text:
\section{Introduction}
            Distributed coordination in multi-agent systems has recently gained extensive attention due to its potential applications in engineering, biological and social systems \cite{Ren:Cao:book}. The main goal in distributed coordinated control is to realize a group objective using local interaction between agents. From this perspective, various coordinated control algorithms for identical linear multi-agent systems described by single/mulitple integrators, linear oscillators, and more general high-order dynamics have been proposed in the literature under some specific assumptions on the interconnection between agents. Examples of these results can be found in
            \cite{ren2008distributed, bullo2009distributed, su2009synchronization, abdessameud2010consensus, li2010consensus, yu2010distributed,  cao2012distributed, liu2012necessary, abdessameud2013consensus, li2015designing}, where several methods have been proposed to solve different, yet closely-related, coordination problems including consensus, flocking, formation maintenance, cooperative tracking, and synchronization. For heterogeneous multi-agent systems, \cite{wieland2011internal} have shown that distributed algorithms can also be derived using similar methods combined with results form the classical output regulation theory \cite{francis1976internal}. In fact, the cooperative output regulation problem has emerged as an important problem that encapsulates many coordinated control problems of heterogeneous agents (see, for instance, \cite{xiang2009synchronized, su2012cooperative1, su2012cooperative2, liu2015robust, meng2015coordinated}).

            In this paper, we consider the cooperative output regulation problem of heterogeneous linear multi-agent systems
            governed by the general dynamics
            \begin{eqnarray}\label{model_heterogenous}\begin{array}{lcl}
            \dot{x}_i &=& A_i x_i + B_i u_i + E_i \upsilon  \\
            y_i &=& C_i x_i + D_i u_i + F_i \upsilon
             \end{array},&\quad& i\in\mathcal{N},
            \end{eqnarray}
            where $x_i \in\mathbb{R}^{N_{x_i}}$, $u_i \in\mathbb{R}^{N_{u_i}}$, $y_i \in\mathbb{R}^{N_{y_i}}$ are, respectively, the state vector, the control input, and the measured output of the $i$-th agent, $A_i$, $B_i$, $C_i$, $D_i$, $E_i$, $F_i$ are matrices of appropriate dimensions, and $\mathcal{N}:=\{1,\ldots,n\}$ is the index set of all agents. The signal $\upsilon\in\mathbb{R}^{q}$ models both the global reference signal to be tracked and the disturbance to be rejected by each agent and is generated by the following exogenous dynamic system
                \begin{eqnarray}\label{exosystem}
                \dot{\upsilon} &=& S \upsilon,
                \end{eqnarray}
            with some initial states and $S\in\mathbb{R}^{q\times q}$ being a known matrix. The objective consists in designing appropriate inputs $u_i$ such that stabilization of some regulated error signal, to be defined later, is guaranteed.

            Clearly, in the case where all agents can sense/estimate the exogenous signal $\upsilon$, the above described problem reduces to the output regulation problem of a single plant studied by \cite{huang2004nonlinear}. In this work, we are interested in the case where the exogenous signal $\upsilon$ can be captured only by a group of informed agents whereas the other agents attempt to achieve the control objective by coordinating with other team members. Basically, all agents need to reach an agreement on the estimate of the time-varying exogenous signal using local information exchange performed according to some interconnection topology. To that end, all agents are interconnected in the sense that some information can be transmitted between agents according to some graph topology.

            The above problem, with its variants regarding the system model, has been addressed in \cite{xiang2009synchronized, su2012cooperative1, su2012cooperative2, liu2015robust, meng2015coordinated}, to cite a few, under different assumptions on the interconnection graph, however, under similar idealized assumptions on the interaction between agents which is generally performed using communication networks. In fact, in all the above mentioned papers, the information exchange is assumed ideal in the sense that the information is continuously transmitted between agents and received in real time. In practice, however, communication over networks is subject to time-varying delays, packets dropouts, and can be discrete-time and intermittent due to various environmental and/or technological factors. Motivated by this, our main interest in this paper is to solve the cooperative output regulation problem for system \eqref{model_heterogenous} assuming constrained discrete-time communication between agents.

            The second-order consensus problem for double integrators has been studied, for instance, in \cite{yu2010some, sun2009consensus2, cepeda2011exact, liu2014containment}, in the presence of uniform constant communication delays.
            For identical higher-order linear multi-agents,  \cite{zhou2014consensus} presented a consensus algorithm in the presence of arbitrary large constant communication delays. A similar result was also obtained in \cite{zhou2014consensus} in the case of uniform time-varying delays, however, under some conditions on the delays upper bounds and some restrictions on the dynamics of the agents. A common assumption in the above mentioned delay-robust algorithms is that the information exchange is assumed to be continuous in time and the communication delays are perfectly known.
            In \cite{xiang2014synchronised}, a consensus algorithm for high-order heterogeneous agents has been proposed
             assuming sampled-data information exchange subject to known constant communication delays.

             On the other hand, the authors in \cite{gao2010consensus, Wen:Duan:2012, zhou2012synchronization, wen:ren:2013, huang2014intermittentdelayed} presented consensus algorithms, for linear homogeneous multi-agent systems, in the case of intermittent information exchange between agents. However, communication delays have been considered only in \cite{huang2014intermittentdelayed} dealing with the second-order consensus problem under the assumptions of strong connectivity, periodic intermittent communication, and perfectly known time-varying communication delays. More recently, a small-gain framework has been adopted in \cite{Abdessameud:Polushin:Tayebi:2013:ieeetac} to design distributed algorithms for nonlinear second-order systems in the presence of irregular communication delays. The latter approach has been further developed in \cite{abdessameud2015synchronization, abdessameud2015leader, abdessameud2016distributed} to solve similar problems for second-order systems assuming delayed and (not necessarily periodic) intermittent discrete-time information exchange.

