text:
Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Sandra Bingham, The Praetorian Guard: A History of Rome's Elite Special Forces. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2013. Pp. xi, 240; 16 p. of plates. ISBN 9781602586499. $29.95.
Reviewed by Conor Whately, University of Winnipeg (c.whately@uwinnipeg.ca)
Version at BMCR home site
[The Table of contents is listed at the end of the review.]
This book is a history of the praetorian guard during the principate; it is divided into five chapters including the introduction and the conclusion. Bingham's thesis is that the guard should be seen as more than simply the emperor's bodyguard: it should also be seen as a symbol of the emperor's power, and the military basis of his rule. There is a detailed appendix, and endnotes rather than footnotes, presumably part of an attempt to increase its appeal to a general audience. On that note, it is the subtitle of this book, including not just "A History of Rome", but "Elite Special Forces", that is most likely to make it attractive to a general audience. For this conjures up images of SAS soldiers, or soldiers of the JTF2, decked in black with night vision goggles, guns cocked, ready to storm a building and free some hostages. In fact, Bingham herself says in the very first note of the book that "'Elite' here is defined not in the sense of a specialized force (as, say, the SAS) so much as an indication of status" (p. 125, n. 1). Although this might disappoint those general readers (and, however slightly, this academic one), a little fortitude will reward, for the book is well written, engaging, and persuasive, even if Bingham's caution can be both satisfying and frustrating.
In the introduction, Bingham sets out the difficulties posed by our literary sources (pp. 4-5). With regard to the second (and early third) century AD, for example, Dio is fragmentary; the Historia Augusta is often unreliable; and Herodian, like many historians before and after, is usually uninterested in the specifics we modern historians like. To make matters worse, the numismatic evidence is limited in quantity, the material evidence is far from conclusive (cf. pp. 69-75), and the epigraphic evidence has less detail about careers and day-to-day activities than we might like (p. 5). For all the problems with the ancient sources there are almost as many problems with the modern accounts, or so Bingham. She sets out, then, to make sense of this complicated evidence and right the wrongs of past and present modern treatments, particularly in English.1
Chapter two provides the historical overview of the guard, from the republic to Diocletian, and there are a number of highlights. Bingham argues that the guard was always "intended for the emperor's personal use" (p. 15). She suggests that their later activities, from fire fighting to policing, may have originated under Augustus (p. 18), though it was during the period from Tiberius to Nero that the guard became the force that we find in most general treatments (p. 21). One of the most famous events of the Julio-Claudian era is the assassination of Caligula and the accession of Claudius. The most entertaining version has it that a member of the guard, post assassination, found Claudius cowering in the palace, saluted him as emperor, and subsequently dragged him along to the camp for acclamation (p. 26). Bingham discounts this and another version (the praetorians met and chose Claudius). Instead, she argues that both the prefect, Clemens, and Claudius himself had a part, with the later appearance of Claudius on coins with imagery of the guard and the 100 sesterces gift per man on the anniversary of his accession as proof of the emperor's role (p. 27). When Trajan came to power in AD 98 the usual assumption is that he had the prefect Aelianus and his men killed (pp. 39-40). As Bingham notes, however, Cassius Dio, at least in the epitome we have, does not specify murder (68.5.4): "He sent for Aelianus and the Praetorians..and…put them out of the way."2 Rather, Aelianus was probably simply dismissed from his post and sent away. This reaction should be connected to the positive relationship, "one of mutual respect" (p. 40) as Bingham calls it, between Trajan and the guard. Finally, one of the most famous historical episodes took place between the assassination of Commodus and the accession of Septimius Severus: the auctioning of the empire to Didius Julianus. She concludes that the story in that guise is a myth, and rather it was the relationship between Sulpicianus and Pertinax that was the deciding factor in Julianus' acclamation and not the amount of money on offer (pp. 44-45).
In the next chapter Bingham turns to the guard's organization. She discusses the number of praetorians, both with respect to the number of cohorts and the number per cohort. As regards the total per cohort, debate has raged between a quingenary (500) effective and a milliary (1,000) one; she settles on 1,000 (p. 55). The details of service and its commanders are covered. She also touches on their career path, noting that most of our epigraphic evidence is second century, which makes it difficult to discern the nature of first century career paths (p. 65). Pay and donatives, the location of their camp (Castra Praetoria in Rome), and their equipment and uniform all receive due attention. One of the problematic points is trying to determine what they wore and when. The images on Trajan's Column are not particularly helpful: is a particular soldier a legionary, an auxiliary, or praetorian (p. 77)? She argues that we can really only identify them as praetorians on the column when their lion-skin headdress-wearing standard bearers accompanied them. Bingham also discounts suggestions that the praetorians wore togas in Rome. As she notes, the comments of Tacitus (Ann. 16.271) usually adduced to make such claims are anything but indicative of their wearing of togas in this context (p. 78).
The penultimate chapter deals with the praetorian guard's duties. The topics include their service as imperial bodyguards, their role in the securing of the state, their policing of events, and their occasional fighting of fires. The protection of the emperor and the securing of the state seem to be one and the same. Nevertheless, in her discussion of the latter Bingham delves into, among other things, the actions of the speculatores (p. 89-92). She also explores the emperors' use of the guard to intimidate potential threats to his person and the state, such as Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso in AD 20; quite often, men like Piso were coerced into suicide (p. 92-95). In other instances, outright executions were in order, at least from the perspective of the emperors themselves: for example, Nero had Rubellius Plautus executed for alerting the emperor to the changes looming as a result of the appearance of a comet (p. 96). With regard to the last section, the fighting of fires, the discussion is wide-ranging, moving as it does from an overview of the vigiles to Sejanus and his removal. We are, then, to assume that these fires are both literal and figurative.
The conclusion provides an excellent summary of the main themes and topics discussed in the book. In a pinch, it could be read with considerable profit for the harried reader looking for a concise overview.
One of the author's great strengths is the caution with which she usually approaches the evidence. She often shies away from fanciful theories, even though the apparent abundance of praetorian conspiracies – Didius Julianus and the auctioning of the empire for example – would seem to warrant some wild and exciting historical reconstructions. For instance, at the end of her discussion of the Castra Praetoria Bingham notes the tendency of some to associate the size of the camp with the total number of soldiers per cohort. The incomplete state of excavations – the northern areas are little known – complicates our picture considerably, and she reminds us, as a result, that the material record is anything but decisive in this matter (p. 75). There are exceptions: in her discussion of praetorian participation in the wars of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius Bingham claims that by the end of the second century the guard had become accustomed to fighting in the field. The evidence adduced (p. 41; p. 152, n. 216) for this claim, however, is a couple of inscriptions (ILS 8846, ILS 9002).
On the other hand, despite the problematic nature of our evidence in many cases, further discussion would have enriched this important book. A noteworthy example is the aforementioned combat role of the praetorians. On pages 41-42 Bingham describes their participation in Trajan's Dacian wars.3 She says that there are scenes on the column of Trajan where we can spot their involvement in battle. Here she has in mind those places where they are depicted with their standards following the emperor to war. Bingham does not, however, take the discussion further, even though a question springs to mind: is their presence really evidence of Trajan's personal role in the conflict, or is it indicative of his need for additional crack troops? The other conflicts noted in her discussion are the Parthian and Marcomannic of Marcus Aurelius, and he (and Lucius Verus) like Trajan fought at the front, so possibly suggesting that the guard's presence in these wars had more to do with the safety of the emperor rather than their combat utility. Yet, one of the principal thrusts of the book is summed up in the following statement: "The use of the praetorians as a specialized military force was an extension of its role to ensure the safety of the emperor and, in connection with that duty, to provide assistance when required for the security of the state. The assignments were varied, but the guard often was sent only when previous attempts to find other solutions to a serious problem had failed" (p. 119). If this is the case with respect to the Dacians, it has important implications not only for our understanding of the severity of the conflict, 4 but also the bias of the sources towards Domitian: the Dacians were such fearsome opponents that Trajan had to bring along the praetorians to ensure success. Domitian, then, should not be chastised for his apparent struggles in the 80s. In the end, that her discussion has brought to mind these issues is another of the book's strengths.
All in all, Bingham has written what will be the standard book in English on the subject in a style that should endear it to a wider audience. Although at times the author is overly cautious, her caution is usually necessitated by the nature of the evidence, and it quite often pays dividends. Finally, the book poses some questions that will be of interest for those whose own research focuses on areas outside of traditional Roman military history.5
4. Duties
1. We lack recent, full-length treatments in English. Cf. R. Cowan, 2002, Aspects of the Severan Field Army: The Praetorian Guard, Legio II Parthica, and Legionary Vexillations AD 193-238, University of Glasgow, unpublished PhD dissertation; S. Ottley, 2009, The Role Played by the Praetorian Guard in the Events of AD 69 as Described by Tacitus in his Historiae, University of Western Australia, unpublished PhD dissertation; M. Jallet-Huant, 2009, La Garde Prétorienne dans la Rome Antique, Paris.
2. trans. Cary (LCL).
3. Despite the problems with the quantity and quality of evidence for Trajan's Dacian wars, more could have been said. Note, for example, A.S. Stefan, 2005, Les guerres daciques de Domitien et de Trajan: Architecture militaire, topographie, images et histoire, Rome, which is missing from the bibliography.
4. cf. E.L. Wheeler, 2010, "Rome's Dacian Wars: Domitian, Trajan, and Strategy on the Danube, Part 1", JMH 74, 1185-1227; idem, 2011, "Rome's Dacian Wars: Domitian, Trajan, and Strategy on the Danube, Part II", JMH 75, 191-219.
5. I only noticed two mistakes: on page 24 it should read "in January", not "in the January"; on page 88 a "to" is missing between the words "unwilling tolerate". Additionally, there are a number of instances (three on pp. 16-17) where Bingham simply refers the reader ahead to a chapter rather than specific pages (so, "see Chapter X"). Precise page numbers would have helped.
About BMCR
Bryn Mawr Classical Review (BMCR) publishes timely reviews of current scholarly work in the field of classical studies (including archaeology). The authoritative archive can be found at https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu.
This site was established to allow responses to reviews through the comments feature; all reviews from August 2008 have been posted and comments were allowed from 2008 until 2018.
Subscribe to emails from the main BMCR site
Subscription to BMCR or BMCR + The Medieval Review.
Subscribe to emails from the BMCR blog
Subscribe to the BMCR blog by email
The emails will be in the form of a daily digest. If you don't receive the email with the confirmation link right away, check your spam folder.
Subscribe To BMCR RSS feeds
Review for BMCR


Easy. Quick. Delicious. After hauling myself 10 miles up the side of a mountain, those three words are music to my ravenous ears. Easy and quick aren't so hard to pull off (i.e., packet of ramen, meet boiling water)—but delicious? That's the trick.
One secret: Prepackaged, preseasoned bags 'o rice. Cook 'em up, throw in a few add-ons, and you've got yourself a camp-gourmet-caliber dinner for dirtbag-level effort.
1. At home, pack fresh veggies in paper bags. Tip: An easy way to carry green onions in your pack is in an old Wyler's or Crystal Light lemonade plastic canister.
2. In camp, rehydrate veggies or chop fresh veggies. Open the JackPack!, slice meat into 1/4-inch chunks, and dice cheese. (The pretzel is your appetizer.) Chop chicken.
3. Sauté vegetables and sausage chunks in oil until tender. Add two cups of water, cover, and bring to a boil.
4. Add chopped chicken and Red Beans and Rice packet. Simmer, covered, for 8 minutes. Sprinkle with the diced cheese. Remove from heat and let it stand, covered, for 3 minutes.


