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Chinese Scientists Condemn He Jiankui's Work on the CRISPR Babies
He Jiankui's work on the now infamous CRISPR babies may be one of the most controversial scientific developments of modern times. Now, members of the Chinese scientific community have, once again, shown their disapproval and condemnation of He's actions.
Rechelle Ann Fuertes May 10, 2019 at 7:15 am GMT
China's scientific community has condemned He Jiankui's work on the CRISPR babies, calling his experiment unnecessary, substandard, and posing a significant risk to the infants.
In a paper published in the journal Plos Biology, Haoyi Wang of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Hui Yang of the Shanghai Research Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence dismantled and pointed out everything wrong about the science behind He Jiankui's work.
In their piece, the two Chinese researchers expressed their initial reaction upon hearing He's announcement on November 28th. They wrote:
"As researchers working in the gene-editing field in China, we were completely shocked by this news. It would appear that He had been doing this work in secret. As far as we know, He has not published noteworthy scientific papers in the gene-editing field and was not actively involved in the gene-editing community in China."
Experiment on CRISPR Babies may Fail
It was the evening before the 2nd International Human Genome Editing Summit in Hong Kong last November when He revealed that he modified the CCR5 genes of several embryos using the controversial CRISPR gene-editing technique to make them resistant to HIV.
The embryos were brought to term, and one of the many attempts successfully resulted in the birth of twin girls now referred to as the world's first CRISPR babies.
According to Wang and Yang, He's work was an "extremely irresponsible misconduct, which clearly violated the regulatory and medical ethics of China and nations all over the world."
The duo pointed out that gene-editing the CCR5 genes in embryos is not necessary to prevent an HIV positive father from transmitting the infection to the fetus. Infected fathers can still produce healthy babies through Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) which has a higher success rate than modifying CCR5 genes at the moment. The Chinese researchers added:
"As for considering future immunity to HIV infection, simply avoiding potential risk of HIV exposure suffices for most people. Therefore, editing early embryos does not provide benefits for the babies, while posing potentially serious risks on multiple fronts."
Disgraced Scientist's Work was Scientifically and Ethically Irresponsible
The authors also criticized the lack of research documents to support He Jiankui's claims. The disgraced scientist had not published a paper about his work on any platform. The only data he showed the world was those in the PowerPoint slides he presented during the summit which were deemed insufficient for vetting.
The Chinese scientists concluded that there is no genetic reason to perform gene-editing on the human germline based on what little information He made available to the public. The authors claimed that the scientist behind the CRISPR babies and his cohorts just grossly violated the Chinese regulations and the agreed consensus of the international scientific community.
"We strongly condemn their actions as extremely irresponsible, both scientifically and ethically. We strongly urge the international community of scientists and regulators to initiate a comprehensive discussion as soon as possible to develop the criteria and standards for genome editing in the human germline for reproductive purposes."
Read More: Researcher Warns That China's Gene-Edited Twins Have Enhanced Brains
Chinese Researchers Implant Human Brain Genes Into Monkeys
Chinese Geneticist Claims to Have Gene Edited Human Embryos
Top 10 Scientific Achievements of 2017
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Blastocyst-Like Structures From Stem Cells of Mice
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Human-Animal Embryo Experiments for Growing Organs
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Agonidium swahilius is een keversoort uit de familie van de loopkevers (Carabidae). De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1886 door Bates.

swahilius

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A Risotto for Optimising Sofa Time.
"So cold. Heavy snow-swollen sky. Butter-toasted oatmeal, rivers of thick cream, brown sugar. Fresh orange juice: such fragrant hope."
"Chilly morning; summer ebbing away. Last night's peach pie, fragile and fragrant on this bright morning. Each bite a tiny farewell."
cliche. I'm sure the first time I read a passage which talked about the soothing, meditative, zen like effects of stirring risotto, I would have found it original, but now everyone's at it and it's just annoying. I'm sure I enjoy stirring risottos (or anything else for that matter) as much as the next person, but please, can't we find something else to say about it? Why is there always this need to mysticise cooking. Do I think cooking is good for the soul? Yes, I do, but sometimes, the main benefit is simply that I want something good to eat.
So, as I said at the top, coldy and moany and the last thing I want to do is cook anything, but I have three other people in the house to feed and S is already floundering about wondering what to do. So I check the method in Richard Ehrlich's "80 Recipes For Your Pressure Cooker". Do a quick search and grab in fridge and cupboard (this was made with roast chicken leftovers) and make a risotto in less than 10 minutes. No stirring, beyond a bit of sauteeing at the beginning, and beating in of cheese at the end, and it tasted bloody good too.
As much grated parmesan as you fancy.
Heat a large knob of butter in your pressure cooker and add the onion. Saute until starting to soften, then add the rice and garlic if you are using it. Stir for a minute or two until the rice is well coated with the butter. Add the vermouth, let it sizzle, then add the chicken stock, saffron, herbs and seasoning. Lock the pressure cooker lid into place, quickly bring up to pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Fast release under water, then add the chicken, peas and parmesan. If there is still too much liquid left, half cover and leave on a very low heat for 2-3 minutes. Beat to combine and for extra smoothness. Check for seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon juice if you like.


Spring 2014 saw SLPEL embark on the FEED Engineering for Oranje-Nassau Energie's (ONE) Standard Satellite Platform (SSP). Designed for use anywhere in the Dutch Sector of the North Sea with water depth of between 20 and 50 metres, the SSP comprises a four-legged Jacket with four piles with the risers and J-tubes running through the Jacket legs. The first use of the SSP is for ONE's P11-E Platform. Standing in approximately 26 metres of water, the Jacket is 49 metres high and weighs 654 tonnes.
