OH,[1] traditionally being an exploratory laparotomy with primary hernia repair and bowel resection, if indicated. With the advancements in minimally invasive surgery, several authors reported that laparoscopic repair of incarcerated OH is feasible and has lower incidence of postoperative complications.[4],[5],[6],[9],[10],[11],[12]
Laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal hernioplasty (TAPP) is favored in the setting of acute incarceration,[13] as it permits inspection of the abdominal cavity, assessment of bowel viability and allows for wide mesh coverage of the myopectineal orifice, thus decreasing recurrence rates.[7],[12] Although ideal, sometimes laparoscopic TAPP may not be possible. An open primary repair is also appropriate in the setting of significant small bowel distention, strangulation, patient's inability to tolerate the pneumoperitoneum, and the surgeon's lack of experience with laparoscopy.
Given its rarity, literature regarding OH is limited to small case series and case reports, with most of them lacking long-term follow-up. We aim at reporting the use of a laparoscopic TAPP approach for the repair of bilateral recurrent OHs after an early recurrence from an open transabdominal repair. In addition, we sought to review the literature focusing on outcomes comparison between different techniques in OH repair.
A literature search was conducted using the keyword "obturator hernia" in the PubMed database on July 10, 2020. Inclusion criteria were studies that: (1) were written in the English language and were published within the past 10 years; (2) included as keywords the terms "obturator hernia" and/or "incarcerated" and/or "strangulated"; (3) reported the operative approach used for repair; and (4) reported postoperative outcomes.
The outcomes of interest included surgical approach, use of mesh, length of hospital stay, overall complications, mortality, and long-term hernia recurrence.
Informed patient consent was obtained for publication of the case details, and all identifying information was removed to protect patient privacy. The local institutional review board approved the study.
An 84-year-old woman with a body mass index (BMI) of 14 kg/m2 presented to the emergency department with a one-week history of intermittent right groin pain that had worsened within the past 24 h accompanied by nausea, absence of flatus, and bowel movement for two days. Her medical history included hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Four months earlier, the patient had similar symptoms and was found to have a small bowel obstruction from an acutely incarcerated right OH [Figure 1] and [Figure 2]. At that time, the patient underwent an open primary repair via a midline incision. A contralateral OH was noted and repaired. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course and was discharged on postoperative Day 7.
Figure 1: Preoperative CT (axial view) showing small bowel obstruction with right-sided OH at first presentation (red arrow)
Figure 2: Preoperative CT (coronal view) showing small bowel obstruction with right-sided OH at first presentation (red arrow)
She was readmitted to the hospital for observation on postoperative Day 19 due to abdominal pain secondary to constipation, as imaging did not show any signs of recurrence or postoperative complications [Figure 3]. On physical examination, the patient had abdominal distension and right lower quadrant tenderness. There were no palpable abdominal or inguinal masses. A leukocytosis of 15,000 was noted. A computed tomography (CT) abdomen and pelvis was obtained, which demonstrated dilated loops of small bowel with a recurrent right OH [Figure 4]. Given the earlier findings, the decision was made to proceed with emergent diagnostic laparoscopy.
Figure 3: CT performed during readmission from index operation on postoperative day 19 without any signs of recurrence
Figure 4: Preoperative CT showing small bowel obstruction with right-sided recurrent OH four months after index operation (red arrow)
On entry to the abdomen, an incarceration of the antimesenteric border of a loop of small bowel (Richter-type hernia) was noted on the right obturator foramen. The bowel was reduced and noted to be viable. A recurrent left OH was identified. A laparoscopic TAPP bilateral recurrent OH repair was then performed with permanent synthetic mesh [Figure 5] and [Figure 6]. Her postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged home 9 h after the operation. On her two-week [Figure 7] and six months' postoperative follow-up, the patient was asymptomatic. A comparison between the two admissions requiring surgical intervention can be seen in [Table 1].
Figure 5: Intraoperative finding of bilateral recurrent OH (red arrows)
Figure 6: Mesh placement
Figure 7: Patient at two weeks postoperatively
Table 1: Comparison of the two operative interventions performed in our patient
A total of 225 studies were found using our keywords in the PubMed database, and 53 studies met the inclusion criteria for our analysis. The total number of patients pooled from all studies is 425. The mean age of the patients was 83.3 years old; 419 (98.6%) were females and six (1.4%) were males. The mean BMI was 18.1 kg/m2.
Fifty articles reported laterality of the OH, including 289 patients. Among those patients, 60 (20.8%) were found to have bilateral OH. For discrimination of left- and right-side OH prevalence, we excluded three studies that did not mention any laterality other than the presence of bilateral hernias, including a total of 200 patients. In these patients, there were 137 (51.7%) left-sided OHs and 128 (48.3%) right-sided OHs. Forty-seven patients (23.5%) had bilateral OHs. Thirty-five articles mentioned laterality based on preoperative workup and laterality found intraoperatively, including 98 patients. The incidence of occult contralateral hernia found intraoperatively was 12.2% (12 patients).
In patients who underwent open surgery, 239 (56.2%) had primary repair whereas 121 (28.5%) had mesh repair. In the group who had laparoscopic repair, 44 (10.4%) underwent mesh repair and 21 (4.9%) underwent primary repair. Overall, SBR was performed in 171 (40%) patients: 161 patients in the open group and 10 in the laparoscopic group.