Manufacturer of Grinding Machine, External Grinding Machine & Internal Grinding Machine offered by Micromatic Grinding Technologies Limited from Ace Micromatic Group has the largest repertoire of CNC machine models to ... showcasing the latest advances in CNC Lathes, Machining Centers and Grinding machines.
Grinders For Cylindrical Grinding, Price, Suppliers , Parishudh cylindrical grinding machine-2Nos1 Parishudh(MIcromatic) External grinding machine with fully automatic functions, like table traverse, .
micromatic grinding machine model Newest Crusher, Grinding Micromatic Grinding Technologies Ltd. Crank Shaft middle journal grinding machine Model Rhino R80. High speed CBN Cam shaft Grinder ToyodaMicromatic Model GC20M 25S.
micromatic grinding 08888888888 ... micromatic grinding machine model Newest Crusher, ... used micromatic grinding machine Gold Ore Crusher.
VSI5X Crusher Read more; VSI Crusher Read more; Vibrating Screen ... Micromatic Grinding Machine Model - mayukhportfolio. micromatic grinding machine model.
Grinding Machine with Robat Automation ... Micromatic Grinding Technologies Ltd. uploaded and posted 2 years ago ... Two axis CNC/PLC machine model Simple Grind.
Hydraulic Valve Grinding Machine of Model YFMJ ... Specification Of Grinding Machine, process crusher, ... Micromatic Grinding Technologies Ltd.
... Micromatic Grinding Technologies Ltd. ... Microtek Grinding Machines Private Limited Manufacturer of Model Surface Grinder, Grinding Machine, ... Crusher Machine.


text:
package com.netflix.servo.publish;

import com.netflix.servo.monitor.MonitorConfig;

/**
 * A filter to restrict the set of metrics that are polled.
 */
public interface MetricFilter {
    /**
     * Check if a metric with the provided configuration should be selected and
     * sent to observers.
     *
     * @param config  config settings associated with the metric
     * @return        true if the metric should be selected
     */
    boolean matches(MonitorConfig config);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
MLB free agency: Mariners to sign Robbie Ray to five-year, $115 million deal
The Seattle Mariners are reportedly nearing a deal with American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray, as first reported by MetsMerized's Michael Mayer. CBS Sports HQ's Jim Bowden confirms that Ray's contract will cover five years and be worth $115 million, with an opt out after the third season.
Ray, a left-hander who celebrated his 30th birthday in October, authored an impeccable 2021 season. In 32 starts with the Toronto Blue Jays, he amassed a 2.84 ERA (154 ERA+) and a 4.77 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He entered the offseason ranked by CBS Sports as the sixth-best free agent on the market. Here's what we wrote at the time:
Ray just authored one of the most impressive turnaround stories in recent memory. He was abysmal in 2020 after altering his arm action, walking nearly a batter per inning and looking far more hittable than someone with his caliber of stuff should. He rebounded by upping his fastball usage rate and by challenging batters in the zone more, be it over the middle or on the inner half. Gosh, did that work out well. His lack of a track record makes him a pure risk-reward signing: the risk is that he might not be this good again; the reward is that, if he is, he's going to provide oodles of surplus value on the contract he signs this winter.
Ray is the first premium free-agent signing the Mariners have made since inking Robinson Canó prior to the 2014 season. Seattle is coming off a surprisingly good 90-72 effort that had them in playoff contention until the final day of the regular season. The Mariners have not made the postseason since 2001.
Ray will front a rotation that includes Marco Gonzales, Chris Flexen, and Logan Gilbert. The Mariners have a number of talented young starters nearing the majors, too, including Matt Brash, George Kirby, and Emerson Hancock. Factor in some of their young hitters -- outfielders Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodríguez -- as well as the state of the division (the Astros are likely to lose Carlos Correa; the Athletics are set to dismantle their core; and so on) and clearly the Mariners see an opportunity.
The Blue Jays recently signed Kevin Gausman, a move that suggested they would be moving on from Ray.
Tags million sign deal agency mariners mlb million robbie free ray fiveyear deal free mlb sign agency

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Opening Service 2021
Home / Opening Service 2021
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne Opens Its 176th Academic Year
Welcoming students and celebrating the installation of new faculty and staff
FORT WAYNE, IN, September 14, 2021—By God's grace and to His glory alone, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), held its Opening Service on Tuesday, September 7, 2021. President Lawrence R. Rast Jr. thanked the faculty, staff, students, families, and friends—gathered both in person and online around the world—and welcomed them "as we begin our 176th academic year, which is really a testimony, not to the people who've come before us, but to the faithfulness of God and the manner in which He will continue to love and support you—our new students, our current students, our new staff and faculty. Through the various expressions of pilgrimages in your lives, He is faithful."
LCMS President Matthew Harrison was on hand to celebrate and offer words of encouragement and support. "I want to thank this Seminary for everything that it means to the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and Confessional Lutheranism around the world. There is no seminary in the world, no Lutheran seminary in the world that has a bigger global footprint than this institution, and we are, indeed, very pleased with it." He went on to say, "Jesus comes to have mercy . . . and whatever you face, both trials and difficulties, crosses and joys . . . He will be blessing you. That's what He comes to do, and may He bless your work."
CTSFW was proud and blessed to celebrate new faculty and staff members. LCMS Indiana District President Daniel Brege executed the Commissioning and Installation of Newly Appointed Diaconal Staff, Deaconess Katie Aiello as admission counselor ; the Installation of Newly Appointed Ordained Staff, the Rev. Chad Schopp and the Rev. Brian Stark as admission counselors; and the Installation of Newly Appointed Faculty, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions Rev. Todd Peperkorn. They were reminded of what the Bible says concerning service to the Church, that "our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5b) , and "whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave" (Matt. 20:26b–27). May our Seminary and entire Synod pray for God's guidance as these dedicated servants work to teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all.
After the service, all in attendance were invited to come together for a meal in the Katherine Luther Dining Hall.
We ask that our brothers and sisters in Christ from across the country and around the world join Dr. Rast and the entire CTSFW community in our fervent prayer: "O God, through the Holy Spirit, You illuminate the minds and sanctify the lives of those whom You call to the work of pastors and deaconesses. Bless the Seminary and the academic year which we begin in Your name . . . Bless those who teach and those who learn, and so renew and increase in us the gifts of Your Spirit, that we may be built up in our most holy faith, strengthened for every duty, and enabled to render You and our fellow men true acceptable service, through Jesus Christ, our Lord."
As Dr. Rast announced in the Lord's blessing over His people, "May the true faith flourish among us, the fear of God, and the love of the brethren; may the voice of prayer continually be heard here, the voice of rejoicing and salvation, the voice of praise, and the invocation of the most glorious and honorable name of the triune God, henceforth and forever."


Discover free woodworking plans and projects for holiday patterns for wood crafts. Start your next project for holiday patterns for wood crafts with one of our many woodworking plans. Woodworking project plans available for immediate PDF download.
Christmas. Arts And Crafts Activity: Wisemen Or Kings Made From Toilet Paper Rolls, Colored Papers.


LEXINGTON, Ky., Feb. 28 (UPI)—Dan Issel, the nation's third‐leading collegiate scorer, pumped in 31 points today to lead the Kentucky Wildcats to a 90‐86 victory over Vander bilt and avenge the Wildcats' only loss of the basketball sea son.
Vanderbilt jumped to a 7‐0 lead as Kentucky missed its first 10 shots, but the Wildcats stormed back to go ahead, 46 33, at the half.
The Commodores fought back to tie the game at 76‐76, with five minutes to play. The Wildcats rallied to regain the lead. But with 30 seconds left, Thorpe Weber of Vanderbilt Made good on a 3‐point play tp. reduce the Kentucky lead to 2 points at 88‐86. Issel scored on a tip‐in to clinch the yictory with 5 seconds left.
A sophomore, Tom Parker, backed Issel with a contribu tion of 21 points. Vanderbilt was paced by Perry Wallace With 25 and Weber with 19.
Kentucky, which wrapped up the Southeastern Conference :championship with a victory over Alabama last Monday, now is 23‐1 for the season.
HOUSTON, Feb. 28 (AP)— Rice clinched a tie for the Southwest Conference basket ball title today by defeating texas Christian, 82‐73, after surviving a second‐half scare.
The Owl's victory coupled with S.M.U.'s 85‐80 triumph, over second‐place Texas Tech tonight gave Rice its first con ference crown in 16 years.
The Owls lost a 12‐point lead midway in the second half, but regained their poise and won going away to raise their con ference won‐lost mark to 10‐3 and season record to 14‐9 with one game remaining.
Gary Reist scored 26 points for Rice, and Steve Wendell had 19 and Tom Myer 16. Rick Wittenbraker led T.C.U. with 18.
The Frogs never led, although Coco Villarreal's 12‐foot jumper tied the score with 9:15 re maining. The Owls scored straight points and T.C.U. never caught up again.
WORCESTER, Mass. Feb. 28 (AP)—Jim O'Brien scored 26 points today as Boston College capitalized at the free‐throw line. for an 86‐73 upset over Holy Cross.
The Eagles raced to a 40‐27 half‐time lead and then breezed the rest of the way as Holy Cross was forced to foul in an attempt to slow down the Bos ton College attack.
The Eagles sank 34 of 43 free throws, while Holy Cross converted 19 of 32.
Yin Costello, who often set up O'Brien, tallied 22 points for the winners. Bob Kissane paced Holy Cross with 26 points and 20 rebounds.
Half‐time score—Boston College 40, Holy Cross 27.
Fouled nut—Kissane, Baron, Barclay, Adams Fitzgerald, Verroneau Attendance‐3,300.
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 28 — George McManama scored two goals and assisted on three others tonight to spark Har vard's hockey team to a 6‐2 victory over Yale. The victory boosted Harvard's won‐lost record to 13‐7 over all and 6‐4 in the Ivy League. Yale is 5‐16 over all and 3‐8 in the league.
WEST POINT, N. Y., Feb. 28 —Boston College scored in every period tonight and John Burnett stopped 21 shots on goal, as the Eagles posted a 4‐0 hockey victory over Army. Four different players scored for B.C. as the Eagles won their 16th game against nine setbacks. Army has a 12‐10 record.