Working with KH Engineering and ONE, based in the Netherlands, SLPEL kept to tight deadlines to enable ONE to achieve a completion date for the project by April 2016. Both the Jacket and Topsides were manufactured in the Heerema Zwijndrecht yard near Rotterdam and transported by barge to the P11-E field on the Dutch continental shelf 55 kilometres North West of Rotterdam harbour.
With the watchword on P11-E as sustainability, the Topsides of the Platform will generate its own energy via 62 solar panels and 5 wind turbines and will be remote-controlled from a central location on the Dutch coast. A helideck has been incorporated should the necessity arise to visit the platform quickly. It is likely that further unmanned Platforms will be required in the future, and the P11-E design could easily be replicated should the need arise. A natural gas processing offshore facility, the P11-E Platform will export gas and condensate from the Platform via a pipeline to the P15-D Platform, for onward export to shore.


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TWICE is a nine-member girl group under JYP Entertainment. Formed through the 2015 survival reality show "Sixteen", the members, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu, rose to fame with the release of their 2016 single, "Cheer Up". Charting at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, the track became the best-performing single of the year, allowing the group to bring home both the Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards "Song of the Year" award. With the release of subsequent chart-topping tracks, TWICE has become one of South Korea's most popular and widely recognized K-Pop groups, gaining an incredible following the world over. In 2017 the group was included in both "Forbes" Korea Power Celebrity ranking and "Billboard"'s 21 Under 21 2017: Music's Next Generation.
Oct 20, 2015 (age 4)
SBS Super Concert in Incheon
29th Seoul Music Awards Announces Lineup And Hosts
Watch: Kim Heechul Candidly Talks To Taeyeon About His Relationship With Momo Going Public
JYP Entertainment Releases Statement Regarding Leak Of TWICE's Chaeyoung's Phone Number
TWICE's Chaeyoung Shares Stern Words About Personal Privacy After Phone Number Is Leaked
January Individual Idol Brand Reputation Rankings Announced

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Committee charged with monitoring sanctions on Iran had twice reached out to that country about findings by its Panel of Experts that launches of Shahab 1 and 3 missiles had contravened resolution 1929 (2010), while an arms shipment to Yemen was a probable breach of resolution 1747 (2007), its Chair told the Security Council today.
Briefing members on the latest report of the 1737 Iran Sanctions Committee, Gary Quinlan (Australia) said Iran had not responded to its outreach. While mindful of ongoing talks between Iran and the "P5+1" (China, France, Russian Federation, United States, United Kingdom, plus Germany) following the Joint Plan of Action agreed in Geneva on 24 November 2013, "the work of both the Committee and the Panel of Experts remain unchanged for 2014", he said. Council measures imposed by its resolutions remained in effect, obliging Member States to duly implement them.
He went on to say that several Member States had reported on their enforcement actions, noting that one had reported on steps it had taken to prevent Iran's multiple attempts in 2011 and 2012 to procure carbon fibre, a suspected violation. The Committee also had discussed the Panel's recommendations in its May 2013 report, noting it could consider designating an entity the Panel had found to be violating resolution 1929 (2010) for procuring valves for use in the Arak heavy water reactor.
When the floor was opened for debate, Council members recalled that the bulk of sanctions remained in place and should be robustly enforced, expressing concern at Iran's possible breaches of international obligations vis-à-vis an intercepted arms shipment to Gaza this month, the launch of "prohibited" Great Prophet 7 missiles in April 2013, and the intercepted arms shipment to Yemen. Several urged Iran to resolve pending issues and clarify whether its nuclear programme had a possible military dimension.
The United States' delegate expressed concern about United Nations sanction violations, reminding the Committee that it should be prepared to tighten enforcement and encouraging the Panel to present as much information as possible in its next report on compliance.
At the same time, several other delegates welcomed the recent report by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran's application of the safeguards agreement, with Argentina's delegate calling it "auspicious" that the Agency had recognized that Iran had fulfilled its joint agreement obligations.
Noting that cooperation between IAEA and Iran had reached a new level, the representative of the Russian Federation said the current sensitive stage must move forward carefully. He welcomed that ongoing negotiations in Vienna between the P5+1 and Iran had yielded detailed discussions of sanctions, uranium enrichment and the peaceful use of nuclear energy, as well as allayed concerns about the heavy water reactor. The main objective was the eventual lifting of all sanctions.
Along similar lines, China's delegate said the latest rounds of P5+1 talks had resulted in consensus on issues of concern. China had proposed a number of suggestions, including creating an environment conducive to meaningful dialogue, which it had always tried to promote.
Also speaking today were the representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Chile, Republic of Korea, Jordan, Nigeria, Lithuania, Rwanda, Chad and Luxembourg.
The meeting began at 3:03 p.m. and ended at 4:13 p.m.
The Security Council met this afternoon to discuss the work of its Iran Sanctions Committee during the period from 13 December 2013 to 19 March 2014.
GARY QUINLAN (Australia), Chair of the 1737 Iran Sanctions Committee, said the subsidiary body had twice reached out to Iran last year about the incidents investigated by the Panel of Experts, which had concluded that Iran's launches of the Shahab 1 and 3 missiles contravened resolution 1929 (2010) and that an intercepted arms shipment in Yemen was, at the very least, a probable violation of resolution 1747 (2007). Iran had not replied. Although the Committee remained mindful of ongoing talks between the P5+1and Iran's compliance with the Joint Plan of Action agreed in Geneva on 24 November 2013, "the work of both the Committee and the Panel of Experts remain unchanged for 2014", he declared, stressing that Security Council measures imposed by its relevant resolutions remained in effect, obliging Member States to duly implement them.