            The main contribution of this paper is a solution to the cooperative output regulation problem for heterogeneous linear multi-agent systems assuming discrete-time, intermittent and asynchronous information exchange, subject to non-uniform and unknown irregular communication delays that can be unbounded. As compared to the relevant literature mentioned above, the present work considers the coordinated control problem of high-order heterogeneous multi-agent systems by taking into account all the above communication constraints simultaneously. Our control objective can be
            reached in the case of a general directed graph, describing the interconnection between agents, for
            arbitrary properties of the communication process that can induce large communication blackouts.
            To the best of our knowledge, there is no coordinated control algorithm in the literature that takes into account (simultaneously) all the above mentioned communication constraints for high-order linear heterogeneous (or identical) multi-agent systems.

\section{Problem Formulation}

\subsection{Model Description}\label{sec:model}

            Consider the $n$ heterogenous agents in \eqref{model_heterogenous} and suppose that the external signal $\upsilon$, generated by \eqref{exosystem}, can be estimated only by some informed agents referred to as leaders. The uninformed agents, acting as followers, do not have access to the exogenous signal. Without loss of generality, let $\mathcal{F}:= \{ 1, \ldots, m\}\subset \mathcal{N}$ and $\mathcal{L}:= \mathcal{N}\setminus \mathcal{F}$, with $0< m < n$, denote the sets of indices corresponding the followers and leaders, respectively.

            Let $\mathcal{G}=(\mathcal{N},\mathcal{E},\mathcal{A})$ denote the directed graph that models the interconnection between agents, where $\mathcal{N}$ is the set of nodes representing the agents, $\mathcal{E}\in\mathcal{N}\times\mathcal{N}$ is the set of pairs of edges, and $\mathcal{A}=[a_{ij}]\in\mathbb{R}^{n\times n}$ is the weighted adjacency matrix. An edge $(j, i)\in\mathcal{E}$, represented by a directed link from node $j$ to node $i$, indicates that agent $i$ can receive information from agent $j$ but not {\it vice versa}. A finite sequence of distinct edges of $\mathcal{G}$ in the form $(j,l_1),(l_1,l_2), \ldots,  (l_p, i)$ is called a directed path from $j$ to $i$. The elements of $\mathcal{A}$ are defined such that $a_{ii}:= 0$, $a_{ij}>0$ if $(j,i)\in\mathcal{E}$, and $a_{ij}=0$ if $(j,i)\notin \mathcal{E}$. The Laplacian matrix $\mathbf{L}:=[l_{ij}]\in\mathbb{R}^{n\times n}$ associated to $\mathcal{G}$ is defined such that: $l_{ii}=\sum_{j=1}^n a_{ij}$, and $l_{ij}=-a_{ij}$ for $i\neq j$.

            Also, the information exchange is discrete in time and subject to irregular communication delays. More precisely, for each $(j,i)\in\mathcal{E}$, agent $j$ can send data to agent $i$ only at instants $t_{k_{ij}} = k_{ij} t_s$, with $k_{ij} \in \mathcal{S}_{ij}\subseteq \{0,1, 2, \ldots \}$ and  $t_s$ being a common sampling period. This information can be received by agent $i$ at instant $t_{k_{ij}}+\tau_{k_{ij}}$, where $\left(\tau_{k_{ij}}\right)_{k_{ij} \in \mathcal{S}_{ij}}$ is a sequence of communication delays that take values in ${\mathbb R}_+\cup\{ +\infty\}$, where  $\tau_{k_{ij}}=+\infty$ means that the corresponding data has been lost during transmission.

\subsection{Problem Statement and Assumptions}\label{sec:pb:statement}

            Our objective consists in designing a control algorithm for \eqref{model_heterogenous}-\eqref{exosystem} such that the regulated error signal $e_i\in\mathbb{R}^{p_{e_i}}$ written in the general form \vspace{-0.05 in}
            \begin{eqnarray}\label{regulated error}
                e_i  &=& C_{e_i} x_i + D_{e_i} u_i + F_{e_i} \upsilon,\quad i\in\mathcal{N},\vspace{-0.05 in}
            \end{eqnarray}
            satisfies $e_{i}(t) \to 0$, for $i\in\mathcal{N}$, for arbitrary initial conditions. Note that the above formulation, with $\mathcal{L}\neq \mathcal{N}$, is general in the sense that it captures many problems relevant to multi-agent systems such as leader-follower consensus/synchronization and cooperative tracking/disturbance rejection.

\begin{assumption}\label{assum:control:observer}
            \begin{itemize}
             \item [i)] $(A_i, B_i)$ is stabilizable for $i\in\mathcal{N}$.
             \item [ii)] $(C_i, A_i)$, for $i\in\mathcal{F}$, and $(\bar{C}_i, \bar{A}_i )$, for $i\in\mathcal{L}$, are detectable, with
                 \begin{eqnarray}\label{bar_A}
                 \bar{A}_i:= \left[ \begin{array}{ll} A_i & E_i\\ 0_{q\times N_{x_i}}& S\end{array}\right], \quad \bar{C}_i := \left[C_i \quad F_i\right], \quad i\in\mathcal{L}.\end{eqnarray}
             \item [iii)] For all $i\in\mathcal{N}$, there exist matrices  $\Pi_i,~ \Gamma_i$ such that
                    \begin{eqnarray}\label{regulator:equations}
                    \begin{array}{lcl}\Pi_i S &=& A_i \Pi_i + B_i \Gamma_i + E_i\\
                    0&=& C_{ei} \Pi_i + D_{ei} \Gamma_i + F_{ei}\end{array}.
                    \end{eqnarray}
                    \end{itemize}
            \end{assumption}

            Assumption~\ref{assum:control:observer}, item $iii)$ is standard and necessary for the solvability of the output regulation problem \cite{huang2004nonlinear}. Item $ii)$ in the above assumption distinguishes the two sets $\mathcal{L}$ and $\mathcal{F}$, and implies that the leaders can estimate their states as well as the external signal $\upsilon$ using their measured outputs. This is not the case for the follower agents where only their states are detectable from the measurements.