It's been a long time since I picked up White Dwarf from my front door mat, with any excitement that there maybe something of interest in it, that I don't already know about! Imagine my delighted surprise when I opened issue 379, and saw some brand new Cities of Death stuff!
In reality, I am sure it is nothing more than GW noticing that Cities sales have died a bit, and need a boost, but as it has come out at the same time that I have been thinking about getting my Cities board out for a few games, I was actually quite excited about this issue!
What Stratagems are the best? Even though they are 'free', which ones should I take? Is there some sort of mathammer way to decide?
Having the ability to redeploy and swap units about, is a great dirty trick, and matches in with the current Eldrad Devination power. I like this one, but it is something that will need to be planned out rather than randomly taking it. I think I will give it a try.
Lets just say, when the new Codex hits, and we can take Flayed Ones as troops, I will have a closer look at it, but until then, Flayed Ones are off my radar.
Maybe if you are a Gargoyle fan then great, but personally, I just have to ask, WHY?
Of course GW won't let us down with the Marines, any Marine within 6" of the building get to re-roll all failed rolls to hit!
So there you have it, I may play the Eldar one, but it only helps once at the beginning of the game, unlike the nice Space Marine one that last for the whole game, and can effect your whole army!
So what do you think? Stratagems! Do you like them? Do you plan what ones you will take before a game or do you randomly pick them? What do you think of the new Stratagems and should Stratagems be introduced into normal 40k games?
I like your terrain, never played city fight though but interesting article.


Azealia Banks could have easily had one of last year's most hotly anticipated debuts. Instead, "Broke With Expensive Taste," originally slated for a Fall 2012 release, was pushed back to February 12. Still, she's riding a mighty wave of anticipation off last year's sizzling, house-heavy "1991" EP and mermaid-themed "Fantasea" mixture. She's already rapped on the same track as Missy Elliott (a remix of M.I.A.'s "Bad Girls") and has garnered plenty of Nicki Minaj comparisons (they both went to New York's LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts) but at this point, it's anyone's guess if she even wants to be a traditional rapper or continue venturing off on her own creative wavelength. But one thing's for sure: when "Expensive Taste" finally drops, the music world will be listening.


text:
Shellye Arnold - Memorial Park Conservancy
Memorial Park Conservancy
Shellye Arnold - President & CEO
Register to attend in-person meeting at:
Tony's, 3755 Richmond Ave., Houston, TX 77046
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ---> Tony's August 12, 2021 <--- CLICK TO REGISTER
ATTEND VIRTUALLY ---> Teams August 12, 2021 <--- ATTEND VIRTUALLY
(Instruction for Microsoft Teams under Read more... below)
Inquiring minds want to know what's happening in Houston's larger than "Central Park" construction, huge tunnels, and land bridges. If you recently saw (or missed!) the special report on KPRC TV, join us on August 12th to hear the complete story directly from the President & CEO.
Shellye Arnold's Bio:
Shellye joined the Conservancy in 2013 and has led the creation and adoption of the 2015 Memorial Park Master Plan, launched its associated Capital Campaign, initiated project execution and transitioned the management and operations of 1,100 acres of Memorial Park to the Conservancy. Shellye and the Conservancy leadership team grew the organization from 3 employees to over 50 and from a $500K annual budget to over $30M in operating and capital annual spend. In 2018 the Conservancy announced the largest private donation in the history of the Houston parks system which established a $205 million public-private partnership commitment for Memorial Park's capital campaign and secured maintenance and operations funding for the Park. This forged a project partnership between the Conservancy, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, the Kinder Foundation and Uptown Development Authority to accelerate the delivery of a significant portion of the Master Plan by 2028. She and her team have also delivered additional Park improvements including the planting of over 100,000 trees/seedlings, ecological restoration work applied to 600 acres of Park space, amenity upgrades, and enhanced user experience. Shellye brings a background in executive leadership and change management from her nearly 20 years at Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq Computer Corporation and McKinsey & Company. Having studied public policy, Shellye spent the first part of her career with the Texas State Legislature, the Texas Department of Commerce, and the U.S.. Department of Commerce. She previously worked as a volunteer in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru delivering public health programs and speaks Spanish fluently. Shellye holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master in Public Policy from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs. As a native Houstonian, Shellye cares deeply about our parks, bayous, green spaces and the wildlife that inhabit them. Shellye volunteers in animal rescue and served for 8 years as a leader for Girl Scout Troop 21, the nation's only special needs Girl Scout troop.


Martha Malinski, of the Center for Community Work and Learning, received a $148,826 grant from Great Lakes Community Investments to create a new program to support students in 60 paid internships with Twin Cities area nonprofits. The grant supports students who are the least able to financially afford an unpaid internship and provides the opportunity to develop new relationships with area nonprofits.
Malinski, Martha, "Career Ready Internships" (2014). External Grant Awards. 22.


After a tough loss against Glasgow the Men's Volleyball took on Aberdeen at home last Sunday.
Aberdeen cleaned up their act for the second set, eliminating the errors of their previous set and made the Saints fight for every point. This time it was the St Andrews' boys play that suffered giving Aberdeen some easy points. The set remained close however, at the critical moment of 23-23 a tactical time-out by Aberdeen resulted in a serving error that stopped the Saints' late-game momentum and tipped the scales in their favour. The set was lost 24-26.
The second set had revitalised Aberdeen, who were now playing at a completely different level than they had for the first set, getting in good hits, utilising their blocking capabilities and continuing to disrupt play by use of tactical time-outs. The Saints made life difficult for themselves at the start of the set with some sloppy passing. The set remained close however and we managed to adjust our play to the block, and our middles got in some solid hits towards the end of the set, putting the pressure back on Aberdeen. In turn Aberdeen's middles made some unforced errors, giving us a late-game advantage. The Saints drove momentum home and took the third set 25-20.
Aberdeen brought more impressive blocking in the fourth set winning them several points. Solid defensive play from our back row as well as good blocking effectively halted Aberdeen's attacks, leaving the fate of the match in the Saints' hands. Ultimately the Saints' attack won over Aberdeen's block and the match was won 3-1 (4th set 25-22). A satisfying end to one of the strongest performances of the team so far, taking 2nd place from Aberdeen in the League.
The Saints now prepare to take on RGU away this weekend.


text:
\section{Introduction}

\subsubsection*{Shattering-extremal families}

A set system $\mathcal{F}\subseteq 2^{[n]}$ \emph{shatters} a given set $S \subseteq[n]$ if the elements of $\mathcal{F}$ intersect it in every possible way, i.e. $2^S = \left\{F \cap S\; : \; F \in \mathcal{F}  \right\}$.
The family of subsets of $[n]$ shattered by $\mathcal{F}$ is denoted by $\Sh(\mathcal{F})$.  The size of the largest set shattered by $\mathcal{F}$ is called the Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension of $\mathcal{F}$, and is denoted by $dim_{VC}(\mathcal{F})$. Shattering and the
Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension are present in several fields of both applied and theoretical
mathematics, among others in theoretical machine learning, combinatorics, statistics, probability theory, computer science and logic.

In general, maybe a bit surprisingly, we have that $|\Sh(\mathcal{F})|\geq |\mathcal{F}|$ for every set system $\mathcal{F}\subseteq 2^{[n]}$. This statement was proved by several authors independently, and is often referred to as the Sauer-Shelah lemma. For a nice simple proof see e.g.~\cite{ARS}. Set systems satisfying the Sauer-Shelah lemma with equality are called \emph{shattering-extremal}, or \emph{s-extremal} for short. They are well studied notions in mathematics with a rich history (see e.g.~\cite{ARS,BLR,BR,F2,KM,M1,M2,MR1,MR2,Mo,RM}), also appearing in the literature under the names \emph{ample classes} (see e.g.~\cite{BCDK,D}) and \emph{lopsided classes}(see e.g.~\cite{L}). For an easy example of an s-extremal family one can consider \emph{down-sets} (respectively \emph{up-sets}), i.e. families $\mathcal{F}\subseteq 2^{[n]}$ with the property that whenever $H\subseteq F$ (respectively $F\subseteq H$) and $F\in \mathcal{F}$ then we also have $H\in \mathcal{F}$. Now if $\mathcal{F}$, is a down-set (respectively up-set) then $\mathcal{F}$ is s-extremal, simply because in this case  $\Sh(\mathcal{F})= \mathcal{F}$ (respectively $\Sh(\mathcal{F})=\{[n]\setminus F:F\in \mathcal{F}\}$).

\subsubsection*{Extremal point sets}

Given some set $F\subseteq [n]$, let $v_F \in \{0,1 \}^n$ be its \emph{characteristic vector}, i.e.~the $i$-th coordinate of $v_F$ is $1$ if $i\in F$ and $0$ otherwise. In this way we can identify a set system $\mathcal{F} \subseteq 2^{[n]}$ with the vector system
\begin{equation*}
\mathcal{V}(\mathcal{F}) = \Big\{ v_F\ :\ F\in \mathcal{F} \Big\} \subseteq \{0,1 \}^n \subseteq \mathbb{F}^n,
\end{equation*}
where $\mathbb{F}$ is any field. Therefore, if there is an interesting problem about set systems, it is natural to embed the problem into $\mathbb{F}^n$ and ask what happens if we do not restrict ourselves to $0-1$ vectors but allow any set of coordinates. In case of shattering there is a usual way of generalizing the notion to general finite point sets (see e.g.~\cite{Sh}). Let $A\subseteq \mathbb{F}$ be a finite set of size $k$, and $\mathcal{V}\subseteq A^n$ a finite point set whose elements we view for now as $[n]\rightarrow A$ functions. We say that $\mathcal{V}$ \emph{shatters} a set $S\subseteq [n]$ if for every function $\ve g:S\rightarrow A$ there exists a function $\ve f \in \mathcal{V}$ such that $\ve f|_S=\ve g$. As previously, let $\Sh(\mathcal{V})$ denote the family of sets shattered by $\mathcal{V}$. In the definition of s-extremality the Sauer-Shelah lemma played a key role, however in this case we cannot expect a similar inequality to hold. Indeed, as $\Sh(\mathcal{V})\subseteq 2^{[n]}$, there are at most $2^n$ sets shattered, but at the same time the size of $\mathcal{V}$ can be
much larger, up to $k^n$. Instead, we will use an algebraic characterization of s-extremal families \cite{M1,RM} to generalize the notion to arbitrary finite point sets. For this we will briefly review some of the necessary algebraic notions. For a more detailed introduction see Section \ref{sec:prelim}

Given a finite point set $\mathcal{V}\subseteq \mathbb{F}^n$ the \emph{vanishing ideal} $I(\mathcal{V}) \unlhd \mathbb{F}[\textbf{x}]$\footnote{$\mathbb{F}[\textbf{x}]$ is the shorthand notation for the polynomial ring $\mathbb{F}[x_1,x_2,\dots,x_n]$.} is
\begin{equation*}
I(\mathcal{V})= \Big\{ f\in \mathbb{F}[\textbf{x}]\ :\ f(\ve v)=0 \; \ \forall\; \ve v \in \mathcal{V} \Big\}.
\end{equation*}
A total order $\prec$ on the monomials in $\mathbb{F}[\textbf{x}]$ is a \emph{term order}, if $1$ is the minimal element of $\prec$, and $\prec$ is compatible with multiplication with monomials. One well-known and important term order is the \emph{(standard) lexicographic order, lex order} for short,  where one has $\ve x^{\ve w} \prec \ve x^{\ve u}$\footnote{$\ve x^{\ve w}$ is the shorthand notation for the monomial $x_1^{w_1}x_2^{w_2}\cdots x_n^{w_n}$.} if and only if for the smallest index $i$ with $w_i \neq u_i$ one has $w_i < u_i$. One can build a lex order based on other orderings of the variables as well, so altogether we have $n!$ different lex orders on the monomials of $\F\left[\ve x\right]$.