He noted that several Member States had reported on their enforcement actions; one reported on the steps it had taken to prevent multiple attempts in 2011 and 2012 by Iran to procure carbon fibre suspected of being in violation of Council resolutions. The Panel had concluded that Iran's attempted procurement of the material in December 2012 had contravened the texts. The Permanent Representative of a Member State named in media reports as having contracted to procure arms from Iran called the Committee Chair to deny the reports. The Panel "is separately engaging" with the country on those reports.
Outlining other efforts undertaken during the reporting period, he said the Committee had responded to requests for guidance from Member States on a range of issues, including notification requirements; engagement with the originating State of seized items; the supply of target-shooting ammunition to Iran for sport shooting; and the updated list of designated individuals, entities and goods to which the sanctions applied. It was working with an international organization to clarify whether a particular proposal for technical assistance to Iran was compatible with the sanctions regime.
Among its other activities, the Committee had engaged with Member States on implementation of the targeted financial sanctions regime, he said. The Committee had itself received assistance from a Member State transmitting a list of persons who had travelled through the country with names similar to those of listed individuals, along with other information. That would allow the Committee to determine any possible violations of the travel ban and, if necessary, strengthen the effectiveness of both that ban and targeted sanctions by adding to the list.
Mr. Quinlan also informed the Council of the outcome of deliberations on the Panel's recommendations of May 2013. Among its responses, the Committee expressed its readiness to consider designating an entity which the Panel had found to be in violation of resolution 1929 (2010) for procuring valves for use in the Arak heavy water reactor. The Panel also had recommended, among other things, that the Committee encourage States to be alert to attempted procurement of any items destined for an end use prohibited by the resolutions. The Committee continued to discuss whether some form of written guidance for Member States regarding that obligation was necessary. It meanwhile encouraged any Member State with questions concerning the scope of that obligation to contact it.
To the Panel's recommendation that the Committee consider providing guidance to States on how to implement aspects of the targeted financial sanctions which extend the application of the measure to agents and affiliates of designated persons and entities, he said the Committee noted that the same language was used in other Council resolutions, and it had thus been reluctant to consider the question unilaterally. As for the recommendation that the Committee provide guidance on the modalities surrounding a States' inspection of cargoes and the possible seizure of suspected banned goods, the Committee was developing a fact sheet and other relevant documents, he said.
MARK LYALL GRANT (United Kingdom) said that since the P5+1 had reached an important milestone in November 2013 and rounds of talks had since been held, the interim agreement was a significant step forward with regard to Iran's nuclear programme. Welcoming the new report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he noted that the bulk of sanctions had remained in place, and added that they should be enforced robustly so economic pressure would continue to be an incentive to Iran. He meanwhile hoped for an investigation into the recently seized Iranian ship containing rockets and headed for the Gaza Strip. Also worrying was Iran's failure to reply to questions about other incidents, including an arms shipment to Yemen. The United Kingdom was committed to finding a long-term lasting resolution to the issue and would work diligently to do so.
GÉRARD ARAUD (France) said as dialogue had finally begun over the Iranian nuclear situation, he supported the ongoing discussions with a spirit of openness and vigilance. Regarding the latest IAEA report, he said that while progress had been achieved, Iran had not replied to all requests for information on the possible military dimension of its nuclear programme. Turning to sanctions, he was concerned about Israel's intercept of an Iranian ship carrying weapons to Gaza, which violated the weapons embargo and, thus, called into question Iran's good faith. Concerning the work of the "1737 Committee", he lamented that last year's recommendations had not been fully implemented.
LIU JIEYI ( China) said he hoped the Committee would follow the principles of objectivity, fairness and pragmatism to settle individual cases concerning the sanctions. He welcomed the diplomatic efforts made to date, as well as efforts by the Agency to address outstanding issues with Iran. Negotiations of the P5+1 had unfolded and dialogue with Iran had entered a new stage, he said, emphasizing that the latest rounds of talks had resulted in consensus on issues of concern. China proposed a number of suggestions, including reaching a long-term solution and creating an environment conducive to meaningful dialogue. China had always tried to promote dialogue and was committed to ongoing discussions, he said.
VITALY I. CHURKIN (Russian Federation) highlighted the breakthrough agreement in November on the rights of Iran to develop a peaceful nuclear programme. He pointed out that the main objective was the eventual lifting of all sanctions and, once agreement was reached on all sides, a final package should allow for a comprehensive settlement on the basis of compromises in all areas. Welcoming the Vienna round of negotiations, he said it was useful to continue constructive discussions. The next expert consultations would be held next month, he said, noting a tight schedule on contentious issues. Commending cooperation between the IAEA and Iran, he said he was convinced that the current sensitive stage must move forward carefully and that progress on the Iranian issue would have a positive effect on the entire region. The Russian Federation would spare no effort to see a resolution of the outstanding issues, he said.
ROSEMARY A. DICARLO (United States) said the Council had a clear stake in results from the ongoing P5+1 talks. Any deals made during the negotiations must take into account relevant Security Council resolutions. However, she was concerned about United Nations sanction violations, as seen with the Gaza-bound weapons-laden Iranian ship recently seized by Israel. The Committee should be prepared to enforce consequences for violations and must tighten enforcement. She looked to the Committee to step up efforts to ensure implementation of the sanctions. She encouraged the Committee to present as much information as possible in its next report on sanctions compliance. The United States looked forward to working with the Committee to address issues discussed today.
EDUARDO GÁLVEZ (Chile) welcomed the recent report by the IAEA Director General on Iran's application of the safeguards agreement, and notably, that the agency had recognized that Iran's highly enriched uranium was decreasing, owing to the 24 November 2013 agreement. Chile had taken note of the issues put forward last trimester and cautioned against taking any action that might be misperceived by the parties. Until an agreement was reached and endorsed by Council, United Nations measures would be in effect. He hoped the Committee would soon have information on the interception of a ship carrying Iranian ballistic missiles to Gaza, in order to determine whether that incident had violated any resolutions.