Perioperative outcomes
An open approach was performed in 360 patients, and 161 (44.7%) of these patients underwent SBR. The mean hospital LOS was 13.4 days, and the rate of postoperative complications was 40.3% [Table 2]. Postoperative complications included: prolonged ileus, pneumonia, congestive heart failure exacerbation, respiratory failure, arrhythmias, Clostridium difficile infection, surgical site infection, and surgical site hematoma. The 30-day mortality rate in patients who underwent open repair was 9.7%. A laparoscopic approach was performed in 65 patients, and 10 (15.4%) underwent SBR. The mean LOS in the laparoscopic group was 7.9 days, and the rate of postoperative complications was 3.1%. No patients who underwent laparoscopic repair died within 30 days of operation.
Table 2: Comparison of postoperative outcomes in open and laparoscopic approach
Differences in patients who underwent small bowel resection/repair and no small bowel resection/repair
A total of 181 patients were selected for an analysis of the difference in the outcomes of patients who underwent SBR/repair (55 patients) or not (126 patients). The laparoscopic approach was used in 43.6% of patients in the non-SBR group and in 14% of patients in the SBR group [Table 3]. The mean LOS was 9.5 days in patients who did not undergo bowel resection/repair and it was 17.7 days in patients who underwent bowel resection/repair. The complication rate was 16% and 30-day mortality rate was 3.2% in the non-SBR group, whereas they were 50.9% and 10.9%, respectively, in the SBR group.
Table 3: Postoperative outcomes on patient with bowel resection and without bowel resection
Open versus laparoscopic approach in patients who did not undergo small bowel resection
A total of 126 patients who did not undergo SBR were selected. An open approach was performed in 71 patients (56.3%). These patients had a mean LOS of 12 days, a postoperative complication rate of 25.3%, and a 30-day mortality rate of 5.6% [Table 4]. A laparoscopic approach was used in 55 patients (45.7%). These patients had a mean LOS of 6.5 days, a postoperative complication rate of 3.6% and no deaths occurred within 30 days of surgery.
Table 4: Postoperative outcomes on patient who did not undergo bowel resection
Long-term outcomes and recurrence
The pooled recurrence rate of laparoscopic and open repairs was 7.7%, with a mean follow-up of 20.5 months. The overall recurrence rate in the open group was 7.9%; open repair with mesh demonstrated a recurrence rate of 0.9% and open repair without mesh exhibited a recurrence rate of 11.4% at a mean follow-up of 21.3 months. The overall recurrence rate in the laparoscopic repair group was 6.1% with a mean follow-up of 37.5 months; all of them were from laparoscopic primary repair, which had a 25% recurrence rate. No recurrences were reported with laparoscopic mesh repairs. Regardless of the surgical approach, only one recurrence was reported in mesh repair (0.7%), whereas 28 (12.1%) were reported with non-mesh repair [Table 5]. Eleven studies (20.7%) reported a follow-up period greater than 24 months, with a total of 232 patients (54.5%). Of these patients with reported long-term outcomes, the long-term mortality was found to be 40.9% with a mean follow-up of four years (48.6 months). Studies that had a mean follow-up of more than two years reported 79.3% of all recurrences noted overall (23 out of 29).
Table 5: Recurrence rates on mesh and non-mesh repair group (mean follow-up of 20.5 months)
OHs are rare and account for only 0.07%–1% of all abdominal wall hernias and 0.2%–1.6% of all small bowel obstructions.[1] With the steady increase in the elderly population, the advent of imaging such as computed abdominal tomography, and the increase in laparoscopic abdominal wall hernia repair, the number of patients diagnosed with OH is increasing.[3],[7],[14] As observed in our review of the literature, this condition is predominant in females (98.6% of patients) due to a wider pelvis and greater diameter of the obturator canal.[2] Low BMI is also associated with herniation in the area due to a loss of preperitoneal fat within the obturator foramen. Comorbidities such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, constipation, and kyphoscoliosis are additional risk factors for herniation.[2] Our patient demonstrated many of these characteristics.
The clinical presentation is usually nonspecific, with the classic finding of medial thigh pain caused by compression of the obturator nerve (Howship Romberg sign) being present in less than 50% of the cases.[8] Thus, imaging modalities are important tools in the diagnosis of OHs, with CT imaging reported to have 90% sensitivity.[5],[8] We observed a significant prevalence of bilateral OHs (20.8%), which is higher than previously reported.[2] This finding is likely secondary to better detection with imaging and an increase in laparoscopic OH repair. Even with the liberal use of CT for preoperative workup and its high sensitivity, we found that 12.2% of patients had an occult contralateral OH. Bilateral disease can be an important consideration regarding the choice of operative technique, as postoperative incarceration in the contralateral side of the repair has been described.[15],[16]
Given the elderly and frail characteristic of this patient population as well as the tendency to present with small bowel obstruction, mortality rate is estimated to range from 10% to 47.6%.[3],[6],[7],[8],[14],[17] A few studies reported long-term survival, but it has been described to be 74% at two years and 55% in five years.[7] Early operative intervention is associated with a decreased need for bowel resection and overall mortality.[1],[3],[18],[19] Our patient was taken urgently to the operating room within 8 h of presentation in both hospital admissions and did not have signs of bowel necrosis at either time of operative intervention.