If $\prec$ is a term order and $f \in \mathbb{F}[\textbf{x}]$ a non-zero polynomial, then the \emph{leading monomial} $\text{lm}(f)$ of $f$ is the largest monomial (with respect to $\prec$) appearing with a non-zero coefficient in the canonical form of $f$. Given an ideal $I \unlhd \mathbb{F}[\textbf{x}]$ a monomial is called a \emph{standard monomial} of $I$ (with respect to $\prec$) if it is not a leading monomial of any $f\in I$. We denote by $\text{Lm}(I)$ and $\text{Sm}(I)$ the set of leading and standard monomials of $I$, respectively. In case of finite point sets the number of standard monomials of $I(\mathcal{V})$ is the same for every term order, it equals the size of $\mathcal{V}$. Moreover, if $\mathcal{V}=\mathcal{V}(\mathcal{F})$ for some set system $\mathcal{F}\subseteq 2^{[n]}$ then, as proved in \cite{M1,RM}, standard monomials also allow us to characterize s-extremal families.

\begin{prop}[\cite{M1,RM}]\label{extr<=>smua}
$\mathcal{F}\subseteq 2^{[n]}$ is s-extremal if and only if the standard monomials of $I(\mathcal{V}(\mathcal{F}))$ are the same for every (lex) order.
\end{prop}

Motivated by this result we define a finite point set $\mathcal{V}\subseteq \mathbb{F}^n$ to be \emph{extremal} if $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))$ is the same for every lex order. The study of such extremal point sets was initiated in \cite{M1}. Some generalizations of results about s-extremal families, such as Theorem~\ref{Smdownshiftgen} and Corollary~\ref{downshiftcor}, were already proved here, but the general versions of the main results about set systems, namely Theorem~\ref{genextrGrobner} and Theorem~\ref{genalgothm}, were proven only in \cite{M2}.

At first sight this definition might seem rather artificial, but hopefully in the remainder of the article we will manage to convince the reader that extremal point sets are very natural generalizations of s-extremal set systems.

\subsubsection*{Main results}

Let $\mathcal{V}$ be a finite point set. As we will see in Section~\ref{sec:prelim}, we may without loss of generality assume that $\m V\subseteq \{0,1,\dots,k-1\}^n\subseteq \mathbb{Q}^n$.
For $1\leq i\leq n$, the $i$-section of $\m V$ at the elements $\alpha_1,\dots,\alpha_{i-1},\alpha_{i+1},\dots,\alpha_n$ is defined as
\begin{equation*}
\m V_{i}(\alpha_1,\dots,\alpha_{i-1},\alpha_{i+1},\dots,\alpha_n)=\Big\{\alpha\ :\ (\alpha_1,\dots,\alpha_{i-1},\alpha,\alpha_{i+1},\dots,\alpha_n)\in \m V\Big\}.
\end{equation*}
Using $i$-sections one can define the \emph{downshift} of $\mathcal{V}$ at coordinate $i$: $D_i(\m V)$ is the unique point set in $\{0,1,\dots,k-1\}^n$, for which
\begin{equation*}
(D_i(\m V))_i(\alpha_1,..,\alpha_{i-1},\alpha_{i+1},..,\alpha_n)=\Big\{0,1,..,|\m V_i(\alpha_1,..,\alpha_{i-1},\alpha_{i+1},..,\alpha_n)|-1\Big\}
\end{equation*}
whenever $\m V_i(\alpha_1,\dots,\alpha_{i-1},\alpha_{i+1},\dots,\alpha_n)$ is non-empty, and is empty otherwise. Note that when $k=2$ we recover the well-known and widely used downshift operation defined on set systems. For indices $i_1, i_2, \dots, i_{\ell}$ let
\begin{equation*}
D_{i_1,i_2,\dots, i_{\ell}}(\mathcal{V}):=D_{i_1}(D_{i_2}(\dots(D_{i_{\ell}}(\mathcal{V})))).
\end{equation*}
As demonstrated by the following theorem, downshifts are pretty handy when one wants to compute standard monomials.

\begin{thm}\label{Smdownshiftgen}
Let $\m V\subseteq\{0,1,\dots,k-1\}^n\subseteq \mathbb{Q}^n$ be a finite point set and $\prec$ the lex order order for which $x_{i_1}\succ x_{i_2}\succ \dots \succ x_{i_n}$. Then
\begin{equation*}
\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))=D_{i_n,i_{n-1},\dots,i_1}(\mathcal{V}).
\end{equation*}
\end{thm}

Theorem \ref{Smdownshiftgen} is a natural generalization of the same result for set systems (see Proposition~\ref{Smdownshift} below).

According to Theorem~\ref{Smdownshiftgen} we could have defined extremal vector systems fully combinatorially, as demonstrated by the following corollary.

\begin{cor}\label{downshiftcor}
A finite point set $\m V\subseteq\{0,1,\dots,k-1\}^n$ is extremal if and only if $D_{\pi(n),\pi(n-1),\dots,\pi(1)}(\mathcal{V})$ is the same for every permutation $\pi$ of $[n]$.
\end{cor}

We define a finite points set $\mathcal{V}\subseteq \{0,1,\dots,k-1\}$ to be a \emph{down-set} (respectively \emph{up-set}), if $\ve v\in \mathcal{V}$ and $\ve w\leq \ve v$ (respectively $\ve v\leq \ve w$) - coordinate-wise - imply $\ve w\in \mathcal{V}$. Note that when $\mathcal{V}$ is a down-set then $D_{i}(\mathcal{V})=\mathcal{V}$ for every $i\in [n]$. Therefore Corollary~\ref{downshiftcor} also shows that, in accordance with the special case of set systems, down-sets are extremal.

\bigskip

When working with a polynomial ideal, a nice ideal basis can facilitate things. An important example of such nice bases are Gr\"obner bases. For a term order $\prec$ and an ideal $I \unlhd \mathbb{F}[\textbf{x}]$ a finite subset $\mathbb{G} \subseteq I$ is called a \emph{Gr\"obner basis of I} with respect to $\prec$ if for every $f\in I$ there exists a $g\in \mathbb{G}$ such that $\text{Lm}(g)$ divides $\text{Lm}(f)$. $\mathbb{G}$ is a \emph{universal Gr\"obner basis} if it is a Gr\"obner basis for every term order. Gr\"obner bases have many nice properties, for details the interested reader may consult e.g.~\cite{AL}.

We call a polynomial $f(\ve x)\in\F\left[\ve x\right]$ \emph{degree dominated} with \emph{dominating term} $\ve x^{\ve w}$ if it is of the form
\begin{equation*}
f(\ve x)=\ve x^{\ve w}+\sum\limits_{i=1}^{\ell}\alpha_i \ve x^{\ve v_i},
\end{equation*}
where $\ve x^{\ve v_i}\neq\ve x^{\ve w}$ and $\ve x^{\ve v_i}|\ve x^{\ve w}$ for every $i$.

Just like s-extremal set systems, extremal point sets also admit a nice characterization using Gr\"obner bases.

\begin{thm}\label{genextrGrobner}
A finite set of vectors $\mathcal{V}\subseteq \{0,1,...,k-1\}^n$ is extremal if and only if there is a finite family $\mathcal{G}\subseteq \mathbb{R}[\ve
x]$ of degree dominated polynomials that form a universal Gr\"obner\  basis of $I(\mathcal{V})$.
\end{thm}

Theorem \ref{genextrGrobner} is a natural generalization of the same result for set systems (see Theorem~\ref{ExtremalGroebner} below).

\bigskip

A term order $\prec$ is called an \emph{elimination order} with respect to the variable $x_i$ if $x_i$ is larger than any monomial from $\mathbb{F}[x_1 \dots,x_{i-1},x_{i+1},\dots,x_n]$. In particular in this case if $\ve u$ and $\ve v$ are two exponent vectors for which $u_i<v_i$, then necessarily $\ve x^{\ve u}\prec \ve x^{\ve v}$. As an example one can consider any lex order where $x_i$ is the largest variable.

\begin{thm}\label{genalgothm}
For $1\leq i\leq n$ let $\prec_i$ be an elimination order with respect to $x_i$. If $\mathcal{V}\subseteq \{0,1,...,k-1\}^n$ is not extremal, then among these we can find two term orders for which the sets of standard monomials of $I(\mathcal{V})$ differ.
\end{thm}

Theorem~\ref{genalgothm} is a natural generalization of the same result for set systems (see Theorem~\ref{algthm} below) and it has several interesting consequences.

First of all, it means that in the definition of extremality it would have been enough to require that the family of standard monomials is the same for a particular family of lex orders of size $n$.

Next, as standard monomials can be computed in $O(n|\m V|k)$ time \cite{FRR}, Theorem~\ref{genalgothm}, just like in the special case of set systems, also results an efficient, $O(n^2|\m V|k)$ time algorithm for deciding whether a finite point set $\mathcal{V}\subseteq
\{0,1,...,k-1\}^n$ is extremal or not.

Finally, Theorem~\ref{genalgothm} also allows a strengthening of a result by Li, Zhang and Dong from \cite{LZD}, where they investigated the standard monomials of zero dimensional polynomial ideals. An ideal $I\triangleleft \F\left[\ve x\right]$ is called \emph{zero dimensional} if the factor space $\F\left[\ve x\right]/I$ is a finite dimensional $\mathbb{F}$-vector space. It is rather easy to see that vanishing ideals of finite point sets are special types of zero dimensional ideals. For $1\leq i\leq n$ let again $\prec_i$ be an elimination order with respect to $x_i$. Part $(2)\Leftrightarrow(3)$ of Theorem~4 in \cite{LZD} states that if $\mathbb{F}$ has characteristic zero, then the standard monomials of any zero dimensional ideal $I\triangleleft \F\left[\ve x\right]$ are the same for every term order if and only if they are the same for $\prec_1,\dots,\prec_n$. The following result generalizes this to arbitrary fields instead of fields of characteristic zero.

\begin{thm}\label{LZDgen}
Let $\mathbb{F}$ be an arbitrary field and for $1\leq i\leq n$ let $\prec_i$ be an elimination order with respect to $x_i$. Then the standard monomials of any zero dimensional ideal $I\triangleleft \F\left[\ve x\right]$ are the same for every term order if and only if they are the same for $\prec_1,\dots,\prec_n$.
\end{thm}

\smallskip

The rest of the paper is organized as follows. After the Introduction, in Section~\ref{sec:prelim} we give a more detailed description of the combinatorial and algebraic notion used. Then, In Section~\ref{sec:proofs} we give the proof of our main results. Finally, in Section~\ref{sec:concluding} we make some concluding remarks.

\section{Preliminaries}\label{sec:prelim}

In this subsection we provide the reader with some details of the combinatorial and algebraic notions that appeared so far.