OH JOON (Republic of Korea) expressed hope that the P5+1 process would have a positive influence on other outstanding non-proliferation issues. He underlined the importance of IAEA's role, including in connection with the possible military dimensions of the Iranian nuclear programme. Obligations set out in relevant resolutions must be faithfully implemented by all Member States; various communications received from States and organizations had reiterated the importance of the Committee's role in the sanctions regime. There were overdue pending issues on violation cases and recommendations from last year's final report had not been implemented. He urged strengthened cooperation to move those pending issues forward before the next report was submitted.
MARÍA CRISTINA PERCEVAL (Argentina) said it was auspicious that IAEA and Iran had agreed on the next seven steps to be taken, and that the Agency had recognized that Iran had fulfilled its obligations in the joint agreement with the P5+1. That accord reaffirmed the value of diplomatic measures and represented a significant step forward. Her Government had taken note of the Director General's conclusion that there was much to do to resolve the pending issues and she urged Iran's cooperation in that and its clarification of possible military dimensions of its nuclear programme, on which progress was lagging. She reiterated concern about the quality of the Committee's lists of persons subjected to the sanctions, noting that entries must be underpinned by sufficient data in order for States to identify them and apply sanctions.
EIHAB OMAISH (Jordan) welcomed the Committee's efforts to assist States in the implementation of sanctions resolutions by providing guidance, especially on technical questions. He encouraged the Committee to continue conducting investigations into breaches. It also should consider continued engagement with Iran in order to clarify pending questions, notably the launch of prohibited Great Prophet 7 missiles and on the intercepted arms shipment to Yemen on 23 January 2013. Jordan appreciated the Committee's efforts to consult with other sanctions committees and issue guidance to States on targeted financial sanctions.
USMAN SARKI (Nigeria) said the latest report had contained a great deal of compelling information. He commended the Committee's timely responses to States regarding the sanctions regime, including requests sent from Sweden and Turkey, adding that Iran should respond to requests for more information on incidents regarding arms shipments, including a reported arms incident in Yemen. Highlighting some of the Committee's work, he commended its efforts to alert States about any arms shipments and their end-user agreements.
RAIMONDA MURMOKAITÉ (Lithuania) said her country remained concerned with Iran's failure to comply with requests. The latest IAEA report showed that the Agency was not able to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran was for peaceful purposes. She welcomed the 24 November Plan of Action as a first confidence-building step. She urged Iran to comply with its obligations and said she was encouraged by the fact that a cooperation framework between the IAEA and Iran had been successful. All Security Council sanctions on Iran remained in effect, she said, noting that Members States were obliged to implement them. She welcomed discussions on outstanding issues, among those, Iran's repeated arms embargo violations. Hopefully, Iran would reply to requests for information on certain incidents, including the seizure of arms in Yemen.
OLIVIER NDUHUNGIREHE (Rwanda) said his country supported the three pillars of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and underlined that all States had the right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. He recognized the recent forward steps in talks and hoped that Iran would continue fulfilling its obligations and that an agreement would permanently remove the threat of an Iranian nuclear programme. The Committee should continue to implement Security Council resolutions, and all stakeholders in discussions should refrain from any action that could jeopardize the talks. It was important for all actors to implement sanctions, he said, hoping the panel of experts would properly investigate the case of the Iranian ship reportedly carrying weapons to Gaza.
MAHAMAT ZENE CHERIF (Chad) said his country supported the work of the Committee and commended its efforts to implement the relevant Security Council resolutions. The Committee must work to find conclusions to cases, including the launch of Shahab missiles and the shipment of arms to Yemen, which was likely a violation of Security Council resolutions. The ongoing discussions should lead to a solution to issues surrounding Iran, he said.
Council President SYLVIE LUCAS (Luxembourg), speaking in her national capacity, commended Catherine Ashton's efforts to lead negotiations with Iran. Any comprehensive long-term solution must include principles set out in the Plan of Action, she said, hoping Iran would comply with requests. For the first time, the report reflected progress in Iran's cooperation with the IAEA and its discussions with the P5+1. Measures undertaken by Iran were a positive step forward, but much remained to be done and issues remained unresolved, including questions on the military use of nuclear materials. Restoring the international community's trust meant that Iran must respect the relevant Security Council resolutions. While awaiting a long-term solution, sanctions would remain in effect. Concerned about reports on Iran's sale of weapons to Iraq, shipment of weapons to Gaza and other incidents, she was awaiting information and conclusions from the expert panel. Noting discussions were set to continue next month in Vienna, she said the international community should remain vigilant.


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Ethiopian Passport
Ethiopian Origin ID Cards (Yellow Card)
Visit Ethiopia
All A Week in the Horn Ambassador Consular Diaspora Editorial Events News Newsletter Notices Politics Press Release Public Diplomacy Speeches Sports Statement The Brief Trade and Investment Travel Uncategorized Visit Ethiopia
Reaffirming our commitment to the protection of refugees, we request the UN Human Rights Commission to correct the biased and partial opinions of its rapporteur. We also call the Commission and other international humanitarian organizations to help our efforts of rescuing the refugees from the imminent danger they are in and assist our efforts of investigating the issue.
A Response to the Statement by the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Regarding the Situation of Eritrean Refugees in Ethiopia
The Government will take all the necessary measures to ensure that these sacred places and other institutions are well protected and call on the international community to condemn this heinous act of the TPLF.
Press Statement on Protection of Cultural Sites
The Government of Ethiopia has been committed to the Unilateral Humanitarian Ceasefire that it has declared on 28 June 2021 in a bid to give respite to the people of Tigray and make use of the farming season. Regrettably, the TPLF has failed to reciprocate.