Since most patients present with acute small bowel obstruction, exploratory laparotomy is commonly performed. However, many other options exist, including open extra-abdominal approaches (preperitoneal, obturator, and inguinal) and laparoscopic approaches (TAPP and TEP).[1] Laparoscopic repair was previously thought to be restricted to elective repairs, but recently many studies have demonstrated that laparoscopic repair is feasible in the setting of incarceration, has a lower hospital LOS and incidence of postoperative complications.[4],[5],[6],[9],[10],[11],[12] Our patient had significant differences in hospital LOS when comparing both hospital admissions (0.6 days vs. 7 days), which is more likely attributed to the difference in surgical approach. Our review of the literature also highlights the advantages of the laparoscopic approach on postoperative recovery in patients with OHs. Laparoscopic repair had almost half of the hospital LOS of open repair, more than a 10-fold decrease in postoperative complications, and no deaths within 30 days of repair whereas open repair had 9.7% 30-day mortality. It is important to highlight that more patients in the open repair group underwent SBR, which was associated with worse postoperative outcomes, as shown in [Table 3]. Laparoscopic repair demonstrated improved postoperative outcomes regardless of bowel resection [Table 4]. It is evident that laparoscopic approaches are advantageous in comparison to open surgery.
There are no studies comparing TAPP and TEP for OH repair; but given that TAPP allows you to perform a full inspection of the abdominal cavity, assessment of bowel viability, and improved ability to manipulate incarcerated viscera, we suggest that TAPP should be the preferred technique in the setting of incarceration. Studies comparing TAPP and TEP were performed in inguinal and femoral hernia repairs, and TAPP was reported to be the preferred approach in the setting of incarceration.[13]
Multiple techniques for OH repair have been described, including primary repair, use of tissue flaps, coverage with adjacent structures, and use of prosthetic materials. Similar to the repair of other abdominal wall hernias, mesh placement is associated with less recurrence than tissue repair in OHs.[12] In our study, overall recurrence was similar in the open and laparoscopic repair group but the use of mesh resulted in significantly less recurrences in both groups, suggesting that recurrences are more affected by mesh placement rather than the surgical approach. Given that our patient did not have a strangulated bowel at the first operative intervention, use of mesh could have prevented a recurrence of the index operation and prevented a second emergent operation.
Based on our review of the literature, only 54.5% of the patients described in the literature with OH have a follow-up of more than two years. This is concerning for the underreporting of OH recurrence given that the mean follow-up period until recurrence is 23 months.[7] Follow-up more than two years reported almost 80% of the recurrences described in the literature. Even with the underestimated prevalence of OH recurrence, we found clinically significant less recurrence in mesh repairs (0.7%) than non-mesh repairs (12.1%). Given these findings, mesh should be used in OH repair unless contraindicated.
The setting of a strangulated OH with compromised small bowel is challenging and has been associated with an increase in mortality and postoperative complications.[14] Exploratory laparotomy is even more common in this scenario, but recently studies have shown that laparoscopy can also be performed. These minimally invasive approaches include a two-staged repair or hybrid procedure utilizing both minimally invasive and open techniques.[9],[12],[20]
The literature is limited on operative intervention for recurrent OHs given the rarity of the disease.[21],[22],[23] Laparoscopic TAPP repair is even more infrequent.[21] To our knowledge, this is the first report of laparoscopic TAPP repair after an early recurrence (four months) from an open transabdominal approach. We believe that laparoscopic TAPP is feasible in this setting and allows patients a significantly better perioperative outcome.
There are several limitations in our review of the literature analysis. Due to its rarity, the literature available on patients with OH is restricted to case reports and retrospective studies with significant heterogenicity. Despite focusing on incarcerated/strangulated OH repair, we included six patients who underwent elective repair and who were a part of two studies. We believe that these six patients do not affect our results greatly and the exclusion of these two studies would significantly impact the results of the study due to a decrease in the study population size. Despite the limitations mentioned earlier, we believe that our study is relevant in the setting of a rare disease and its results can more likely have an impact on the postoperative outcomes of these patients.
Although contemporary data suggest that laparoscopic OH repair is associated with enhanced postoperative recovery and that the use of mesh is associated with less recurrence than non-mesh repairs, OHs are still most commonly repaired open without mesh. Laparoscopic TAPP is a valuable option in the repair of incarcerated OH, even in the setting of an early recurrence from a previous open transabdominal approach as our case presentation demonstrates. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal approach for OH repair in the setting of incarceration and strangulation, but a laparoscopic mesh-based repair should be performed when patient and local conditions allow.
Drs. Sergio Mazzola Poli de Figueiredo, Richard Lu, Douglas Tyler, and Alexander Perez have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.
Stamatiou D, Skandalakis LJ, Zoras O, Mirilas P. Obturator hernia revisited: Surgical anatomy, embryology, diagnosis, and technique of repair. Am Surg 2011;77:1147-57.
Petrie A, Tubbs RS, Matusz P, Shaffer K, Loukas M. Obturator hernia: Anatomy, embryology, diagnosis, and treatment. Clin Anat 2011;24:562-9.
Rodríguez-Hermosa JI, Codina-Cazador A, Maroto-Genover A, Puig-Alcántara J, Sirvent-Calvera JM, Garsot-Savall E, et al. Obturator hernia: Clinical analysis of 16 cases and algorithm for its diagnosis and treatment. Hernia 2008;12:289-97.