\subsubsection*{Vanishing ideals of set systems}

Let $\mathcal{F} \subseteq 2^{[n]}$ and consider the vanishing ideal $I(\mathcal{F})=I(\mathcal{V}(\mathcal{F})) \unlhd \mathbb{F}[\textbf{x}]$. Note that as $\mathcal{V}(\mathcal{F})$ contains only $0-1$ vectors, we always have $\big\{x_i^2 -x_i\ :\ i\in [n] \big\} \subseteq I(\mathcal{F})$. In particular, $x_i^2$ is a leading monomial for every term order, implying that the standard monomials are necessarily square-free. By identifying a set $M\subseteq [n]$ with the square-free monomial $\ve x_M=\prod_{i\in M}x_i$ we can view $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{F}))$ also as a subfamily of $2^{[n]}$. We will use these two views interchangeably and it will be always clear from the context which view is used.

\subsubsection*{Standard monomials}

A set $\mathcal{S}$ of monomials is called an \emph{up-set} (respectively \emph{down-set}) if $\ve x^{\ve u}\in \mathcal{S}$ and $\ve x^{\ve u}\mid \ve x^{\ve w}$ (respectively $\ve x^{\ve w}\mid \ve x^{\ve u}$) imply $\ve x^{\ve w}\in \mathcal{S}$. By the definition of ideals and leading monomials $\text{Lm}(I)$ is an up-set and hence $\text{Sm}(I)$, as its complement, is necessarily a down-set. Another basic fact about standard monomials is that the canonical image of $\text{Sm}(I)$ forms a linear basis of the $\mathbb{F}$-vector space $\mathbb{F}[\textbf{x}]/I$.

Moreover, in the special case when $I=I(\mathcal{V})$ for some finite point set $\mathcal{V}\subseteq \mathbb{F}^n$ the factor space $\mathbb{F}[\textbf{x}]/I(\mathcal{V})$ is isomorphic to the space of all $\mathcal{V}\rightarrow \mathbb{F}$ functions and as such has dimension $|\mathcal{V}|$. This shows $|\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))|=|\mathcal{V}|$, as was already remarked in the Introduction.

A detailed study of the lex standard monomials of vanishing ideals of finite point sets was done by Felszeghy, R\'ath and R\'onyai in \cite{FRR}. Here we recall some of their results. Let $\mathcal{V}\subseteq \mathbb{F}^n$ be a finite point set and for $\alpha\in \mathbb{F}$ let
\begin{equation*}
\mathcal{V}_{\alpha}=\Big\{\ve v \in \mathbb{F}^{n-1}\ :\ (\ve v,\alpha)\in \mathcal{V}\Big\}\subseteq \mathbb{F}^{n-1}.
\end{equation*}
Further let $\prec$ and $\prec_{\widehat{n}}$ be the standard lex order on $\mathbb{F}[x_1,\dots,x_n]$ and $\mathbb{F}[x_1,\dots,x_{n-1}]$, respectively. Then for $n>1$ the monomial $\ve x^{\ve w}$ is a standard monomial of $I(\mathcal{V})$ with respect to $\prec$ if and only if there are at least $w_n+1$ elements $\alpha\in \mathbb{F}$ for which $x_1^{w_1}\cdots x_{n-1}^{w_{n-1}}$ is a standard monomial of $I(\mathcal{V}_{\alpha})$ with respect to $\prec_{\widehat{n}}$. Clearly, an analogous result holds for every possible lex order. As a base case for the above recursion, note that for $n=1$ if $\mathcal{V}\subseteq \mathbb{F}$ then $x^w\in \text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))$ if and only if $w<|\mathcal{V}|$.

Using this recursion one can show that given any lex order $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))$ can be computed in linear, $O(n|\mathcal{V}|k)$ time, where $k$ is the number of different coordinate values appearing in $\mathcal{V}$.

Fix now some finite set $A\subseteq \mathbb{F}$ such that $\mathcal{V}\subseteq A^n$. Note that as $\mathcal{V}$ is finite, such an $A$ necessarily exists. Further let $\varphi_j:A\rightarrow \widehat{\mathbb{F}}$, $j=1,2,\dots,n$ be  injective functions to an arbitrary field $\widehat{\mathbb{F}}$. Denote by $\widehat{\mathcal{F}}$ the image of $\m V$ under the action of $(\varphi_1,\dots,\varphi_n)$, i.e.
\begin{equation*}
\widehat{\m V}=\Big\{(\varphi_1(v_1),\dots,\varphi_n(v_n))\ :\ (v_1,\dots,v_n)\in \m V\Big\}.
\end{equation*}
Then the standard monomials of $I(\mathcal{V})\triangleleft \F\left[\ve x\right]$ are the same as those of $I(\widehat{\mathcal{V}})\triangleleft \widehat{\mathbb{F}}[\ve x]$ for any lexicographic term order. We will refer to this property as the \emph{universality property of standard monomials}. An important corollary of this property is that it is enough to consider the case $\m V\subseteq \{0,1,\dots,k-1\}^n\subseteq \mathbb{Q}^n$.

\smallskip

In the case of finite set systems, apart from the above recursive description, lex standard monomials can also be computed using downshift operations. In this special case, which we recover by putting $k=2$ in the general definition, it is easier to describe the downshift operation in terms of set operations. For a set system $\mathcal{F}\subseteq 2^{[n]}$ its downshift by the element $i\in [n]$ as
\begin{equation*}
D_i(\mathcal{F})=\Big\{F\setminus\{i\}\ :\ F\in \mathcal{F}\Big\}~\bigcup~\Big\{F\ :\ F\in
\mathcal{F},\ i\in F,\ F\setminus\{i\}\in \mathcal{F}\Big\}.
\end{equation*}
It is not hard to see that $|D_i(\m F)|=|\m F|$ and $\Sh(D_i(\m F))\subseteq \Sh(\m F)$, hence $D_i$ preserves s-extremality (see e.g.~\cite{BR}). As before, for indices $i_1,i_2,\dots, i_{\ell}$ we let $D_{i_1,i_2,\dots,i_{\ell}}(\mathcal{F}):=D_{i_1}(D_{i_2}(\dots(D_{i_{\ell}}(\mathcal{F}))))$.

\begin{prop}[\cite{M1}]\label{Smdownshift}
Let $\mathcal{F} \subseteq 2^{[n]}$ and $\prec$ be a lex order for which $x_{i_1}\succ x_{i_2}\succ \dots \succ x_{i_n}$. Then
\begin{equation*}
\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{F}))=D_{i_n,i_{n-1},\dots,i_1}(\mathcal{F}).
\end{equation*}
\end{prop}

\smallskip

In what follows we demonstarte the connection between s-extremal families and standard monomials. The first key result in the algebraic characterization of s-extremal set systems was the description of the family of shattered sets using standard monomials. In \cite{M1,RM} it was proven that if $\mathcal{F}\subseteq 2^{[n]}$ then
\begin{equation*}
\Sh(\mathcal{F})=\bigcup_{\text{all term orders}} \text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{F}))=\bigcup_{\text{lex orders}} \text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{F})).
\end{equation*}
Since the number of standard monomials of $I(\mathcal{F})$ equals $|\mathcal{F}|$ for every fixed term order, as a corollary we obtain Proposition~\ref{extr<=>smua} from the Introduction.

As mentioned earlier, for lex orders $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{F}))$ can be computed in linear time, however the number of possible lex orders is $n!$, and so Proposition~\ref{extr<=>smua} does not offer directly an efficient method to check the s-extremality of a set system. However it turns out that we actually need only a significantly smaller collection of lex orders.

\begin{thm}[\cite{M1,RM}]\label{algthm}
Take $n$ orderings of the variables such that for every index $i$ there is one in which $x_i$ is the greatest element, and take the corresponding lex term orders. If $\mathcal{F}\subseteq 2^{[n]}$ is not s-extremal, then among these we can find two term orders for which the sets of standard monomials of $I({\mathcal{F}})$ differ.
\end{thm}

Accordingly, by computing the standard monomials for $n$ lex orders we can decide the extremality of a set system in $O(n^2|\mathcal{F}|)$ time.

\subsubsection*{Gr\"obner bases}

The algebraic results about s-extremal families also include a nice connection between s-extremal families and the theory of Gr\"obner bases. Given a pair of sets $H \subseteq S \subseteq [n]$ we define the polynomial
\begin{equation*}
f_{S,H}(\textbf{x}) = \textbf{x}_H \cdot \prod_{i \in S\setminus H}(x_i -1).
\end{equation*}
A useful property of these polynomials is that for a set $F\subseteq [n]$ we have $f_{S,H}(v_F) \neq 0$ if and only if $F\cap S = H$. However, actually much more is true.
\begin{thm}[\cite{M1},\cite{RM}]\label{ExtremalGroebner}
$\mathcal{F} \subseteq 2^{[n]}$ is s-extremal if and only if there are polynomials of the form $f_{S,H}$, which together with $\big\{x_i^2-x_i\; : \; i \in [n] \big\}$ form a universal Gr\"obner basis of $I(\mathcal{F})$.
\end{thm}
We remark that in Theorem~\ref{ExtremalGroebner} it is enough to require a Gr\"obner basis of the above form for just one term order to have an s-extremal family. Also note that all the polynomials appearing in Theorem~\ref{ExtremalGroebner} are degree dominated.

\section{Proofs}\label{sec:proofs}

Before proving our main results, we consider a rather technical statement that is needed to guarantee that the definition of extremality in this general setting is compatible with the special case of set systems.

\begin{prop}\label{lex<=>all term orders}
Let $A\subseteq \mathbb{F}$ be a finite set of size $k$ and $\mathcal{V}\subseteq A^n$ a finite point set. Then $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))$ is the same for every lexicographic term order if and only if $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))$ is the same for every term order.
\end{prop}
\begin{proof}
One direction is just trivial. For the other direction suppose that the standard monomials of $I(\mathcal{V})$ are the same for every lex order, and denote this collection of monomials by $\mathcal{S}$. Now take an arbitrary monomial $\ve x^{\ve u}\notin \m S$. Then $\ve x^{\ve u}$ is a leading monomial with respect to every lex order. Fix one lex order. Since standard monomials form a linear basis of the $\mathbb{F}$-vector space $\mathbb{F}[\textbf{x}]/I(\mathcal{V})$, each leading monomial, in particular $\ve x^{\ve u}$, has a representation by standard monomials, i.e. there are coefficients $\alpha_{\ve v}$, $\ve x^{\ve v}\in \mathcal{S}$, such that
\begin{equation*}
f(\ve x)=\ve x^{\ve u}+\sum\limits_{x^{\ve v}\in \m S}\alpha_{\ve v} x^{\ve v}\in I(\mathcal{V}).
\end{equation*}
As $\m S$ is the family of standard monomials for every lex order, this representation is necessarily valid for any other lex order as well, in particular, the leading monomial of $f$ is $\ve x^{\ve u}$ for any other lex order as well. This is possible only if $f(\ve x)$ is a degree dominated polynomial with dominating term $\ve x^{\ve u}$. Indeed suppose this is not the case, and there is some monomial $x^{\ve v}\in \m S$  that appears with a nonzero coefficient in $f$ and $x^{\ve v}\nmid x^{\ve u}$. For this there has to be an index $i$ for which $v_i>u_i$, but then for any lex order where $x_i$ is the largest variable we would have that $x^{\ve u}\prec x^{\ve v}$, contradicting our assumption that $\text{lm}(f)=x^{\ve u}$.