Statement on preoccupying issues in Ethiopia and the way forward
Press Briefing by Billene Seyoum, Press Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office, on key highlights of the week and recent developments in Tigray.
Transcript | Prime Minister's Office Press Briefing – 5 August 2021
Full statement submitted to ITV News in response to their report "Tigray conflict: Food will run out for thousands in Ethiopia without aid relief, UN warns" (30 July 2021)
Statement to ITV News on the Government's Response to the Humanitarian Situation in Tigray
Transcript | Prime Minister's Office Press Briefing – 28 July 2021
The Government of Ethiopia has been working tirelessly in collaboration with development partners to ensure continued supplies of food and medicine to those that are in desperate need of it. It will continue to work with its humanitarian partners to prevent breaks in humanitarian operations and for assistance to reach all affected communities.
Tigray Region Humanitarian Assistance Update
The Ethiopian government has sacrificially made a political decision, recognizing the dangers to the people, and will not tolerate any attack that violates the government's decision and endangers Ethiopia. The Government calls upon all Ethiopians to think of Ethiopia beyond local issues and stand by the side of their government.
Summary | Government Statement Issued by Ambassador Redwan Hussein
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Q: Determining Pixel-by-pixel Catchments in ArcHydro I used ArcHYDRO to prepare HydroDEM (5m) without sinks, Flow direction (FDR) raster, flow accumulation raster (FAC). As I understand FAC, value of pixel shows number of pixels that contribute to this pixel. Now, let say I derive drainage line from FAC (in raster form), I would like to link somehow all pixels that contribute to particular pixel in my drainage line, in way that I have separate contributing areas for each pixel in that drainage with clear relation to this pixel. How do I do that?
The main goal is to derive height difference between pixel in the drainge and any pixel that contribute to it and only to it.

A: Perhaps you are looking to calculate Melton Ratio.
If so, SAGA GIS has a tool to calculate it in the 2.1 Beta release.
If you've never used SAGA before, it can be a little intimidating, but the hydrology tools are well worth learning, and it's certainly easier than figuring out how to get ArcMap to do things it doesn't want to.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Downsized staffs paired with increased workloads may be causing a rise in stress levels around the workplace. According to a CareerBuilder.com survey of more than 7,600 workers nationwide, 78 percent reported feeling burned out at work. Forty-six percent of workers said their workload has increased over the last six months and approximately the same percentage (45 percent) describe their current workload as heavy or too heavy. Close to a quarter (23 percent) of workers report they are dissatisfied with their current work/life balance.
Take a break during the day.


The ACM Gordon Bell Prize tracks the progress of parallel computing and rewards innovation in applying high performance computing (HPC) to challenges in science, engineering, and large-scale data analytics.
The award was presented today by ACM President Cherri M. Pancake and Valerie Taylor, Chair of the SC18 Awards Committee, during the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis (SC18) in Dallas, Texas. Prior to the awards ceremony, all of the Gordon Bell Prize finalists presented their papers during SC18.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 115 people die every day in the US from opioid overdoes. Additionally, the CDC found that there was a 30% increase in opioid overdoes in the period between July 2016 and September 2017 in 52 areas and 45 states. The aim of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) team is to use supercomputing to provide a tool in combating the opioid epidemic by understanding the underlying genetic architecture of how individuals develop chronic pain and respond to opioids. ORNL team members also believe that their project will help with the identification of new therapeutic approaches for opioid misuse. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have led to important discoveries in varied types of diseases. This work is part of a joint initiative between the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Veterans Administration (VA), which aims to improve healthcare outcomes for Veterans by partnering the resources of the VA data with DOE capabilities in supercomputing. Future applications of this work include collaboration with the Million Veteran Program (MVP) under the joint MVP-CHAMPION initiative (Computational Health Analytics for Medical Precision to Improve Outcomes Now).
The ORNL team developed a new "CoMet" algorithm that allows supercomputers to process vast amounts of genetic data and identify genes that may be more susceptible to pain and opioid addiction—as well as promising treatments. By running the ORNL team's algorithm, supercomputers were able to successfully process genetic data at a magnitude that is four to five times greater than the latest state-of-the-art approaches. In addition to processing information about the genetics of pain and opioid addiction, CoMet is currently being used in projects ranging from bioenergy to clinical genomics.
The ORNL team includes Daniel Jacobson, Wayne Joubert, Deborah Weighill, and David Kainer (all of Oak Ridge National Laboratory); Sharlee Climer (University of Missouri-St. Louis); Amy Justice (Yale University/Department of Veterans Affairs); and Kjiersten Fagnan (US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute).
Climate change poses a major challenge to humanity in the 21st century. Increasingly, state and local governments are interested in the question of how extreme weather events will change (or affect) their local communities. In order to address these important questions, climate scientists routinely configure and run high-fidelity simulations under a range of different climate change scenarios. Recently, it has been shown that deep learning methods, wherein artificial neural networks vaguely inspired by the human brain learn from large amounts of data, can be applied to better understand extreme weather conditions. Using high-performance computers, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) team trained a deep neural network to identify extreme weather patterns from high-resolution climate simulations. They demonstrated that accurate datasets can be computed for weather patterns such as tropical cyclones and atmospheric rivers.
To train the neural network, the LBNL team paper proposed an innovative blend of hardware and software solutions. These included a novel architecture as well as a number of system-level innovations to enable the largest graphics processing units (GPU)-based HPC systems in the world to process vast amounts of weather-related data. Their application represents the largest successful high performance computer scaling of a deep learning application to date.