Kohga A, Kawabe A, Okumura T, Yamashita K, Isogaki J, Suzuki K. Laparoscopic repair is a treatment of choice for selected patients with incarcerated obturator hernia. Hernia 2018;22:887-95.
Liu J, Zhu Y, Shen Y, Liu S, Wang M, Zhao X, et al. The feasibility of laparoscopic management of incarcerated obturator hernia. Surg Endosc 2017;31:656-60.
Ng DC, Tung KL, Tang CN, Li MK. Fifteen-year experience in managing obturator hernia: From open to laparoscopic approach. Hernia 2014;18:381-6.
Karasaki T, Nomura Y, Tanaka N. Long-term outcomes after obturator hernia repair: Retrospective analysis of 80 operations at a single institution. Hernia 2014;18:393-7.
Nasir BS, Zendejas B, Ali SM, Groenewald CB, Heller SF, Farley DR. Obturator hernia: The mayo clinic experience. Hernia 2012;16:315-9.
Chihara N, Suzuki H, Sukegawa M, Nakata R, Nomura T, Yoshida H. Is the laparoscopic approach feasible for reduction and herniorrhaphy in cases of acutely incarcerated/strangulated groin and obturator hernia?: 17-year experience from open to laparoscopic approach. J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A 2019;29:631-7.
Yokoyama T, Kobayashi A, Kikuchi T, Hayashi K, Miyagawa S. Transabdominal preperitoneal repair for obturator hernia. World J Surg 2011;35:2323-7.
Karashima R, Kimura M, Taura N, Shimokawa Y, Nishimura T, Baba H. Total extraperitoneal approach for incarcerated obturator hernia repair. Hernia 2016;20:479-82.
Kawanaka H, Hiroshige S, Kubo N, Hirashita T, Masuda T, Kaisyakuji Y, et al. Therapeutic strategy for incarcerated obturator hernia using preoperative manual reduction and laparoscopic repair. J Am Coll Surg 2018;226:891-901.
Felix EL, Michas CA, Gonzalez MH Jr. Laparoscopic hernioplasty. TAPP vs TEP. Surg Endosc 1995;9:984-9.
Hisamatsu Y, Yamagata M, Miyazaki M, Wang H, Tanaka S, Yoshida T, et al. Impact of bowel resection on postoperative mortality in patients with obturator hernias. Hernia 2019;23:317-22.
Hayama S, Ohtaka K, Takahashi Y, Ichimura T, Senmaru N, Hirano S. Laparoscopic reduction and repair for incarcerated obturator hernia: Comparison with open surgery. Hernia 2015;19:809-14.
Rubay D, Ohanisian L, Shin R, Hristov B, Yeguez J. Asynchronous bilateral obturator hernias: A suggested approach to reduce morbidity of obturator hernias. Cureus 2019;11:e5260.
Yokoyama Y, Yamaguchi A, Isogai M, Hori A, Kaneoka Y. Thirty-six cases of obturator hernia: Does computed tomography contribute to postoperative outcome? World J Surg 1999;23:214-6; discussion 217.
Igari K, Ochiai T, Aihara A, Kumagai Y, Iida M, Yamazaki S. Clinical presentation of obturator hernia and review of the literature. Hernia 2010;14:409-13.
Yip AW, AhChong AK, Lam KH. Obturator hernia: A continuing diagnostic challenge. Surgery 1993;113:266-9.
Joe C, Gowda V, Koganti S. Laparoscopic assisted repair of strangulated obturator hernia-way to go. Int J Surg Case Rep 2019;61:246-9.
Amiki M, Goto M, Tomizawa Y, Sugiyama A, Sakon R, Inoue T, et al. Laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal hernioplasty for recurrent obturator hernia: A case report. Asian J Endosc Surg 2020;13:457-60.
Castro-Boix S, Grau-Llacuna S, Montané-Sala E, Villalobos-Mori R, Pradell-Teigell J, Boqué-Genovard R, et al. Recurrent obturator hernia in an 85-year-old patient. Cir Esp 2006;79:131.
De Greve TJ, Webb PM, Yuide PJ, Muduioa GK. How to do a uterine flap as a novel way to repair recurrent obstructed obturator hernia in an elderly female patient. ANZ J Surg 2020;90:152-3.
[Figure 1], [Figure 2], [Figure 3], [Figure 4], [Figure 5], [Figure 6], [Figure 7]


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Constant Contact Mashup
Constant Contact have actually been in the email marketing game considering that 1995. Throughout that time, they've managed to turn into one of the most used e-mail devices on the planet, after Mailchimp.
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What makes them unique is that they've added numerous attributes for many years that few of their competitors sporting activity, such as digital item downloads, occasion management, consultation organizing and also social projects. These all include in the varied listing of e-mail choices offered, in addition to automations and persisting e-newsletters.
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Is Constant Contact the ideal e-newsletter service for you?
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Classic, autoresponders, basic automations, persisting newsletters, A/B testing, occasion registrations, surveys, coupons as well as polls .
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Different levels of account access
The Account Owner can likewise appoint functions to be either an Account Manager or a Campaign Creator.
Constant Contact offer a substantial amount of apps and also integrations , virtually 400.
This is just offered by means of their form building contractor, and it's really standard. Instead, we would certainly advise these cost-free touchdown web page home builders.