            \begin{assumption}\label{assum:S}
            The eigenvalues of $S$ in \eqref{exosystem} lie on the imaginary axis of the complex plane.
            \end{assumption}

            \begin{assumption}\label{AssumptionCommunicationBlackouts}
                    For each pair $(j,i)\in\mathcal{E}$, there exist a strictly increasing infinite subsequence $\bar{\mathcal{S}}_{ij} = \{k_{ij}^{(1)}, k_{ij}^{(2)}, \ldots \}\subseteq \mathcal{S}_{ij}$  and $h^*>0$  such that: $t_{k_{ij}^{(l+1)}} +\tau_{k_{ij}^{(l+1)}} - t_{k_{ij}^{(l)}}\le h^*$, for $l=1, 2,\ldots .$
                                \end{assumption}

            Assumption~\ref{AssumptionCommunicationBlackouts} states that, for each pair $(j,i)\in\mathcal{E}$, there exists a subsequence of transmission time instants $\bar{\mathcal{S}}_{ij}$ and the corresponding communication delays such that the information sent by agent $j$ at instants $t_{k_{ij}}$ for  $k_{ij} \in \bar{\mathcal{S}}_{ij}$ are successfully received by agent $i$. Further, for each pair $(j,i)\in\mathcal{E}$, the maximum length of communication blackout intervals between agents $j$ and $i$ does not exceed an arbitrary (not necessarily known) bound $h^*$. Obviously, an infinite $h^*$ implies that communication between agents is completely lost and the cooperative output regulation problem described above may not be solved, in general. Also, note that the subsequences $\mathcal{S}_{ij}$ and $\bar{\mathcal{S}}_{ij}$ are defined for each edge in $\mathcal{E}$, which shows that the intermittent and delayed discrete-time information exchange described above is also asynchronous.

            \begin{assumption}\label{assumption_graph}
                For each node $i\in\mathcal{L}$, the edge $(j,i)\notin \mathcal{E}$ for all $j\in\mathcal{N}$. Also, for each node $i\in\mathcal{F}$, there exists at least one node $j\in\mathcal{L}$ such that a directed path from $j$ to $i$ exists in $\mathcal{G}$.  \vspace{-0.1 in}
            \end{assumption}
            Assumption~\ref{assumption_graph} implies that a leader node does not receive information from any other node in $\mathcal{G}$, which is reasonable since each leader can estimate the external signals using only its measurements. Also, for each follower agent, there exists at least one leader having a directed path to that follower. Consequently, the Laplacian matrix  associated to $\mathcal{G}$ takes the form
         \begin{eqnarray}
         \label{laplacian}
          \mathbf{L}&=&\left[\begin{array}{ll} \mathbf{L}_1&\mathbf{L}_2\\ 0_{(n-m)\times m}&0_{(n-m)\times (n-m)}\end{array}\right].
         \end{eqnarray}
        and satisfies the properties in the following lemma.
        \begin{lemma}\label{lemma_Mei}\cite[Lemma 2.3]{Mei:Ren:2012}
         Consider $\mathbf{L}$ defined in \eqref{laplacian}. Under Assumption~\ref{assumption_graph}, the matrix $\mathbf{L}_1$  is a nonsingular M-matrix\footnote{A matrix $A \in\mathbb{R}^{n\times n}$ is said to be a nonsingular M-matrix if $A \in \mathcal{Z}_n$ and all eigenvalues of $A$ have positive real parts, where $\mathcal{Z}_n \subset \mathbb{R}^{n\times n}$ denotes the set of square matrices with non-positive off-diagonal entries \cite{qu2009cooperative}.}, each entry of $ -\mathbf{L}^{-1}_1 \mathbf{L}_2$ is nonnegative, and all row sums of $-\mathbf{L}_1^{-1} \mathbf{L}_2$ are equal to one.
        \end{lemma}

\section{Distributed Output Regulation Algorithm}

           Consider the following control law for each agent
           \begin{eqnarray}
            \label{input:control} u_i &=& K_i (\hat{x}_i - \Pi_i \hat{\upsilon}_i) + \Gamma_i \hat{\upsilon}_i, \\
            \label{observer}  \dot{\hat{x}}_i &=& A_i \hat{x}_i + E_i \hat{\upsilon}_i + B_i u_i + L_{1i}(\hat{y}_i - y_i),\\
            \label{obeserver:output}\hat{y}_i &=& C_i \hat{x}_i + F_i \hat{\upsilon}_i + D_i u_i,
            \end{eqnarray}
            where $\hat{x}_i$ is the observed state, $\hat{y}_i$ is the observer output, $K_i$, $L_{1i}$ are gain matrices with appropriate dimensions, and the signal $\hat{\upsilon}_i$ is an estimate of the exogenous signal obtained by each agent according to the following algorithm

           \begin{eqnarray}\label{observer:reference}
            \dot{\hat{\upsilon}}_i &=& S \hat{\upsilon}_i +  \eta_i, \quad \mbox{for}~i\in\mathcal{N},
            \end{eqnarray}
            where $\eta_i\in\mathbb{R}^q$, for $i\in\mathcal{F}$, is an input to be designed, and
             \begin{eqnarray}\label{eta_leaders}
            \eta_i &=&  L_{2i}(\hat{y}_i - y_i), \quad \mbox{for}~i\in\mathcal{L},
            \end{eqnarray}
            with $L_{2i}$, $i\in\mathcal{L}$, being a gain matrix of appropriate dimension. Let $\bar{L}_i = \begin{bmatrix} L_{1i}^\top & L_{2i}^\top \end{bmatrix}^\top$, for $ i\in\mathcal{L}$.

             Note that \eqref{input:control}-\eqref{eta_leaders}, for $i\in\mathcal{L}$, is a classical observer-based control algorithm that guarantees, along with Assumption~\ref{assum:control:observer}, the exponential convergence to zero of the regulated error for $i\in\mathcal{L}$ \cite{huang2004nonlinear}. Also, as it will become clear later, the control scheme \eqref{input:control}-\eqref{obeserver:output}, for $i\in\mathcal{F}$, ensures the solvability of the output regulation problem for all follower agents provided that each follower can estimate the state of the exogenous system with an appropriate design of $\eta_i$ in \eqref{observer:reference}, $i\in\mathcal{F}$,  using intermittent, delayed and discrete-time communication.