On the other hand, as any term order is compatible with multiplication by monomials, the dominating term of a degree dominated polynomial is necessarily its leading monomial for every term order. Therefore the leading monomial of $f$ is $x^{\ve u}$ for every term order. This results, that every monomial $\ve x^{\ve u}\notin \m S$ is a leading monomial for every term order. Adding the fact that the number of standard monomials, i.e. the number of non-leading monomials, is
$|\mathcal{V}|$ for every term order, we get that the family of leading monomials, and hence the family of standard monomials of $I(\mathcal{V})$ is the same for every term order as desired.
\end{proof}

According to Proposition~\ref{lex<=>all term orders} it does not matter whether we define a finite set of points $\mathcal{V}\subseteq A^n\subseteq \mathbb{F}^n$ to be extremal if $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))$ is the same only for every lex order, or for every term order.

\subsubsection*{Downshift operations}

\begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem~\ref{Smdownshiftgen}]
Without loss of generality we may assume that $\prec$ is the standard lex order, i.e. $i_j = j$ for every $j$. To prove the statement we apply induction on $n$. For $n = 1$, $x^w\in \text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))$ and $w \in D_1(\mathcal{V})$ hold at the same time, namely when $w < |\mathcal{V}|$, thus for $n = 1$ the statement holds. Now consider the case $n > 1$ and suppose that the statement is true for all values smaller than $n$. For $i\neq n$ the downshift
$D_i$ acts independently on the subsystems $\mathcal{V}_{\beta}$, $\beta\in \{0,1,\dots,k-1\}$, namely we have
\begin{equation*}
D_{n-1,\dots,1}(\mathcal{V}) = \bigcup_{\beta=0}^{k-1}\Big\{(\ve w,\beta)\ :\ \ve w\in D_{n-1,\dots,1}(\mathcal{V}_{\beta})\Big\}.
\end{equation*}
According to the induction hypothesis we have $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}_{\beta}))=D_{n-1,\dots,1}(\mathcal{V}_{\beta})$  for every $\beta\in \{0,1,\dots,k-1\}$. However, then, when constructing $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))$ from the $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}_{\beta}))$-s we apply the same rule for the exponent vectors as for the elements of $D_{n,n-1,\dots,1}(\mathcal{V})$ when constructing it from the $D_{n-1,\dots,1}(\mathcal{V}_{\beta})$-s. More precisely we have $x^{(\ve w,w_n)} \in \text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))$ exactly in the same case when $(\ve w, w_n) \in D_{n,n-1,\dots,1}(\mathcal{V})$, namely when there are at least $w_n+1$ values $\beta\in \{0,1,\dots,k-1\}$ such that $\ve x^{\ve w} \in \text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}_{\beta}))$  \big($\ve w\in D_{n-1,\dots,1}(\mathcal{V}_{\beta})$\big). This finishes the proof.
\end{proof}

\subsubsection*{Gr\"obner characterization}

\begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem~\ref{genextrGrobner}]
First suppose that $\mathcal{V}\subseteq \{0,1,...,k-1\}^n$ is extremal. Then by definition, $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))$ is the same for every term order. Denote this set of monomials by $\mathcal{S}$ and the collection of all minimal (with respect to division) monomials not belonging to $\mathcal{S}$ by $\mathbb{S}$. Note that in this case the family of leading monomials is also the same for every term order and $\mathbb{S}$ is just the set of minimal elements there. In particular for every leading monomial $\ve x^{\ve u}$ there is another leading monomial $\ve x^{\ve v}\in \mathbb{S}$ such that $\ve x^{\ve v}\mid\ve x^{\ve u}$.

From this point we follow the line of thinking from the proof of Proposition~\ref{lex<=>all term orders}. Each monomial $\ve x^{\ve u}\in \mathbb{S}$ is a leading monomial for every term order, in particular for the standard lex order as well. Accordingly, as before, $\ve x^{\ve u}$ has a representation by standard monomials with respect to the standard lex order, i.e. there are coefficients $\alpha_{\ve v}$, $\ve x^{\ve v}\in \mathcal{S}$ such that
\begin{equation*}
f_{\ve u}(\ve x)=\ve x^{\ve u}+\sum\limits_{\ve x^{\ve v}\in \mathcal{S}}\alpha_{\ve v} x^{\ve v}\in I(\mathcal{V}).
\end{equation*}
As by assumption $\text{Sm}(I(\mathcal{V}))=\mathcal{S}$
for every term order, and except of $x^{\ve u}$ every monomial in $f_{\ve u}(\ve x)$ is a standard one, we necessarily have that $\text{lm}(f_{\ve u})=x^{\ve u}$ for every term order. However, in the same way as in the proof of Proposition~\ref{lex<=>all term orders}, this is possible only if $f_{\ve u}$ is degree dominated with dominating term $x^{\ve u}$. Put now
\begin{equation*}
\mathcal{G}=\Big\{f_{\ve u}\ :\ \ve x^{\ve u}\in \mathbb{S}\Big\}.
\end{equation*}
By the definition of $\mathbb{S}$ the family $\mathcal{G}$ is clearly a Gr\"obner\  basis of $I(\mathcal{V})$ for every term order, i.e. it is a universal Gr\"obner\  basis.

For the other direction suppose that we are given a finite family $\mathcal{G}\subseteq \mathbb{F}[\ve x]$ of degree dominated polynomials that form a universal Gr\"obner\  basis of $I(\mathcal{V})$. We prove that the fact that there is a common Gr\"obner\  basis for every term order, without knowing anything about the members of the Gr\"obner\  basis, already guarantees the extremality of $\mathcal{V}$.

If we are given a Gr\"obner\  basis $\mathcal{G}$ of some ideal $I$ for a fixed term order, it determines $\text{Lm}(I)$ uniquely, and hence $\text{Sm}(I)$ as well, namely we have
\begin{equation*}
\text{Lm}(I)=\Big\{\ve x^{\ve u}\ :\ \exists g\in \mathcal{G} \mbox{ such that }\text{lm}(g)|\ve x^{\ve u}\Big\}.
\end{equation*}
Indeed, the containment in one direction follows from the definition of Gr\"obner\  bases. For the other direction note that if for some $g\in \mathcal{G}$ we have that $\text{lm}(g)|\ve x^{\ve u}$, then the polynomial $\frac{\ve x^{\ve u}}{\text{lm}(g)}g(\ve x)\in I$ shows that $\ve x^{\ve u}\in \text{Lm}(I)$.

However as $\mathcal{G}$ is a common Gr\"obner\  basis for every term order, it gives us the same family of standard monomials for every term order, and so the extremality of $\mathcal{V}$ follows.
\end{proof}

We remark that similarly as in the case of Theorem~\ref{ExtremalGroebner}, in Theorem~\ref{genextrGrobner} it is also enough to require that $I(\mathcal{V})$ has a suitable Gr\"obner\  basis for some term order.

\subsubsection*{Testing extremality}

\begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem~\ref{genalgothm}]
By contraposition it is enough to prove that if the standard monomials of $I(\mathcal{V})$ are the same for the above term orders, then $\mathcal{V}$ is extremal. Accordingly suppose the condition holds, and denote the collection of standard monomials for the above term orders by $\mathcal{S}$. From now on we again follow the proof of Proposition~\ref{lex<=>all term orders}. Take an arbitrary monomial $\ve x^{\ve u}\notin \m S$. In this case $\ve x^{\ve u}$ is a leading monomial with respect to all of the $n$ term orders considered. Fix one of these term orders, and take the standard representation of $\ve x^{\ve u}$ with respect to this term order.
\begin{equation*}
f(\ve x)=\ve x^{\ve u}+\sum\limits_{x^{\ve v}\in \m S}\alpha_{\ve v} x^{\ve v}\in I(\mathcal{V}).
\end{equation*}
As $\m S$ is the family of standard monomials for the other $n-1$ term orders as well, the leading monomial of $f$ can be only $\ve x^{\ve u}$ for them as well, and then the same reasoning as before shows that this is possible only if $f$ is degree dominated with dominating term $x^{\ve u}$. Indeed, suppose
this is not the case, and there is some monomial $x^{\ve v}\in \m S$  that appears with a nonzero coefficient in $f$ and $x^{\ve v}\nmid x^{\ve u}$. Now there has to be an index $i$ for which $v_i>u_i$, but then for any elimination order with respect to $x_i$, in particular for the one in our collection, we would have that $x^{\ve u}\prec x^{\ve v}$, contradicting our assumption that $\text{lm}(f)=x^{\ve u}$ for that lex order. From this the extremality of $\mathcal{V}$ follows exactly as in Proposition~\ref{lex<=>all term orders}.
\end{proof}

\subsubsection*{Zero dimensional ideals}

\begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem~\ref{LZDgen}]
The proof follows from Theorem~\ref{genalgothm} together with the universality property of standard monomials. For this just note that the proof of Theorem~\ref{genalgothm} does not use that $I(\mathcal{V})$ is a vanishing ideal, the fact that it is a zero dimensional ideal suffices.
\end{proof}

\section{Concluding remarks}\label{sec:concluding}

Given the algebraic characterization of s-extremal families, extremal points sets are a natural generalization, both from the combinatorial and from the algebraic point of view. As a next step it would be interesting to obtain further notable examples of such point sets and explore their combinatorial properties.

In connection with Theorem~\ref{ExtremalGroebner} and Theorem~\ref{genextrGrobner} recall that in the case $k=2$ we have a more precise description of the degree dominated polynomials appearing in the Gr\"obner\  basis. Can we obtain a similar description in the general case? For this one could start with studying the family of pairs of sets appearing in Theorem~\ref{ExtremalGroebner} and try to understand under which conditions do the resulting polynomials together with the polynomials of the form $x_i^2-x_i$ form a Gr\"obner\  basis.