There are a number of networks of assistance, consisting of live conversation, phone assistance, a expertise base and community-based assistance. I found that the chat as well as phone support weren't constantly available, which was a little frustrating.
General score.
For a basic email device, Constant Contact ticks the majority of packages. The main problem below, though, is that they're asking a premium price for a sub-premium product.
Final thought.
As Constant Contact themselves state with their site, they are a tool for local business. And, as such, it's worth examining them on these terms. As stated over, they definitely have enough of the basics covered to please most small companies, as well as if it were as straightforward as that then we would certainly recommend them much more highly.
The problem, these days, is that there are plenty of other email devices using a lot more than Constant Contact, as well as for a whole lot less money. This consists of not just features, however likewise user experience. In fact, for the quantity you pay with Constant Contact, you can find yourself using a lot more effective devices such as ActiveCampaign as well as GetResponse.
And also with recent enhancements to automations and reporting, and also the addition of new attributes like a website contractor, it does look like they're making an initiative to enhance the product. Their absence of sophisticated functions makes it hard to advise them over others at this cost factor.
So, there you have it: the following time you see Constant Contact as the number 1 ranked solution anywhere around the internet, I would boldly claim that there could be other rate of interests at play there.
Attempt Constant Contact currently free of charge for 30 days.
ActiveCampaign has among one of the most advanced automation systems we've ever before attempted, as well as it can not be contrasted to Constant Contact's simple method (it only features autoresponders). They additionally provide robust records and also analysis tools. They are even cheaper than Constant Contact.
Sendinblue is just one of the least expensive all-in-one email advertising and marketing tools on the marketplace. It's offered in 6 languages and also features innovative automation choices and also a integrated CRM.
GetResponse is a solid choice. It features lots of innovative attributes (e.g. a webinar device), provides as well as has excellent automations among the very best spam and layout screening tools we've ever utilized. That's why Constant Contact falls short when compared to GetResponse.
We have a in-depth guide with the most effective alternatives to Constant Contact, check it out below. You can also try out our Smart Finder to see which newsletter service is finest fit to you.
Mailchimp beats Constant Contact pass on. Take a appearance at our Mailchimp vs Constant Contact comparison if you 'd such as to obtain into the details.
Constant Contact, in partnership with SharpSpring, supplies an all-in-one CRM platform. At $399/month, you 'd be much far better off taking a appearance at any of these CRMs for tiny services, which will be much extra budget-friendly. There are even plenty of exceptional cost-free CRMs to select from.
How can I terminate my Constant Contact subscription?
Frustratingly, you'll need to call Constant Contact within company hours Eastern time in order to terminate your account. Right here is the number for the United States and Canada: 855-229-5506.
Constant Contact is a legitimate e-mail advertising and marketing software application for local business. It securely stores your customer data as well as offers a safe and secure method to handle your subscribers.
Constant Contact deliverability – is it any type of great?
Despite these fancy numbers and also attributes, passion in Constant Contact appears to be on the decline, at least according to Google Trends. As Constant Contact themselves reiterate via their website, they are a tool for little services. The issue, these days, is that there are plenty of various other e-mail devices offering also much more than Constant Contact, as well as for a lot less money. For the quantity you pay with Constant Contact, you could find yourself making use of a lot more effective devices such as ActiveCampaign and also GetResponse.
ActiveCampaign has one of the most advanced automation systems we've ever before attempted, and it can't be compared to Constant Contact's simple approach (it just features autoresponders).
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The visionaries saw what our forefathers saw that all people will be wealthy, with the pursuit of happiness. The Prime Law only brings us back to what the Constitution stated originally by our forefathers. So let embrace and vote for the Prime Law. Let our geniuses soar like an eagle as they were meant to be.
Those who find that this is their Friday Night Essence Run TVP I'll see you there.


If the antics of Sherman and Peabody, who were owners of a "way-back machine," were any indication, time has a way of being fluid.
Einstein, one of the smartest guys I know of, believed there was a "space-time continuum" (or is that Sheldon, from the "Big Bang Theory") (or both?) in that time is like a river, flowing in eddies and currents, traveling sometimes backwards, forwards, stopping, and starting, slowly and quickly, but not always in the same direction, or the same speed.
H.G.Wells wrote his amazing book of touring through time around the same period that Jules Verne envisioned a time of fantastic travel.
Thinking about these possibilities, I firmly believe that I have been a passenger in one of these time machines. Otherwise, I wouldn't be wondering where in the world my summer went since my last posting.
Avast! I say, Avast! My time ship beckoned and I apparently boarded.
Of course, I did have a multitude of activities which kept me busy during those extremely hot days of summer.
And August! So much was done in August, the most time consuming one being the packing up and moving from my lovely downtown loft to a two-story town home in the suburbs.
Now that things seem to have settled down quite a bit (other than a contentious presidential race) I am planning to devote more time to reading my list of lovely blogs again, and posting!
Suffice to say that I have (as yet) fallen off the face of the earth.
A busy summer indeed! A house move is enough to occupy anyone for a year or more. Love your photos of Yosemite.


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EPB Announces Educational partners for "ArtSpark Goes to School"
Chattanooga, TN (August 27, 2018) – After a three-month application and selection process, five Hamilton County teachers and three schools have been selected to compete in EPB's ArtSpark Goes to School pilot educational program. Launched in April 2018, ArtSpark is a collaboration of community partners that engages students through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) education to create artwork for public places while learning about electricity.