Winning team members from the LBNL include Mr Prabhat, Thorsten Kurth, Mayur Mudigonda, Jack Deslippe, Ankur Mahesh (all from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory); Sean Treichler, Joshua Romero, Nathan Luehr, Everett Phillips, Massimiliano Fatica, Michael Houston (all of NVIDIA); and Michael Matheson (Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility).


Mums for Missions! Our Youth are selling beautiful 10 inch, locally grown mums. Proceeds benefit student's mission trips and youth camps. Orders and money are due on Tuesday, September 6. Pick up on Saturday, September 10 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM or Sunday, September 11 from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM in the lower courtyard by the lower parking lot. Questions? Please email reset@asburyonline.org.


What might it look like for Central Community to be in multiple places in the city, serving our neighbours through physical acts of love, all at the same time? It's a Flashserve!
You are invited to join us for Community Sunday and participate in one of the projects below. Come along, bring your friends, love your neighbourhood and meet other people.
What: We will be volunteering at Warley Woods, helping to tidy the woods; it is suggested you wear strong footwear and old clothes. Tools and gloves will be provided. Children are welcome to help, but must be supervised by an adult. You are welcome to join us for brunch at the Cafe after the activity from 12:30-1:30pm.
What: Join us as we love the Handsworth neighbourhood in a practical way by distributing goodie bags of treats, stationary for kids, etc. It will be a great way to spread God's love and unity to the Handsworth community and bless people who may be vulnerable.
What: Litter Pick in Digbeth!
Where: We'll meet at Birmingham Vineyard's City Centre site (B5 7EP) to gather litter pick materials, then walk over to the Digbeth neighbourhood together.


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Home Entertainment An Interview With Brad Taylor, Author of the Pike Logan, Taskforce Thriller...
An Interview With Brad Taylor, Author of the Pike Logan, Taskforce Thriller Series
Back in August, I had just finished reading the latest novel in the Pike Logan thriller series, The Insider Threat, when I posted here about how it prominently featured a GEMTECH-suppressed PWS MK109 SBR in .300 BLK. In that post I also mentioned how I've been pre-ordering every upcoming Pike Logan book months ahead of their release dates, because I've enjoyed the series so much. DUTTON Books took notice, and hooked me and TTAG up in two ways. . .
TTAG got the opportunity to do a brief interview with Mr. Taylor during some downtime in his travels. The meat of it is below, and I think you'll enjoy it. We tried to keep it mostly gun-related, of course, but I've become a big enough fan of this series that I definitely wanted to find out more about where it's going.
Related to that, DUTTON had an advance reading copy of The Forgotten Soldier, which goes on sale this December 29th, in my hands in the first week of October. In addition to making me feel pretty cool, this gave me a bit of insight into Mr. Taylor's writing abilities as this copy was actually raw text prior to hitting the copy editors to check for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. You know what? Pretty freaking impressive. Especially for a knuckle dragging ex-Operator (8 years Delta Force).
If y'all are interested I'll whip up a book review ahead of the publication date, but the short version is that it was dang hard to put down and I blazed through it in record time. The conflicting emotions as the Taskforce hunted a rogue agent of its own — a guy ostensibly doing the right thing but risking irreparable damage to the Taskforce at the same time — made it a real thriller.
Without further ado, TTAG interviews Mr. Taylor:
Have you built your GEMTECH-suppressed MK109 yet? If so, how has it been running for you?
Believe it or not, I'm still waiting on BATF approval, both for the short barreled MK109 and the GEMTECH suppressor. Just last week I was notified by the BATF that there was some issue with the Form 4 for the SBR, and my Class III guy had to resubmit. Still waiting breathlessly on the suppressor to see what goes wrong. It has been, to say the least, a long process. I just sent a deposit for a Citizen Arms build in 6.5 Creedmor, and, since there are no NFA wickets to jump through, I'll probably get that one done before I see the PWS system. I don't know if you've ever checked out Citizen, but the owner is a former operator, and really knows his stuff. When it came time to convince my wife that we needed a gun that could reach out and touch, there was no question of whom I was going to. But, a year later, it will probably overtake my GEMTECH/PWS SBR.
Note from Jeremy: the form re-submission thing isn't actually horrible news. It means the application finally came up for review. When they receive the re-submitted form it won't go back on top of the pile of new forms, but will get reviewed again almost immediately. It's typically two weeks from re-submission to arrival of an approved Form 4, assuming no further issues are found.
What weapons systems did you use most often during your time with Special Forces? Was there a favorite? A least favorite?
Most often we would use the standard M4 or a variant, although with some special modifications. In between we had tons of different weapons systems for specific mission requirements, but on a routine basis it was an M4 or a variant of that system. The same is true with pistols. We shot a Caspian framed 1911 or a Glock, depending on the mission. As for a favorite, I've found that people tend to favor what they shoot the most, regardless of whether one platform is inherently better or not. Train a guy on an M4 and have him put thousands of rounds down range and he's going to like that weapon better than anything else you put in his hands. This dilemma played out more on the pistol side, as we had some seriously heated debates on the 1911/Glock front. Least favorite? Without question, the Berretta M9. I despised that thing.
What was the most common weapons failure you saw in the field?
Failure to feed, by far, in both rifle and pistol, due to a multitude of different reasons.
Do you have thoughts on any limitations of Second Amendment protections, on civilian ownership of "black rifles," standard capacity magazines, handguns, etc, on gun control efforts by politicians and pro-gun control groups?
Well, yeah. Truthfully, most of the arguments for gun control come from a core group of people trying to convince those on the fence. Unfortunately, those on the fence aren't very familiar with guns of any sort, and so they take the arguments at face value, without looking at the facts. All the hyperventilating about so called "assault rifles" is a perfect example. The argument is that a weapon made "purely for war" has no other useful purpose than to take a life, and shouldn't be in a civilian's hands. Especially since "the 5.56/.223 round is so damn devastating." On the surface, this would seem to make imminent sense, but it's belied by the fact that every single revolution in firearms came about through military use. The secondary effect of such research and development was that it, as a tool, was also more efficient for hunting, target practice, and other lawful civilian shooting purposes.