Theorem~\ref{LZDgen} demonstrates that researchers from the algebra community are also interested in related problems. In this direction examples of extremal zero dimensional ideals, that are not vanishing ideals could help us to understand better the algebraic properties behind these structures.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Lesson : Let's Speak Japanese!
mumusuke (Aya.O) > Let's Speak Japanese!
Let's study Japanese! We can start from Hiragana/Katakana, and basic grammar. This lesson is for beginners.
We can use either the "Minna no Nihongo" or the "Genki" textbooks. After explanations, let's practice. I will correct any errors during our conversation or in the chatbox. After the lesson, I will send you feedback.
Aya-sensei is very friendly and humorous. She always makes me laugh. She is also a good listener. With her encouragement, I can speak confidently.


text:
Being transgender in outback Queensland
ABC North West Qld
By Harriet Tatham and Esther Macintyre
Posted March 28, 2018 06:55:53
Map: Mount Isa 4825
At the age of seven, Brisbane-born Emily Wells knew she was female, and by 13 she'd had her first suicide attempt. Decades later she is living in outback Queensland, and despite it being one of Australia's most conservative electorates, she feels welcome.
Stilettos in a steel-capped-boot town
Photo: For Emily Wells, her appearance is very important in easing the gender dysphoria she suffers. (ABC North West Queensland: Harriet Tatham)
In an outback Queensland mining town characterised by high-vis work shirts and steel-capped boots, stilettos are almost as rare as rain.
But peering into Emily Wells's wardrobe, it is clear that killer heels are not just reserved for Saturday nights.
"There are times where I call it going 'transie'," Ms Wells said, as she chose a pair high enough to be described as an instrument of torture.
"Emily goes to absolute extremes and it's six-inch-high heels and a mini skirt.
"However, that's not quite accepted in the workplace, so you learn to contain those things for the dancefloor at two-o'clock in the morning or the pride parade," she laughed.
Photo: Sparkly earrings. (ABC North West Queensland: Harriet Tatham. )
Far from a cosmopolitan LGBTIQ safe haven, Ms Wells has moved to Mount Isa to work at the hospital.
Notorious for its preference for strict heteronormative gender roles, the move to outback Australia was nerve-wracking.
"I was a bit concerned that I was leaving behind all my support, and I know sometimes country folk can be a lot more conservative, so I did mentally prepare myself for a lot more negativity," Ms Wells said.
But after arriving in Mount Isa, she has had an entirely different experience.
"It was a completely different story," she said.
"Arriving here, I'd have to say Mount Isa is very accepting, it's very accommodating.
"Putting aside suburbs such as [Fortitude] Valley and Spring Hill, which have been LGBT-accepting for years and years, Mount Isa is probably a lot more accepting than a lot of the Brisbane suburbs.
"It's not to say I haven't met a little bit here, but other than that it's been a great place."
Photo: Dressing up. (ABC North West Queensland: Harriet Tatham)
Photo: Each morning, Emily Wells wakes at 5am to do her hair and make-up before work. (ABC North West Queensland: Harriet Tatham. )
Photo: She uses two hormone drugs to ease her gender dysphoria. (ABC North West Queensland: Harriet Tatham.)
Photo: Emily holds up dresses to herself, before choosing what to wear. (ABC North West Queensland: Harriet Tatham. )
'I've been called an abomination'
Discrimination is a daily occurrence for the transgender community.
"I've been followed out of shops and abused, I've been abused in shopping centres, called a freak, called an abomination," Ms Wells said.
"I've also been told why don't I go and do the world a favour [and] go kill myself. I've been assaulted.
"Sadly, that is the reality for a lot of transgender people.
"At some point, if not every day, they feel some form of discrimination or isolation."
If you or anyone you know needs help:
Lifeline on 13 11 14
Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36
Headspace on 1800 650 890
ReachOut at au.reachout.com
Ms Wells has dealt with discrimination for decades, ever since she was a child.
"From the age of seven I knew I was female," she said.
"Because of the way I grew up, I didn't get socialised like females do … so I learnt to be a boy, albeit a very sad, lonely boy."
While it was always challenge, Ms Wells said puberty was her first big test.
"When I was just over 13 I attempted suicide. The reason for that is of course around 13 puberty kicks in — the body really started to turn male," she said.
"I recovered from that and fixed myself up for a while — long enough to present to the world a teenage boy."
But behind closed doors, Ms Wells would transform into the correct gender.
"Whenever I could, when I was alone, I would be me — dressing feminine, acting feminine, because that would help to ease the gender dysphoria."
Photo: Emily Wells knew from the age of seven that she was female. (ABC North West Queensland: Harriet Tatham)
The cost of transitioning
When Ms Wells made the decision to transition about 10 years ago, it was not about money or comfort or even happiness.
She said transitioning became a decision of life or death.
"When I transitioned, the cost to me personally was huge," she said.
"It's cost me family relationships, it's cost me long-term friends, it's cost me financially and it even put a halt to my career.
"It's not a decision that we make simply because we wake up one morning and decide 'Hey, I'm going to transition to the other gender'. It's a lifetime thing."
Photo: Ms Wells is still fighting to get her correct name on her degree. (ABC North West Queensland: Harriet Tatham)
High rates of mental illness within the transgender community are well-documented.
A report by the Telethon Kids Institute found that almost 80 per cent of trans youth aged 14-25 years had self-harmed, compared to almost 11 per cent of adolescents in the general Australian population.
Another report, called The First Australian National Trans Mental Health Study, found that at the time, almost 44 per cent of the trans people who completed the questionnaire were experiencing clinically relevant depressive symptoms.
One in five participants reported thoughts of suicidal ideation or self-harm on at least half of the days in the two weeks before the survey.
Ms Wells has had multiple suicide attempts.
Transitioning was the only answer.
"For me, it came down to the fact that I either transition to my correct gender, or I simply not be," she said.
Photo: A Yes badge sitting in Ms Wells's wardrobe, between her earrings and necklaces. (ABC North West Queensland: Harriet Tatham)
And while she is still fighting to get her name changed, she would not go back.
"I have bachelor qualifications from university which I got in my previous dead name, and I still haven't managed to get change to the correct name yet," Ms Wells said.
"It can take years, but overall, I wouldn't go back. I am so happy now.
"You still face discrimination daily, but as prime minister Fraser said 'Life wasn't meant to be easy'."
International Transgender Day of Visibility is celebrated worldwide on March 31.
Topics: women, gender-roles, community-and-society, mount-isa-4825, qld
Contact Harriet Tatham
More stories from Queensland
ABC North West Queensland
'We need to pass it on': Indigenous students learn their traditional languages, but could all schoolchildren?
When testing fails: Prostate cancer's controversial guidelines
Renal services boost sees Indigenous patients stay closer to family
Outback vets look to interns to help fill shortages
Mascot Miner Mick bringing joy and order to regional special school
Milliners, seamstresses and fashion stylists first past the post in race day stakes
Grey nomads hit the road, driving their sewing supply store across the outback
Stories, people, conversations and news from where you live.


text:
University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations
IMPACT OF 17-BETA ESTRADIOL AND MODERATE-INTENSITY EXERCISE ON MESENTERIC ARTERIAL FUNCTION OF UC DAVIS TYPE-2 DIABETES MELLITUS RATS
Md Rahatullah Razan, University of the PacificFollow
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences
Roshanak Rahimian
First Committee Member
James Uchizono
Second Committee Member
John Livesey
Third Committee Member
Fourth Committee Member
Aditya Goel
The studies in this dissertation were designed to investigate the impacts of estrogen (17-β estradiol/E2) and moderate-intensity exercise (MIE) on the mesenteric arterial (MA) function of the University of California Davis type-2 diabetes mellitus (UCD-T2DM) Rat model. Our recent report suggests that diabetes impairs MA vasorelaxation in both sexes of the UCD-T2DM model. Particularly, we reported that MA from prediabetic male rats showed a greater impairment compared to that in prediabetic females. However, when females become diabetic, they exhibit a greater vascular dysfunction than males. Therefore, the aim of the first study was to investigate whether female sex hormone, specifically E2, preserves the MA vasorelaxation in female UCD-T2DM rats at the early prediabetic state. For this study, age-matched healthy Sprague Dawley (SD) and prediabetic female UCD-T2DM rats were ovariectomized and subcutaneously implanted with either a placebo or E2 pellet for 45 days. Regular aerobic exercise is a well-known therapeutic intervention for endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in diabetes. However, there are still debates about the duration, intensity, and underlying mechanisms of benefits of exercise against deleterious metabolic consequences in diabetic patients. In the second study outlined in this dissertation, we examined the impact of exercise training on vascular function and wall structure of the UCD-T2DM male rats. Age-matched male diabetic and SD control rats were randomly divided into sedentary and exercise-trained groups. The exercise-trained groups ran on a treadmill for eight weeks (1hr/day, 5days per week). For both studies (Studies I & II), metabolic parameters and MA responses to vasodilator and vasocontractile agents were determined. Furthermore, the expression of molecules associated with vascular signaling were also analyzed.
The specific aims of our studies were to investigate whether E2 and moderate-intensity exercise (MIE) alter the 1) endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation (EDV) and vasoconstriction 2) relative contribution of endothelium-derived relaxing factors (EDRF) to vasorelaxation, and 3) expression of proteins associated with vascular signaling, in MA of UCD-T2DM rats.
In the first study, we demonstrated that acetylcholine (ACh)-induced vasorelaxation was impaired in MA of ovariectomized (OVX) prediabetic UCD-T2DM rats. Our data also showed that E2 replacement improved MA relaxation in OVX prediabetic group to a similar level to that in control groups. Inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) by indomethacin (Indo) did not significantly affect the vascular responses in any groups, suggesting a minor role of COX metabolites in MA relaxation in the experimental groups. Inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS) by L-NAME reduced vasorelaxation to ACh in control groups, but it did not completely abolish the vasorelaxation. We also showed that in control (healthy) groups, both NO and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF)-type relaxation were dominant in the MA relaxation of placebo and E2 treated rats. However, in prediabetic groups, L-NAME completely abolished the vasorelaxation, regardless of E2 treatment, suggesting a relative shift from EDHF-type relaxation to only NO-mediated relaxation in these groups. Furthermore, the sensitivity of MA to NO was significantly impaired in OVX prediabetic group, but E2 treatment enhanced the MA sensitivity to NO. Overall, our data suggest that a greater vasorelaxation in the E2 treated OVX prediabetic group could be partly attributed to the elevated role of NO or improved sensitivity of MA to NO in this group.
The second study demonstrated that ACh-induced vasorelaxation of MA was significantly impaired in sedentary diabetic (DS) male rats. MIE significantly enhanced MA vasorelaxation in the exercise-trained diabetic (DE) group compared to the DS. However, no significant differences were observed between the vasorelaxation of control sedentary (CS) and control exercise-trained groups (CE). Inhibition of COX enhanced maximal vasorelaxation response (Rmax) to ACh in DS arteries suggesting an elevated contractile COX contribution in MA of this group which could possibly be due to the observed increase in COX expression in the DS group. Unlike the DS group, inhibition of COX did not affect the vasorelaxation responses to ACh in the DE group. The addition of L-NAME resulted in a reduction in ACh-induced relaxation of MA from both DS and DE groups. However, the effect of L-NAME was more prominent in the DS group compared to the DE group, suggesting a major contribution of NO in DS arteries. On the other hand, a preserved role of NO with an enhanced EDHF-mediated relaxation was observed in the MA vasorelaxation of the DE group. Our data on the elevated small conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (SKCa) expression level in MA taken from the DE group compared to that in the DS group may suggest a role for SKCa in increased EDHF-type relaxation in the DE group. Furthermore, DS arteries exhibited a higher contractile response, myogenic tone, and wall thickness than those in MA of DE. Overall, our data suggest that MIE reduced myogenic tone (DE vs. DS) and improved EDV in mesenteric arteries of diabetic rats, possibly via a shift from contractile COX activity to both NO and EDHF-type relaxation.
In conclusion, the data generated in study-I suggest that estrogen may protect prediabetic female MA from early vascular dysfunction, possibly by elevating the contribution of NO to vasorelaxation as a compensatory mechanism to the loss of EDHF-type relaxation in this group. Although the results of the current study are in agreement with our previous report demonstrating a possible protective effect of female sex hormones in the MA function at prediabetic state, additional studies are needed to establish the specific role of E2 in the progression of vascular dysfunction in the diabetic state.
Lastly, an intriguing observation of study-II was that MIE improved vasorelaxation and prevented the loss of EDHF-type relaxation in diabetic arteries. This was in addition to the changes induced to the wall thickness and myogenic tone in arteries of UCD-T2DM males. Given that sex differences play an important role in cardiovascular physiology, additional studies are needed to establish the specific role of MIE on vascular dysfunction in UCD-T2DM female rats and its underlying mechanisms.
Razan, Md Rahatullah. (2021). IMPACT OF 17-BETA ESTRADIOL AND MODERATE-INTENSITY EXERCISE ON MESENTERIC ARTERIAL FUNCTION OF UC DAVIS TYPE-2 DIABETES MELLITUS RATS. University of the Pacific, Dissertation. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/3776
Cardiovascular Diseases Commons, Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Commons, Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists Commons, Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Commons, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases Commons, Physiotherapy Commons