             For this purpose, we suppose that the data that can be transmitted from agent $j$ to agent $i$ at instant $t_{k_{ij}}=k_{ij}t_s$, for each $(j,i)\in\mathcal{E}$ and each $k_{ij}\in\mathcal{S}_{ij}$, consists of the sequence number $k_{ij}$ of a transmission instant $t_{k_{ij}}$, and the vector $\hat{\upsilon}_j(k_{ij} t_s)$ obtained from \eqref{observer:reference} for $j\in\mathcal{N}$. Also, for each pair $(j,i)\in\mathcal{E}$ and each time instant $t\geq 0$, let $k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)$ denote the largest integer number such that $\hat{\upsilon}_j(t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})$, with $t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)} = k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t) t_s$, is the most recent information of agent $j$ that is already delivered to agent $i$ at $t$. This integer $k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)$ can be determined by a simple comparison of the received sequence numbers.

            Consider the following input $\eta_i$ in \eqref{observer:reference} for $i\in\mathcal{F}$
            \begin{equation}\label{eta_followers}
            \eta_i = - \sum_{j=1}^n a_{ij} \big(\hat{\upsilon}_i - \underbrace{e^{S(t-t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})} \hat{\upsilon}_j(t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})}_{\hat{\upsilon}_{ij}^*}\big),
            \end{equation}
                where $\hat{\upsilon}_{ij}^*$ can be regarded as a prediction of the signal $\hat{\upsilon}_{j}(t)$ obtained using the most recent information received from agent $j$.

              \begin{theorem}\label{theorem1}
                Consider the multi-agent system \eqref{model_heterogenous} with \eqref{exosystem} and suppose that Assumptions \ref{assum:control:observer}-\ref{assumption_graph} hold. For each agent, consider the control algorithm \eqref{input:control}-\eqref{observer:reference} where the input $\eta_i$ is given in \eqref{eta_leaders} for $i\in\mathcal{L}$ and in \eqref{eta_followers} for $i\in\mathcal{F}$. Pick the gains $K_i$, $L_{1i}$ and $L_{2i}$ such that $(A_i + B_i K_i)$, for $i\in\mathcal{N}$, $(A_i + L_{1i}C_i)$, for $i\in\mathcal{F}$, and
                $\left(\bar{A}_i + \bar{L}_i\bar{C}_i\right)$, for $i\in\mathcal{L}$, are stable matrices. Then, the cooperative output regulation problem is solved for arbitrary initial conditions.
                          \end{theorem}
        \begin{proof}
            Define the following error signals: \begin{equation*}\varepsilon_i := x_i - \Pi_i \hat{\upsilon}_i, \quad \tilde{x}_i := \hat{x}_i - x_i, \quad \tilde{\upsilon}_i := \hat{\upsilon}_i - \upsilon,\end{equation*} for $i\in\mathcal{N}$. Using \eqref{model_heterogenous}-\eqref{exosystem} and \eqref{input:control}-\eqref{eta_leaders}, and taking into account  point $iii)$ in Assumption~\ref{assum:control:observer}, the regulated error signal, in \eqref{regulated error}, can be shown to satisfy
             \begin{eqnarray}
             \label{error:all}
                e_i &=& (C_{e_i} + D_{e_i} K_i) \varepsilon_i + D_{e_i} K_{i} \tilde{x}_i - F_{e_i} \tilde{\upsilon}_i,\\
            \label{dot:epsilon}
            \dot{\varepsilon}_i &=& (A_i + B_i K_i)\varepsilon_i + B_i K_i \tilde{x}_i - E_i \tilde{\upsilon}_i - \Pi_i \eta_i,
            \end{eqnarray}
            for $i\in\mathcal{N}$, with
                \begin{eqnarray}\label{closed:observer:leaders}
              \left[ \begin{array}{c} \dot{\tilde{x}}_i \\ \dot{\tilde{\upsilon}}_i
              \end{array}\right] = \left(\bar{A}_i + \bar{L}_i\bar{C}_i \right)\left[ \begin{array}{c} \tilde{x}_i \\ \tilde{\upsilon}_i
              \end{array}\right], \quad i\in\mathcal{L},
            \end{eqnarray}
            \begin{eqnarray} \label{closed:observer:followers}
            \dot{\tilde{x}}_i &=& (A_i + L_{1i}C_i)\tilde{x}_i + (E_i + L_{1i} F_i) \tilde{\upsilon}_i,\\
            \label{dot_tilde_upsilon_followers}\dot{\tilde{\upsilon}}_i &=& S \tilde{\upsilon}_i + \eta_i,
            \end{eqnarray}
            where the two last relations hold for $i\in\mathcal{F}$, matrices
            $\bar{A}_i$, $\bar{C}_i$ are given in \eqref{bar_A}, and we used the relation $\eta_i = L_{2i}(\hat{y}_i - y_i) = L_{2i}(C_i \tilde{x}_i + F_i \tilde{\upsilon}_i)$ for $i\in\mathcal{L}$. \vspace{0.05 in}

            It is straightforward to verify that system \eqref{closed:observer:leaders} is exponentially stable with the above described choice of the gain matrices $K_i$, $L_{1i}$ and $L_{2i}$, for $i\in\mathcal{L}$. It is also easy to verify that each system  \eqref{dot:epsilon}, $i\in\mathcal{N}$, is input-to-state stable (ISS) with respect to the inputs $\eta_i$, $\tilde{\upsilon}_i$ and $\tilde{x}_i$, $i\in\mathcal{N}$. This, with \eqref{error:all} and the fact that $\tilde{\upsilon}_i(t)\to 0$ and $\tilde{x}_i(t)\to 0$ exponentially, lead to the conclusion that $e_i(t)\to 0$ for each $i\in\mathcal{L}$.