The bolt-action deer rifle the gun control crowd would presumably allow to remain in shooters' hands was first designed and purchased by the Prussian army in the 19th century. John Browning designed the venerable 1911 handgun for the US Army because of a weakness of the issued sidearm in combat in the Philippines. Today, it is one of the most widely replicated and used handgun designs on the competition circuit. The .30-06, one of the most widely used center-fire rifle cartridges for hunting of big game throughout the world, was invented by the military – for war. And so it is with the black rifle.
It is simply the evolution of firearms, and making a distinction as if the AR-15 is a death-dealing weapon solely useful for killing humans is ridiculous. The very attributes the Army and Marines chose in its development directly translate to every lawful endeavor that firearms are purchased for, just as evolution in racing informs the next generation of automobiles. It's accurate, reliable, and easily modified for a host of different shooting purposes and calibers, and these advances for legitimate civilian use cannot be parsed simply because it was at one time invented for the military. I'm not even going to touch on the 5.56 arguments because they literally make my head hurt, but you get the point. When one logically explains the facts to a fence sitter it is surprising how often they appreciate it.
When does the movie come out? Please tell me that the film rights have been purchased and a script is in the works! Or, heck, a Taskforce Showtime/HBO series a la "Homeland."
I've had some nibbles here and there, but so far, I've turned them down. Hollywood is a whole different beast, and I want to make sure I'm doing it right. Once I turn over the rights to my characters, that's it. I'll have very little say, so I have to be careful up front. Having said that, I'm not holding my breath. There are plenty of solid writers out there who haven't had a movie produced, and it's a tough business. Robert Ludlum, the writer of the Bourne series, was actually deceased before his books made it to the big screen. Because of this, I prefer to spend my time developing my writing than chasing Hollywood.
In your mind, who plays Pike in a movie adaptation? Who plays Koko? Do you picture any specific actors when you think of other characters from your novels?
I have some ideas of who would play each character, but as a rule I always keep them to myself. The reader enjoys the books, and it's the reader's mind that creates the world. Every reader is different, and for me – as the writer – to say who it should be would in essence be telling anyone who disagreed that they were wrong in their choice. They aren't, and so I keep that opinion to myself.
How do you keep from becoming too formulaic? Or, is sticking to a tried-and-true formula (Clive Cussler novels always come to mind) a positive thing? Certainly, The Forgotten Soldier was a departure from previous Pike Logan novels as the Taskforce was forced to look inwards. Do you intend to continue mixing things up? Parlaying current news events into story lines?
Truthfully, this is the hardest part of writing a series. There is a fine line to walk between formulaic and stagnation. The reader wants a comfortable, recognizable world – sending Pike and Koko to the Deathstar would be a nonstarter – but the characters have to grow, and the plot lines have to be unique and separate. You can't just change the setting and expect readers to appreciate it. For The Forgotten Soldier you hit the nail on the head. Throughout the series there has been a theme of the potential for the Taskforce to go bad, and I decided to explore that theme within the context of the morality of counterterrorism writ large. Too often, such a world is depicted as black and white, with stark good guys and Dr. Evil bad guys, when in reality it is much more complex. I decided to flesh out that complexity on the page, creating a realistic dilemma for Pike and his team.
What does the future hold for Pike Logan? Either in general and long-term, or maybe some hints or sneak peeks at what's coming next…
Currently banging away on Book 10 – Ghosts of War – and like the question above, I decided to mix it up a little bit. I've moved away from Islamic terrorism and toward the fault lines of the old Iron Curtain. The stakes are a higher than previous books, and involve the potential for a large-scale confrontation between NATO and Russia.
In The Forgotten Soldier, there are a couple of instances of a suppressed Glock 27 being used. I found this curious as it's a .40 S&W caliber pistol and there is no availability of subsonic ammunition in that caliber. As the supersonic crack made by a bullet breaking the sound barrier is actually extremely loud, it really isn't a sensible choice for a suppressor host. At least and particularly not for any sort of clandestine or covert group or operation. For a suppressed sidearm they'd always go with a .45 ACP or a 9mm shooting subsonic ammo, so in those cases in the Glock line it would be a G30 variant or G36, or a G26 variant.
Okay, only a gun guy would catch that, and you caught me. The true story? I have my eye on a Glock 23 or Glock 27 (I think I used both in the book) and just slapped that down because it was on my mind. I have no intention to fire the weapons suppressed, so didn't even bother to check if one could find .40 in subsonic. But your statement about the supersonic crack makes me feel a bit foolish, because before this book they always sported a Glock 36 in .45 precisely because that was a subsonic round. In fact, before the MK109 made its appearance in The Insider Threat, they used the HK UMP also chambered in .45, and I even have a paragraph in One Rough Man (the first book) describing the difference between super sonic and subsonic ammunition with respect to a suppressor – precisely like you did in your question – so the reader could understand the choice. So, to TRULY answer your question: Money is no object to the Taskforce, and they reload specially modified, match grade, subsonic .40 S&W in-house.
Haha, now that's a good answer.
pike logan
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CRF December 11, 2015 At 20:10
I might have to pick up one or nine of these.
Jeremy S December 11, 2015 At 20:30
They're like those potato chips… can't read just one haha
Geoff PR December 11, 2015 At 20:19
Is hand loading .40 S&W subsonic viable?
I think that was firmly tongue in cheek 😉
Well, 'F' me, I'm dense.
Can they or not?