The schools and teachers selected for "ArtSpark Goes to School" are: Sherri Heinz, the Howard School; Katie Claiborne, Hixson High School; Lacey Jones, Hixson High School; Chad Burnette, Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts (CCA); Justin Black, Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts (CCA).
"Unleashing the power of our students' creativity and giving our teachers an opportunity to teach real-life professional concepts is one way EPB is supporting our schools," said Elizabeth Hammitt, EPB Director of Community & Environmental Stewardship. "Through these strong partnerships, our community will be showcasing this student work in some of the most frequently traveled areas of our city."
The "ArtSpark Goes to School" theme for 2018 is "The Beauty of Electricity," which pays tribute to the important moments in life that are powered by electricity. Students will learn how to design a work of art, which will be translated into a vinyl wrap to cover five prominent downtown-area EPB utility boxes. The lesson plan has been created by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and its Southeast Center for Education in the Arts, with input from community partners. EPB employees will help students understand Chattanooga's smart grid and graphic design, and assist them through the professional artist's process while teaching real-life job skills and integrating art into STEAM-related themes.
"We are excited for high school Art students to create and display work for the Chattanooga community through 'ArtSpark Goes to School'," said Claire Stockman, Content Lead for the Arts, Hamilton County Schools. "This opportunity provides students knowledge and experience in STEAM subjects and expands their worldview outside the classroom. Our teachers, in partnership with EPB, the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts, and other partners, will facilitate lessons that will help our students shine."
EPB's "ArtSpark Goes to School" program is a partnership with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and its Southeast Center for the Creative Arts, River City Company, Hamilton County Schools (HCDE), Public Art Chattanooga and ArtsBuild.
Students will complete their designs by October 2018, and an independent community panel will determine one winner from each of the five classes. All of the students' work will be celebrated and revealed during a public event later in the fall. For more information, please visit https://epb.com/community/artspark.
In addition to the student program, there is an option for professional artists to design vinyl wraps for downtown traffic signal cabinets led by River City Company, in partnership with Public Art Chattanooga and the Chattanooga Department of Transportation. For more information on that program, please visit www.artsparkcha.com.
EPB has also utilized its community-wide fiber optic network to deploy the most advanced and highly automated smart grid power management system in the nation. In recognition of EPB's groundbreaking infrastructure, the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are utilizing EPB's smart grid as a national model for researching and developing best practices. EPB is also the first major power distribution utility to earn the USGBC's PEER certification for having a highly automated, modernized electric power grid. Go to EPB.com for more information.


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Procrastinate much? Every working woman does it one way or another.
So…if you're doing it, you're in good company!
But still, procrastination is your worst enemy…so, come to think of it, there's not a damn good thing about it, other than the company you're in! I wish I could say that procrastination is something you can somehow remove from your life, but…nah. It doesn't work like that.
But how does it work? If you understood that, you might understand how to tame your urge to procrastinate in the first place. You may never be able to completely rid yourself of it, but taming it and keeping it at bay…that you can do!
And as a busy working woman, that you need to do!
In English, when you procrastinate, you're delaying the performance of a task.
It's a simple problem…but dealing with it can be complex nonetheless.
But when you know you need to do something, why is it that you'll avoid doing that very thing anyway? Is it just laziness? Sloth? Sadomasochism?
Well, you usually put off things that you should be focusing on now in order to focus on other things that are more enjoyable or comfortable for you. As a busy working woman, we usually juggle a baker's dozen's worth of flaming torches–house, spouse, kid, worship, work, commute, etc. We often have so much to do that it's overwhelming.
So how do we deal with that overwhelm and uncertainty?
By selecting comfort and certainty, that's how.
This is why you'll have an immaculately clean house but you'll have made no cold calls and/or finished no important paperwork if you're working from home.
Or this is why you can handle ten small tasks in the office like a pro, but in the meantime, that huge project with the looming deadline keeps collecting dust in the corner. And you're pouring sweat…but never getting to it yet, nonetheless.
It can even explain why, with a briefcase exploding with work to do after-hours and a kitchen filled with dirty dishes and crying children, you're tuning it all out to stare at cat videos on YouTube, Facebook or both.
How do you know you're being your own worst enemy? When you procrastinate, that's how.
If you're focusing on low-priority tasks instead of the high-priority ones, you're procrastinating.
You're also procrastinating when…just as you're knee-deep in a big, ugly project that's when you decide to take a bathroom break, call daycare to check in on the baby or go out to grab a cup of coffee, etc.
When you're volunteering for the millionth thing while juggling all of your flaming batons and multiple hats (wife, mother, elder-care provider, household treasurer on top of employer/employee)…guess what? You're procrastinating!
If it takes more time for you to explain why you're not doing something as opposed to you actually biting the bullet and doing it…. Yup! Procrastination.
If you're rock-solid as to your WHY, then you can call up enough leverage on yourself in order to get serious about following through on the bigger, uglier tasks of life. This is especially so if those tasks are in alignment with your WHY or your living more in harmony with respect to your WHY in the first place.
Of course, if the bigger, uglier tasks of life which you've been avoiding are NOT in harmony with your WHY, that might explain why you're so unwilling to do them and/or follow through on them!