            Now, consider system \eqref{observer:reference} with \eqref{eta_followers}, for $i\in\mathcal{F}$, which, using \eqref{exosystem}, can be shown to satisfy
            \begin{equation}\label{tilde_upsilon_proof}
            \dot{\tilde{\upsilon}}_i =
            S \tilde{\upsilon}_i - \sum_{j=1}^n a_{ij} \big(\tilde{\upsilon}_i - e^{S(t-t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})} \tilde{\upsilon}_j(t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})\big), \quad i\in\mathcal{F}.
            \end{equation}

            Consider also the the change of coordinates $\bar{\upsilon}_i = V \tilde{\upsilon}_i $, for all $i\in\mathcal{N}$, where $V\in\mathbb{R}^{q\times q}$ is a real orthogonal matrix such that $V S V^{\top} = T$, with $T$ being the real Schur form of $S$. Note that such a canonical form exists for any real square matrix, and $T\in\mathbb{R}^{q\times q}$ is a block upper triangular matrix of the form
               \begin{equation}
               T = \begin{bmatrix}\label{T} T_{11}& T_{12}& \ldots & T_{1p} \\  & T_{22} & \ldots& T_{2p} \\ &&\ddots&\vdots\\ &&&T_{pp}\end{bmatrix},
               \end{equation}
            where $T_{\ell \ell}\in\mathbb{R}^{q_\ell \times q_{\ell}}$, $\ell = 1,\ldots p$, with $q_\ell$ can be equal to either $1$ or $2$ and $\sum_{\ell = 1}^p q_{\ell} = q$, all the elements below $T_{\ell\ell}$ are zeros, and $T_{\ell \hbar}$, for $\ell = 1,\ldots, p-1$ and $\hbar=\ell+1,\ldots, p$, are of appropriate dimensions. Accordingly, $T_{\ell \ell}$, $\ell = 1,\ldots p$, can be either a real number equal to a real eigenvalue of $S$, or a real 2-by-2 matrix having a pair of complex conjugate eigenvalues of $S$. Therefore, in view of Assumption~\ref{assum:S}, we have $T_{\ell \ell} = 0$ if $q_\ell = 1$, and the two eigenvalues of $T_{\ell\ell}$ are complex with zero real parts if $q_\ell = 2$.

            Then, using \eqref{tilde_upsilon_proof}, one can show that
            \begin{equation}\label{bar_upsilon_follower}
            \dot{\bar{\upsilon}}_i = T \bar{\upsilon}_i -\sum_{j=1}^{n} a_{ij}(\bar{\upsilon}_i - e^{T(t-t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})} \bar{\upsilon}_j(t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})),
            \end{equation}
            for $i\in\mathcal{F}$, where
             \begin{equation}\label{exp_T}
            e^{T\varsigma} = \begin{bmatrix}
            e^{T_{11}\varsigma}& F_{12}(\varsigma)& \ldots & F_{1p}(\varsigma) \\  & e^{T_{22}\varsigma} & \ldots& F_{2p}(\varsigma) \\ &&\ddots&\vdots\\ &&&e^{T_{pp}\varsigma}
            \end{bmatrix}
            \end{equation}
            and the functions $F_{\ell \hbar}(\varsigma)$, for $\ell=1,\ldots, p-1$ and $\hbar = \ell+1, \ldots, p$, are continuous functions that can be determined, however, their explicit expressions are not needed in the subsequent analysis.

            In view of the upper triangular form of systems \eqref{bar_upsilon_follower}, we let $\bar{\upsilon}_i^{(\ell)}\in\mathbb{R}^{q_\ell}$, $\ell = 1,\ldots, p$, denote the $\ell$-th component of $\bar{{x}}_i$ corresponding to $T_{\ell\ell}$, for $i\in\mathcal{N}$.
            Therefore, one can show from \eqref{T}-\eqref{exp_T} that
            \begin{align} \label{bar_upsilon_follower2}
             \dot{\bar{\upsilon}}_i^{(\ell)} =&~ T_{\ell\ell} \bar{\upsilon}_i^{(\ell)} - \kappa_i\bar{\upsilon}_i^{(\ell)} + \sum_{j=1}^{m} a_{ij}e^{T_{\ell\ell}(t-t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})} \bar{\upsilon}_j^{(\ell)}(t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})+ \phi_{i,\ell},
             \end{align}
             with
            \begin{align}\label{zeta_ell}
             \phi_{i,\ell}&=~\sum_{j=m+1}^{n} a_{ij}e^{T_{\ell\ell}(t-t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})} \bar{\upsilon}_j^{(\ell)}(t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})+ \sum_{\substack{\hbar = \ell + 1\\ \ell <p}}^{p} \Big(T_{\ell \hbar}\bar{\upsilon}_{i}^{(\hbar)} + \sum_{j=1}^n a_{ij} F_{\ell\hbar}(t- t_{k_{ij}^{\mathrm{x}}(t)}) \bar{\upsilon}_j^{(\hbar)}(t_{k_{ij}^{\mathrm{x}}(t)})\Big)
            \end{align}
            for $\ell = 1, \ldots, p$ and $i\in\mathcal{F}$, where $\kappa_i:=\sum_{j=1}^{n} a_{ij}$, $i\in\mathcal{F}$. Note that $\kappa_i>0$ for $i\in\mathcal{F}$ by Assumption~\ref{assumption_graph}.