text:
ASX:MGL
Magontec (ASX:MGL) Has A Pretty Healthy Balance Sheet
October 04, 2021 • Updated January 31, 2023
Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' It's only natural to consider a company's balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. We note that Magontec Limited (ASX:MGL) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?
When Is Debt A Problem?
Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.
Check out our latest analysis for Magontec
What Is Magontec's Debt?
You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Magontec had AU$12.6m of debt in June 2021, down from AU$14.5m, one year before. However, because it has a cash reserve of AU$2.36m, its net debt is less, at about AU$10.2m.
ASX:MGL Debt to Equity History October 5th 2021
How Strong Is Magontec's Balance Sheet?
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Magontec had liabilities of AU$24.1m falling due within a year, and liabilities of AU$17.6m due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of AU$2.36m as well as receivables valued at AU$24.4m due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling AU$15.0m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.
This deficit isn't so bad because Magontec is worth AU$29.2m, and thus could probably raise enough capital to shore up its balance sheet, if the need arose. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without dilution.
In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.
Magontec has net debt worth 2.3 times EBITDA, which isn't too much, but its interest cover looks a bit on the low side, with EBIT at only 4.0 times the interest expense. In large part that's due to the company's significant depreciation and amortisation charges, which arguably mean its EBITDA is a very generous measure of earnings, and its debt may be more of a burden than it first appears. Notably, Magontec made a loss at the EBIT level, last year, but improved that to positive EBIT of AU$1.9m in the last twelve months. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since Magontec will need earnings to service that debt. So if you're keen to discover more about its earnings, it might be worth checking out this graph of its long term earnings trend.
But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So it's worth checking how much of the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) is backed by free cash flow. During the last year, Magontec generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 96% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.
When it comes to the balance sheet, the standout positive for Magontec was the fact that it seems able to convert EBIT to free cash flow confidently. But the other factors we noted above weren't so encouraging. For instance it seems like it has to struggle a bit to cover its interest expense with its EBIT. Considering this range of data points, we think Magontec is in a good position to manage its debt levels. Having said that, the load is sufficiently heavy that we would recommend any shareholders keep a close eye on it. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Magontec you should be aware of, and 1 of them doesn't sit too well with us.
If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.
Find out whether Magontec is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.
About ASX:MGL
Magontec
Magontec Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of generic and specialist alloys in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and internationally.
Flawless balance sheet with outstanding track record.
Insiders Sold AU$2.4m Of Calix Stock Possibly Sending Warning Sign
We're Hopeful That Energy Resources of Australia (ASX:ERA) Will Use Its Cash Wisely
Helloworld Travel Limited (ASX:HLO) Could Be Less Than A Year Away From Profitability


text:
Follow us on linkedin-grey
'Frenemies' are the new face of economic crime
Corporate fraud is a challenge for organisations around the world. The rise in new technologies and sophistication of organised crime syndicates have created new opportunities for fraudsters, increasing the risk of serious financial loss and reputational damage to organisations, as well as impacting the many lives affected by the crime.
Who are the fraudsters?
It's easy to assume that perpetrators of corporate fraud are strangers. However, fraudsters aren't necessarily who you think they are. According to PwC's 2018 Global Economic Crime & Fraud Survey: Australian Report, more than half of all economic crime in Australia is committed by a 'frenemy' - someone who does business with the organisation on a regular basis, such as an employee, customer or supplier.
According to a KPMG report titled 'Global profiles of the fraudster', based on a survey of 750 fraudsters worldwide, perpetrators of fraud tend to be males aged 36-55 who have worked with the organisation for more than six years. They tend to hold executive positions in operations, finance or general management. Fraud is almost twice as likely to be perpetrated in groups as in solitude, with 62% of fraudsters colluding. In the survey, 65% of fraudsters were employees and a further 21% were former employees.
Getting around controls
As fraudsters often occupy powerful positions, they are more likely to get around their organisation's internal controls. According to KPMG, weak internal controls were a factor for 61% of fraudsters. In some cases, colleagues of fraudsters unintentionally facilitated the crime without knowing it, by following orders or 'helping out' in a way that circumvented the internal controls. While many organisations have controls in place to detect and prevent fraud, they are not always followed by employees.
How to reduce your risk
It's clear that to reduce the risk of corporate fraud, organisations need robust internal controls that look both inside and outside the organisation. We suggest starting with a comprehensive background screening of all new and existing employees, as well as key customers and suppliers. You may also like to conduct a risk assessment, to identify gaps in your organisation that fraudsters may leverage to commit economic crimes.
While regulators have ramped up their enforcement of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism funding (CTF) legislation in Australia, PwC found that only 59% of organisations surveyed had completed a risk assessment and more than 40% had not assessed the risk of fraud in the last two years. Weak internal controls leave organisations at risk of fraud, as well as the risk of hefty fines for non-compliance with AML/CTF regulations.
Knowing your employees
You may not be able to eliminate the risk of fraud completely, but knowing your employees and business partners can help you manage this risk.
Our fit2work platform allows you to complete background screening at regular intervals, with more than 70 checks that cover a range of sectors. When compared to the costs and impact of fraud, background screening is an affordable offering that should be a priority for any organisation looking to improve internal controls. Contact us for more information, or visit fit2work.
Protect your business and manage risk with workforce tools and solutions to support you through all stages of the employment lifecycle.
Rise in CV fraud leaves recruiters and employers at risk
Leonardo da Vinci is said to have created the first curriculum vitae (CV) in 1482. It was a letter to the Regent of Milan, introducing himself and...
It's time for HR to ditch their 'set and forget' approach to background screening
Less than a decade ago, background checks were only undertaken for certain roles. These days it's the norm.
Dylan John, Executive General...
How to Conduct a Risk Assessment of Potential Candidates
For some professions, conducting police checks on candidates and employees is a mandatory requirement under legislation and industry regulations....
Why Small Businesses Need Background Screening
Small businesses are the backbone of the Australian economy, accounting for well over 95% of all businesses and providing employment for around 4....
5 ways to reap the benefits of background screening
Make sure you're hiring the right person for the right job. Consider these five tips when screening candidates for roles in your organisation....
Get an edge in the job market with background screening
In a competitive workforce, it's important to do what you can to stand out from the crowd and show employers that you're organised and job ready....
Bridging the gap in aged care with employee screening
There is a growing demand for aged care in Australia, thanks to our ageing population, increased life expectancy and longevity.
Are the responsible people in your business fit and proper?
In this post Royal Commission era, it has never been more important for regulated entities (i.e. authorised deposit taking institutions and...
Finding the Sweet Spot of Background Screening
Background screening of candidates is a vital part of the recruitment process. It helps you make better hiring decisions and manage risk, by...
3 reasons to rethink your approach to background screening
The majority of businesses in Australia do a background check on employees at the point of hire, and never do it again. If they do, it's usually...
Copyright © 2019 Equifax Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Equifax Inc.
All right reserved. Equifax and EFX are registered trademarks of Equifax Inc.
Credit & Identity Terms


The demand for recombinant proteins has increased significantly during the past decades, this has in turn increased the need for producing sufficient amounts of high-quality protein samples for various applications. ProteinCT codon optimization and verification services are designed to facilitate the identification of optimal genetic combinations for enhancing recombinant protein expression.
With the availability of vast amount of genomics data, along with increased knowledge of protein expression, function and structure relationships, gene expression levels are correlated to many factors, such as codon usage, promoter sequences and regulatory elements. One of the most important among these factors is the adaptation of the codon usage of transcribed genes to the typical codon usage of the host. Especially for prokaryotic systems, prominent codon usage bias is found in highly expressed genes under translational selection. In eukaryotes especially mammalian systems, other factors, such as transcriptional silencing, mRNA destabilization, alternative splicing, premature polyadenylation, or inefficient translation, often compromise protein expression. Engineering the expression host (e.g. providing rare tRNA pools) or using improved expression cassettes with strong or tissue-specific promoters may result in enhanced protein expression in various systems, however, the key to protein expression in many hosts still remains gene-specific in most cases, therefore, direct modification of the coding sequence, i.e., codon optimization, remains the key step for the success in protein expression enhancement.
Many companies offer codon optimization/gene sequence optimization and synthesis of the expression constructs. ProteinCT Biotechnologies has taken this one step further - our codon optimization and verification services, taking consideration of published factors that may affect protein expression combined with years of empirical observations by our experienced staff, are tailored to each expression system. We will construct expression vectors, perform EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION for you and delivery a comprehensive report.


Added to sparkling water, this is a great alternative to sodas. And spiked, it makes a refreshing party drink for a backyard BBQ!
Combine the berries and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook for at least 20 minutes, or until the berries are dissolved or mostly broken up.
Blend the mixture using an immersion blender or transfer to an upright blender. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a mixing bowl (see "Tip" below), then return to the pan and add the lemon juice and the sugar. Cook over medium-high heat at a very low boil for 15 minutes until slightly reduced, stirring frequently. Add additional sugar to taste. Stir in the kirsch, if using, and allow to cool.
Will keep in refrigerator, covered, up to 10 days. Will keep in a freezer for six months.
Save the pulp, sweeten with sugar or honey, and serve over yogurt or ice cream!


text:
LEGO Pirates of The Caribbean The Video Game DS ROM
LEGO Pirates of The Caribbean The Video Game NDS apk android for DraStic free download working on mobile and pc,Nintendo DS EmulatorLEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game re-creates the action, adventure and memorable moments of the Pirates of the Caribbean mythology in LEGO form, incorporating the humor of LEGO minifigures and fantastic worlds built from LEGO bricks and elements for players to explore.
Players can take on the roles of more than 70 characters and experience the pirate adventure, irreverent humor and amazing creatures of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, through action-adventure gameplay and hilariously quirky LEGO cut scenes. Throughout the game, players will also have the freedom to explore environments from the highly acclaimed movie series in more than 20 levels. The game features two-player cooperative mode, in which players each control a character to experience the story together, and freeplay mode, which lets players return to levels to discover new items.
LEGO Pirates of The Caribbean The Video Game ROM
E10+ for Everyone 10 and older: Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief
Developer: TT Games
LEGO Pirates of The Caribbean The Video Game DS
Download LEGO Pirates of The Caribbean – The Video Game (U) – File Size: 98M
Captain America Super Soldier DS ROM
Star Wars The Force Unleashed DS ROM


cigarette smoking haram, starting with its upcoming congress in July.
call the cigarette police," deputy chairman Sudibyo Markus told detik.com.
Participants caught puffing will be "politely reprimanded", he said.
Posted in: Enforcement, Government, Health, Smoking Ban, Workplace.