Other Tony December 11, 2015 At 21:58
Yes, check Hornady and other reloading manuals for subsonic loads for .40. I think some commercial am mo is also subsonic.
Yeah, actually I have to eat my hat on this one. It turns out there are tons of factory .40 S&W loads that are subsonic. Mostly FMJ practice ammo and reloads, but a couple of the major defensive hollow points are actually subsonic, most notably the 180 grain Winchester "Defend" loads and 180 grn Federal HST. I'm sort of shocked. Especially at the huge variance in velocities for factory ammo. Suffice it to say, I obviously don't shoot enough .40. Of course, considering it's the same projectile as for 10mm Auto, and there are many 200 to 220 grain loads used in that caliber, you could easily max out your powder charge and/or safe pressure range in .40 S&W with a 200+ grain projectile and still keep things below the speed of sound. Especially through a sub-compact pistol.
So…Mr. Taylor…I owe you an apology! There are plenty of ways that G27 could be shooting subs.
Brad Taylor December 15, 2015 At 20:45
My answer stands….I didn't know it either! And I should have if I put it on the page. Usually, I do, and in this case, I got lazy. Good lesson for me.
Kris Morris February 3, 2016 At 22:41
I'm a long term fan of the series, and highly respect you Mr Taylor for a myriad of reasons. This answer just solidified that, total class.
Jeremiah S. December 11, 2015 At 20:56
Wow, looks awesome. I'm a huge fan of the Mitch Rapp novels and it looks similar, so I might have to pick this up.
Tom in Oregon December 11, 2015 At 21:10
Might have to check these out. I'm a book freak. I read all the Jack Reacher books in about a month.
That's another series I'm always pre-ordering on Amazon months ahead of each book's release.
Odysseus M Tanner December 11, 2015 At 21:47
"On the surface, this would seem to make imminent sense …" Well no it really wouldn't, but it might make eminent sense.
LarryinTX December 12, 2015 At 16:17
Well, in just a moment the sense might be imminent …
Carsickplatypus December 11, 2015 At 22:19
I just checked out his website. His solution to Islamic terrorism is to allow Muslims to flood into the West and then exposing them to our amazing values, and by showing them "Baywatch" reruns. He thinks that will reform Islam from within.
Sorry. Dangerously stupid cuckservatives don't get any money from me.
That's a pretty exaggerated, and then reductive summary of his most recent blog post, IMHO (http://bradtaylorbooks.com/2015/12/donald-trump-gun-control-and-the-lunacy-of-fear/).
Hey, come on. I'm the last person to say Islam isn't a problem. Quit cherry picking quotes. Two other blogs besides the one listed that explain my views.
http://bradtaylorbooks.com/2010/10/american-islamophobia/
http://bradtaylorbooks.com/2015/12/whats-in-a-name/
Please don't paint me with an inaccurate brush with a comment that has no bearing on my true feelings.
Lucas D. December 12, 2015 At 06:02
Really? "Pike Logan"? What's with authors always giving characters names that are either over-the-top badass, over-the-top whimsical, or both? Look, writers, I love you and I love what you do, so I promise I'll still become invested in the exploits of your ruggedly handsome, dangerously virile, and dashingly charismatic hero even if you just name him something like "Frank Thompson."
"PIKE" is a callsign, like everyone had in my old Unit. None came about for flattering reasons. Mine was "Woody", because I looked like the character from Toy Story on a target. "Logan" was to be the name of my first born son. As fate would have it, I had two daughters, so now it lives on in my books. Sorry if that appeared too macho.
Indiana Tom December 12, 2015 At 07:12
Related to that, DUTTON had an advance reading copy of The Forgotten Soldier, which goes on sale this December 29th,
Uhhmmmm…I think a lawsuit is in the making here as there already is a book with the title of The Forgotten Soldier.
This book recounts the horror of World War II on the eastern front, as seen through the eyes of a teenaged German soldier. As a member of the elite Gross Deutschland Division, he fought in all the great battles from Kursk to Kharkov.
I have read the book three or four times. Great book.
There are quite a few books and movies with the same titles. I have no idea what the copyright or trademark, etc, laws are regarding that. I'd hope/assume Dutton does.
No lawsuit of any sort. Titles are not protected by copywrite. To do so would cause major havoc. I wrote Days of Rage a few years ago, and yes, sure enough, there was a non-fiction book with the same name. For instance, if you wanted to title your book Sympathy for the Devil, you'd be in good company:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_22?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=sympathy+for+the+devil&sprefix=sympathy+for+the+devil%2Caps%2C176
Ralph December 12, 2015 At 11:31
I'm sure the books are great, but Pike Logan? Really? I guess "Huge Erection Logan" was under someone else's copyright.
The guy's actual name is Nephilim. Pike is his callsign. I think it's due to the ornery fish of the same name, but don't know if I'm remembering that correctly. I think it was explained in one of the first couple of books. Probably around when Koko got her name we found out how knuckles, retro, decoy, blood, pike etc got theirs 🙂
Ah well, I stand corrected. There's like 14,000 guys named Nephilim in my local White Pages alone.
LOL. True, true.
It's old testament…
"Money is no object to the Taskforce, and they reload specially modified, match grade, subsonic .40 S&W in-house."
Simple enough, just produce a 220 grain .40 bullet and you're home free. A subsonic .40 with 220 grains would have the same energy as a .300 Blk 220 subsonic.
Erin Clemons December 29, 2015 At 10:42
I will never stop loving thus series for exactly what it is. Great action entertainment and great storytelling. That's why I love books. If you can transport me, Im in. Whether it's Reacher, Rapp, Andreas, Joe Pike or Pike Logan! (Even Frank Thompson) and a little leeway on the sub and supersonic crap is fine w me. Im reading fiction & 99% of the time it's spot on with that stuff. Love it!!


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