            For $\ell\in\{1,\ldots, p\}$, let $\prod_\ell$ denote the system that consists of all $m$ interconnected systems in \eqref{bar_upsilon_follower2}, $i\in\mathcal{F}$, with the vector $\phi_{i,\ell}$ being considered as a perturbation term for each system. The properties of the states of each system $\prod_\ell$ are characterized in the following lemma proved in the Appendix. \vspace{0.05 in}

            \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:proof}
            Consider the above defined system $\prod_\ell$, for some $\ell\in\{1,\ldots, p\}$ and for $i\in\mathcal{F}$. Suppose that the assumptions of Theorem~\ref{theorem1} hold. Then, $\bar{\upsilon}_i^{(\ell)}$ is uniformly bounded and $\bar{\upsilon}_i^{(\ell)}(t)\to 0$, $i\in\mathcal{F}$, provided that $\phi_{i,\ell}$, $i\in\mathcal{F}$, is uniformly bounded and converges asymptotically to zero.
            \end{lemma}
                       Now, we  apply Proposition~\ref{lemma:proof} to each system $\prod_\ell$, for $\ell = p, \ldots, 1$.
            Consider system $\prod_p$ and notice from \eqref{zeta_ell} that
            $$\phi_{i,p}(t) = \sum_{j=m+1}^{n} a_{ij}e^{T_{pp}(t-t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})} \bar{\upsilon}_j^{(p)}(t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)}).$$
            Since we have already shown that $\tilde{\upsilon}_i(t)\to 0$ exponentially for all $i\in\mathcal{L}$, we know that $\bar{\upsilon}_i(t)\to 0$ for all $i\in\mathcal{L}$. This, with the fact that $(t - t_{k_{ij}^{\mathrm{x}}(t)})\leq h^*$ by Assumption~\ref{AssumptionCommunicationBlackouts}, leads to the conclusion that $\phi_{i,p}(t)\to 0$ for $i\in\mathcal{F}$. Then, using the result of Proposition~\ref{lemma:proof}, we can show that $\bar{\upsilon}_i^{(p)}$ is uniformly bounded and $\bar{\upsilon}_i^{(p)}(t)\to 0$, $i\in\mathcal{F}$.

            For system $\prod_{(p-1)}$,  one can verify from \eqref{zeta_ell} that
            \begin{align*}
                \phi_{i,(p-1)}&= \sum_{j=m+1}^{n} a_{ij}e^{T_{(p-1)(p-1)}(t-t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})} \bar{\upsilon}_j^{(p-1)}(t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)}) + T_{(p-1)p}\bar{\upsilon}_{i}^{(p)} + \sum_{j=1}^n a_{ij} F_{(p-1) p}(t- t_{k_{ij}^{\mathrm{x}}(t)}) \bar{\upsilon}_j^{(p)}(t_{k_{ij}^{\mathrm{x}}(t)}),
            \end{align*}
            for $i\in\mathcal{F}$. Since all the functions $F_{\ell \hbar}(\varsigma)$,  for $\ell=1,\ldots, p-1$ and $\hbar = \ell+1, \ldots, p$, are continuous, $t_{k_{ij}^{\mathrm{x}}(t)}\to +\infty$ and $(t - t_{k_{ij}^{\mathrm{x}}(t)})$ is bounded, it can be deduced that $\phi_{i,(p-1)}$ is uniformly bounded and $\phi_{i,(p-1)}(t)\to 0$, $i\in\mathcal{F}$. Then, using Proposition~\ref{lemma:proof}, one can show, following the same arguments as above (the case $\ell = p$), that $\bar{\upsilon}_i^{(p-1)}$ is uniformly bounded and $\bar{\upsilon}_i^{(p-1)}(t)\to 0$, $i\in\mathcal{F}$. Similarly, exploiting the above results and the expression of $\phi_{i,(p-2)}$ in \eqref{zeta_ell}, with $\ell = p-2$, one can show that $\phi_{i,(p-2)}$ is uniformly bounded and $\phi_{i,(p-2)}(t)\to 0$, for $i\in\mathcal{F}$. Repeating these steps for $\ell = p-2, \ldots, 1$, one can show that $\bar{\upsilon}_i$ is uniformly bounded and $\bar{\upsilon}_i(t)\to 0$, for $i\in\mathcal{F}$. Consequently, $\tilde{\upsilon}_i$ is uniformly bounded and $\tilde{\upsilon}_i(t)\to 0$, for $i\in\mathcal{F}$.

            In addition, the vector $\eta_i$ in \eqref{eta_followers} can be rewritten as
            $$\eta_i = -\sum_{j=1}^n a_{ij} \big(\tilde{\upsilon}_i - e^{S(t-t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})} \tilde{\upsilon}_j(t_{k_{ij}^\mathrm{x}(t)})\big),\quad i\in\mathcal{F}.$$ Using the above results and the fact that $(t - t_{k_{ij}^{\mathrm{x}}(t)})\leq h^*$, one can verify that $\eta_i$ is uniformly bounded and $\eta_i(t)\to 0$, for all $i\in\mathcal{F}$.

            Finally, it can be verified that system \eqref{closed:observer:followers} is ISS with respect to the input $\tilde{\upsilon}_i$, $i\in\mathcal{F}$. Therefore, $\tilde{x}_i$ is uniformly bounded and $\tilde{x}_i(t)\to 0$ for all $i\in\mathcal{F}$. This, with the ISS property of system \eqref{dot:epsilon}, lead to the conclusion that $\varepsilon_i$, $e_i$ are uniformly bounded and $\varepsilon_i(t)\to 0$, $e_i(t)\to 0$, $i\in\mathcal{F}$. The proof is complete.
\end{proof}

              \begin{remark} Note that the result in Theorem~\ref{theorem1} holds provided that  the instants of time at which two successive information received by agent $i$, for each $(j,i)\in \mathcal{E}$, are not spaced by more than an unknown bound $h^*$ that can take arbitrary large values. Also, the proposed approach in this section can be adapted, with obvious modifications, to solve other problems considered in the available literature of heterogeneous multi-agent systems ({\it e.g.}, \cite{su2012cooperative1, xiang2014synchronised, liu2015robust,  haghshenas2015containment}) under the same communication constraints. For instance, in the special case where each agent can measure its state vector and the leader agents have direct access to the exogenous signal; $y_i = \mbox{col}\{x_i, \upsilon\}$ for $i\in\mathcal{L}$ and $y_i = x_i$ for $i\in\mathcal{F}$, the output regulation problem is equivalent to the one studied in \cite{su2012cooperative1} in the case of delay-free communication between agents. In this case, one can consider the control  $u_i = K_i (x_i - \Pi_i \hat{\upsilon}_i) + \Gamma_i \hat{\upsilon}_i$, with $\hat{\upsilon}_i=\upsilon$ for $i\in\mathcal{L}$ and $\hat{\upsilon}_i$, for $i\in\mathcal{F}$, is given by \eqref{observer:reference} with \eqref{eta_followers}. Following similar steps in the proof of our main results below, it can be shown that the cooperative output regulation problem in this case is solved under similar assumptions in Theorem~\ref{theorem1}.
             \end{remark}