You can use your WHY as a "carrot" to motivate yourself with positive outcomes and desirable results. OR you can use your WHY as a "stick" to push yourself through to finish on things that scare you, but involve necessary evils (overcoming your fears) in order to achieve a WHY-related breakthrough or goal.
If you're being lazy, your WHY isn't motivating you enough, my Wise Owl. You need to tweak that WHY for your sake and for the sake of your family and/or any loved ones you're working so hard for every single work day.
If you're riding the Hot Mess Express then maybe you need to be better organized. Sometimes we're procrastinating because the work we need to do is buried in a snarl of other files, paperwork to be filed, billing sheets, etc. If you bite the bullet and clean up the mess, you can prime the pump to get down to the work you've just unearthed.
Perhaps you need to use prioritized to-do lists or set down a schedule (I know, yawn). But still, depending upon the way in which your clutter and confusion presents, this may be just what the doctor ordered. Have you ever really and truly tried any of these things? If you have, did you have your WHY in mind as you did them?
Carrot or stick, your WHY can work wonders for you when you keep it up on your proverbial radar screen.
Would a professional organizer help tame your home, your office, your home office? Is this an investment in your future success? Does your WHY require that you excel in these spaces? Probably at least a few of them, right?
You better avoid procrastination down the road with any of these solutions, because you'll have broken things down into baby steps or digestible chunks, you'll have deadlines in mind and you'll know what your "next best step" is, in a concrete way and NOT in some fuzzy sort of way.
If you're overwhelmed by a task after applying these solutions, get an accountability partner. Those big important tasks aren't going anywhere. Sometimes you just need company or someone else to answer to (or both).
If you can't afford a life coach to do the trick for you, then get a loved one or a friend to serve as both cheerleader (carrot) and task master/mistress (stick). To get the best help from these people, be sure to share your WHY with them. They can use that valuable intel along the way, to do their job more effectively.
With your WHY in mind, get into real world goal-setting based upon your to-do lists, schedule and overall responsibilities. Get S.M.A.A.R.T.!
Use a success ritual every single day, spending mere minutes at a clip to keep your eyes on the prize and to stay motivated! That'll break down the urge to procrastinate, big-time. Procrastination is a habit; to unlearn a habit you have to replace it with a different, healthier habit. A daily success ritual is IT, Wise Owl!
Amass your Dream Team, which will likely involve your loved ones, a life coach, a psychiatrist (deeply ingrained blocks or issues, anyone?), a professional organizer, an accountability buddy, etc. Make sure you have a supportive tribe or of course you're going to continue to procrastinate! You're a hot mess and no one's helping you to be anything else but, right?
Sometimes all it takes to finish a task you've been avoiding, be it large or small, is taking the time to break the seal.
Don't know what I mean?
Tell yourself you're only going to do something scary for 10 minutes. Set a timer for exactly 10 minutes on your phone, watch, device, etc. There. That's not so bad, is it? Nope.
Then get involved in the task.
You might want to set the stage for success before you set that timer. As in, straighten up the general area, make it comfy for you, have it be brightly lit, play some music in the background (or via ear buds if you're at work…if that's possible or permissible of course) and THEN set that timer for 10 minutes.
And that's all you're going to give yourself.
Are you going to work on it for more than 10 minutes?
You know the answer…no way. Once you've broken the seal and the work, the creativity, the involvement starts to flow…you're good to go.
Give it a try, Wise Owl!
You don't want to "fail with honor." You know…you're so busy, you can't get it all done. You're everyone's savior but your own. You nail yourself to the cross, you're such a saint and martyr simultaneously. You're the shoemaker who has no shoes. You get the picture.
You can't be the Queen of Everything. Get clear on your WHY so that you can get clear on your prioritizing. Enlist the aid you need, have a quick, celebratory success ritual daily and soon you'll be savoring success instead of riding the Hot Mess Express.
And get down off the cross, sister. We need the wood. And you need some wins!
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Highly Commended At Duke Of Gloucester's Awards
Costain's Mohammed Usman Shah, a Graduate Performance and Improvement Manager, has been highly commended at the Duke of Gloucester's Awards for being a talented and innovative young surveyor.
Presented by the Construction Youth Trust, the Duke of Gloucester's Young Achievers Scheme celebrates the achievement and contribution of young professionals to the industry. The scheme promotes the construction industry to young people of all social backgrounds with the aim of increasing the number and diversity of entrants into the sector.
The Awards are open to anyone under the age of 30 working in the construction industry in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Mohammed, who has worked at Costain since graduating in 2012, received his 'Highly Commended Surveyor Award' from HRH The Duke of Gloucester at a presentation ceremony at the Underglobe in London.
Mohammed said: "This award demonstrates what a graduate can achieve at Costain. I would like to thank everyone at Costain for all the opportunities and support they have provided me in my very young career so far. I hope this award inspires many others to work hard and to be recognised for all their achievements at Costain."
The finalists were assessed by a panel of industry experts looking for young people who have not only achieved excellence in their careers so far, but who have overcome barriers and challenges or social disadvantage to get to where they are. The winners each received a cash prize and access to a one year mentoring programme organised by the Trust to enable them to make an even greater impact in the future.
The judges said Mohammed impressed the panel by showing great determination to succeed and great loyalty to those who support him, driven by a passion for the industry.