\section{A Numerical Example}
We consider a multi-agent system consisting of six agents modeled as in \eqref{model_heterogenous}-\eqref{exosystem} with
        \begin{eqnarray}
        A_i = \begin{bmatrix} 0&1\\ a_i&a_i\end{bmatrix},&& B_i=\begin{bmatrix} 0\\1\end{bmatrix},C_i=\begin{bmatrix}1&0\end{bmatrix},~D_i = 0, \nonumber\\
        E_i = \begin{bmatrix}0&0\\0&b_i\end{bmatrix}, && F_i = \begin{bmatrix}c_i&0\end{bmatrix},~ S=\begin{bmatrix}0&1\\-1&0\end{bmatrix},\nonumber
        \end{eqnarray}
        where $(a_i,b_i)=(-2,0)$, $i=1,2$, $(a_i,b_i)=(0,1)$, $i=3,4,5,6$, $c_i=-1$, $i=5,6$. Accordingly, we define $\mathcal{F}:=\{1,\ldots,4\}$ and $\mathcal{L}:=\{5,6\}$. The state of each agent is denoted by $x_i := (x_{1_i}, x_{2_i})^\top\in\mathbb{R}^2$, $i\in\mathcal{N}$, where $x_{1_i}$ and $x_{2_i}$ are, respectively, the position and velocity of the agent. The state of the exogenous system \eqref{exosystem} is denoted by $\upsilon = (r, w)^\top$. The regulated error in \eqref{regulated error} is selected as: $C_{e_i}=C_i$, $D_{e_i}=0$, $F_{e_i}=[-1~0]$, \textit{i.e.,} it is required that the position of each agent converges to the reference position defined by $r$; $e_i = x_{1_i}-r$. We can verify that Assumption~\ref{assum:control:observer} is satisfied, in particular, equations \eqref{regulator:equations} admit a solution given by: $\Pi_i = I_2$ and $\Gamma_i = \left[\begin{array}{cc}-(1+a_i)&-(a_i+b_i)\end{array}\right]$, $i\in\mathcal{N}$.

        The Laplacian matrix associated to $\mathcal{G}$ is written as in \eqref{laplacian} with
        \begin{eqnarray}
        \renewcommand*{\arraystretch}{0.75}
        \mbf{L}_1 = \begin{bmatrix} 2& 0&0 &-1\\
        -1& 1& 0& 0\\-1& 0& 2& -1\\0& -1& 0& 2\end{bmatrix},\quad \mbf{L}_2=\begin{bmatrix}-1&0\\0 &0 \\0 &0\\0& -1\end{bmatrix},\nonumber
        \end{eqnarray}
        and the communication process between agents is described in Section~\ref{sec:model}, with $h^* = 1.5~\sec$.

        Now, the control gains are selected as described in Theorem~\ref{theorem1}: $K_i = \Big[-10~~-8\Big]$, for $i\in\mathcal{N}$, $L_{1_i}=\Big[-15~~-25\Big]^\top$, $L_{2_i}=\Big[-10~~-10\Big]^\top$ for $i\in\mathcal{L}$, $L_{1_i}=\Big[-10~~-10\Big]^\top$ for $i\in\mathcal{F}$. The obtained results when applying the control law in Theorem~\ref{theorem1} are shown in Figs.~\ref{fig:error}-\ref{fig:positions}. It can be seen from Fig.~\ref{fig:error} that the regulated error signals of all agents converge to zero. This can also be seen from Fig.~\ref{fig:positions} which shows that the position-like states of all agents converge to the reference signal $r(t)$ despite the presence of large communication blackout intervals between each pair of communicating agents.

\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\begin{minipage}[h]{0.49\columnwidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=1.1\columnwidth]{error}
\caption{\footnotesize The regulated errors of the agents.} \label{fig:error}
\end{minipage}
 \hfill
\begin{minipage}[h]{0.49\columnwidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=1.1\columnwidth]{positions}
\caption{\footnotesize Position-like states of all agents.} \label{fig:positions}
\end{minipage}
\end{figure}

\section{Conclusion}
        We considered the cooperative output regulation problem of high-order heterogeneous multi-agent systems with constrained discrete-time information exchange. The problem has been solved under mild assumptions on the directed interconnection graph topology, with intermittent and asynchronous discrete-time information exchange in the presence of unknown time-varying communication delays and communication blackouts.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