"Mohammed has not had an easy route into construction. He decided he wanted to be a surveyor and he didn't get massive encouragement from others to do that. He deserves to be commended for his drive and determination to succeed. He's a hugely energetic young man and a real lateral thinker. He's very innovative, full of ideas, keen to change and keen to find better ways of doing things, which is quite unusual in our (surveying) profession. So I've got no doubt that Mohammed is one to watch for the future and that's why he deserves to be commended this year," said Simon Johnson, one of the judges on the panel and a Director at construction consultants AECOM, formerly Davis Langdon.
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Established in 2013, the Centre for Osteoarthritis Pathogenesis funded by Versus Arthritis aims to develop new treatments for this disabling condition, improving healthcare and transforming people's lives.
Our strategy is to turn our research findings into patient benefit. This includes finding targets for new treatments, new tests or markers, and personalised approaches to symptom management for osteoarthritis.
Directed by Professor Tonia Vincent within the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, the OA Centre is hosted by the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS).
We bring together researchers and clinicians from across the University of Oxford including the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, the Botnar Research Centre, and the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, as well as Queen Mary University of London, King's College London and MRC Mutagenesis Unit, Harwell.
In addition to developing novel disease "markers" and therapies for patients with osteoarthritis, we are also creating a national training resource for scientists and clinicians working within the OA field.
We were created in April 2013 with substantial funding from Versus Arthritis, the University of Oxford and the Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research (KTRR).
About the Kennedy Institute
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Read the recent review from Sporting Classics Magazine.
Have you read Ten Was The Deal? I'd like to know what you thought. You can send me your comments here. Thanks to all that have taken the time to write. I enjoy reading all your letters and emails. Keep them coming!
"Your book is a prize-winner, and you should do all you can to get it in the hands of those who love what we do. And do it again." F.C.
"Great read. These stories reminded me of my own younger days as a boy hunting and fishing and enjoying the beauty of God's nature. Unusual and captivating. Anxiously looking forward to his next book." J.H.
"John is an outdoorsman as well as a Southern storyteller. He was reared in Laurens, , in the 1950s and '60s. He cherishes family and friends and enjoys adventures as a sportsman. Now John has written a book. "Ten Was the Deal: Southern Hunting and Fishing Stories" is a collection of 10 of his stories. More than a book of adventures about hunting and fishing, this volume is about coming of age in the South. It has all of the enchantment of yarns spun while sitting on the tailgate of a pickup truck; all of the lore of tales told around a campfire….
"Ten Was the Deal" should be a fixture in every hunting and fishing lodge across America. It should be by the bedside of every sportsman. Packed with Southern charm and down-home humor, this book is one you will return to again and again.
I'd like to hear from you too. You can buy "Ten Was The Deal" by clicking here.
You can also read reviews of my book "We'll Do It Tomorrow".


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Learn Fender Bass guitar amp basics from the experts at Main Drag Music in this Howcast video about electric guitars.
Right now, we're dealing with a fendered-tube bass amp, it's The Bassman 135, sitting on top of an Ampeg speaker cabinet. When you're dealing with tube amps, it's important to realize that there are certain things you need to do before you can actually get into it and take off. Especially when you're not dealing with a combo. A combo is an amp that has the head and speaker together, built into it. This is actually, you know, what you call a piggy-back, it's a head on top of its own separate speaker cabinet.
Before you plug in, or before you even turn on the head, it's important that that head is seeing the correct matching impedance. If it says 4-Ohm, it needs to see a 4-Ohm or greater load from the speaker. That's all plainly written on the back of the amp and on the back of the cabinet. Always remember that the head needs to be equal to or less than the load that's shown on the back of the speaker cabinet. So, if the speaker cabinet is, say, 16-Ohm, then you can put a 4-Ohm head on it, an 8-Ohm head or a 16-Ohm head. If a speaker cabinet is 4-Ohm, you can only put a 4-Ohm head on it. If you put an 8-Ohm head, or 16-Ohm head, you will do catastrophic damage to the amp. No bueno.
So, there are two switches on these amps, generally. There's an "on" switch, and a "standby" switch. When you're in standby mode, you will not hear any sound coming out of the amp.
The amp is on, but we're on standby. That, you know, gives you a chance to warm up the tubes, and get the amps settled, which is always a good idea. You usually tell people if you're in a gigging situation to ensure that you have given the amp the proper warm-up time. Have that be the first thing you do is plug the head into the speaker cabinet, with the speaker cable, not a guitar cable, or an instrument cable, very different things. Turn the amp on and leave it on standby while you set up your effects or band gets ready or whatever. So, by the time you flip it off standby, you should be in the clear of not doing any damage. And, when you're done playing, the first thing that you should do is put the amp back into standby mode, then pack up the rest of your stuff, and have powering down the amp and disassembling be the last thing you do just to ensure the proper cool-down time because just shutting the amp off is also, is also as bad as just firing it on.
You have four inputs but two channels. This bass side is dedicated to these controls, and these controls are dedicated to the normal channel. A bright switch which does, as it says, it brightens up the sound. Volume control, treble, for your high amp, middle for your mid-range and bass for your low-end. The thing about this amp is that it has a master volume control. So, you can turn the pre-amp volume up and get more of a dirty sound, control your overall volume with your master volume, so you can be gritty at a lower volume. Or, if you want to just max it out, you can do that too. So, those are your controls.