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Court Upholds NRC Dry Cask Storage Rule
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has upheld the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) decision approving the VSC-24 concrete cask for storing spent nuclear fuels. The generic approval of the technology permitted Consumers Power Co. to construct dry cask facilities at its Palisades nuclear project and begin loading spent fuel. The State of Michigan and owners of land near the Palisades plant claimed that the Atomic Energy Act required the NRC to hold hearings to consider site-specific issues.
Phillip S. Cross
D.C. Has Second Thoughts About Transition Costs
The District of Columbia Public Service Commission (PSC) will permit Washington Gas Light Co., a natural gas local distribution company (LDC), to continue collecting Order 636 pipeline transition charges through its purchased-gas adjustment clause (PGA), but "questions" whether the costs should become a standard PGA element. The PSC set the matter aside for further review, voicing concern over the "potentially unchecked magnitude" of the costs absent regulatory oversight.
DSM Rate Surcharge Remanded in PA
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has overturned and remanded parts of a ruling by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) that allows electric companies to impose rate surcharges to recover costs associated with demand-side management (DSM) programs, including lost revenues and incentives for program performance. The court ruled that state law limits recovery of incentives or the costs of physical facilities to base rate proceedings.
SEC Cost Approves Valid for FERC
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, following an earlier decision by the District of Columbia Circuit, has rejected claims by Ohio municipal utilities that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) erred when it allowed Ohio Power Co. to recover the full cost of coal paid to affiliated suppliers without applying a "comparable market test" to make sure the costs were reasonable.
Tennessee to Review LDC Transition Costs
The Tennessee Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has opened a generic proceeding to establish a policy governing recovery of Order 636 pipeline transition costs by natural gas local distribution companies (LDCs). The PUC noted that one LDC, Nashville Gas Co., is currently recovering costs from all customer classes based on total system throughput, but has agreed to halve the charge for interruptible customers. Other LDCs use different methods to assess the costs to customers.
Discount Tariff Hits Snag
The Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) has dismissed an application by Consumers Power Co. for authority to implement its controversial "Rate K" competitive tariff for electric service. The utility had claimed that greater pricing flexibility was necessary to meet substantial competition from self-generation, new municipal utilities, and utilities outside the state, but the PSC found that due to numerous objections to the rate plan and subsequent modifications of the proposal by Consumers, the proceeding had become so complex that the docket should be closed.
Court Limits State Review of QF Buyouts
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled that the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) is preempted under the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) from ordering a qualifying facility (QF) and an electric utility to renegotiate or settle on a buy out of a previously approved purchased-power agreement. The QF, Freehold Cogeneration Associates, L.P. had refused to alter its contract with Jersey Central Power & Light Co.
Florida Approves Decoupling Mechanisms
Florida Power Corp. has won approval for a three-year experiment to remove existing disincentives to investment in conservation programs by "decoupling" residential revenues from sales for ratemaking purposes. The mechanism permits customer surcharges and refunds if revenue levels vary from targeted levels.
The new mechanism relies on a per customer revenue target figure based on the allowed revenue and average residential customer count used in the company's last rate case.
Court Reject FCC's Flexible Pricing Again
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been rebuffed yet again by the courts in its effort to relax tariff filing requirements for nondominant common carriers. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit thwarted the FCC's latest attempt, rejecting proposed rules that would permit the nondominant carriers to file a range of rates rather than fixed rates tied to a schedule of charges.
The courts had earlier overturned a series of FCC rulings.
The process of determining how to implement utility competition is often cast as a struggle between two opposing camps: shareholders and ratepayers. There are, of course, two other major players, managements and regulators. The bipolar view tacitly assumes that shareholder and management interests coincide, and that regulators have customer interests at heart. Neither assumption is altogether valid. Shareholder interests deviate from management interests in important ways, just as the interests of the entrenched regulatory bureaucracy diverge from the public interest.
Charles M. Studness

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
You are here: Home1 / News2 / News3 / Callis presents at DOE
Callis presents at DOE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – David Callis, executive vice president and general manager of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association, presented today during the Department of Energy's Clear Path III, a hurricane preparedness and response event and exercise for the energy sector.
Tennessee's electric cooperatives routinely provide assistance to neighboring co-ops in Tennessee and surrounding states following natural disasters. "Cooperation is one of the founding principles of electric cooperatives. It is what makes us different from other utilities," says Callis. "In the hours and days following a natural disaster, we have a responsibility to act with purpose to restore service to our member-owners. It only makes sense to coordinate our efforts and resources to speed the process."
Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall invited Callis to discuss the electric cooperative mutual aid process as part of a series of information briefs during the event. The objective of Clear Path III is to assess government and industry's plans, policies and procedures at all levels to identify and improve response efforts.
The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association provides legislative and communication support for Tennessee's 23 electric cooperatives and publishes The Tennessee Magazine, the state's most widely circulated periodical. Visit tnelectric.org or tnmagazine.org to learn more.
Trent Scott | Director of Corporate Strategy | [email protected] | 731.608.1519
June 24, 2015 /1 Comment/by Trent Scott
Tags: Mutual Aid
https://www.tnelectric.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_6689.jpg 1536 2048 Trent Scott https://www.tnelectric.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/TECA-logo-full-light.png Trent Scott2015-06-24 22:11:192015-06-24 22:11:19Callis presents at DOE
Jay Rouse says:
i hear that Mr. Callis did an excelllent job representing his state and his electric cooperatives.
Energy Independence Energy Independence


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About Bali - A Bali Cremation
Today I went to a funeral…..
Well it was a funeral except this funeral was like no other. Everyone was happy and excited and there was lots of colour and celebrations.
This morning I woke up and heard our gang that's usually quiet buzzing with energy. Sadly a few days ago there was a death, an old man who used to sit in our street under a shady tree on a wooden beach. He lived till 84 years old and had a wife that would always sit there by his side.
4 days ago our house maid Wayan said to me "come see my uncle he is sleeping." I had no idea what she meant because she doesn't really speak english. So I got my dad and we walked over to her house that's next door. I followed her into a room and saw her uncle sleeping on the bed. I was confused at why she wanted me to see someone having a nap. Then her brother came over and said to dad and I that he was dead. I was quite shocked at that considering I'd never seen a dead person before, but I was even more shocked that no one was crying. Every one was happy and excited.
He stayed there for 4 days while everyone prepared his body for a cremation ceremony. Each day we would hear prayers, people singing and our lane way was filled with people wanting to visit him. Then on the fourth day, cremation day, we all woke up early to get dressed in our kebaya's (ceremonial dresses) and walked over to Wayan's house.
We sat at her house along with the other 200 guests and ate traditional Balinese food that her husband (who's a chef) had cooked. Then the body was brought out, wrapped in a sheet and we followed it down our gang (alley).
There were girls wearing beautiful gold and silver dresses and people carrying big flower bowls and fruit bowls as offerings for the gods on their heads. When we reached the main road the body was put into a very ornate structure then picked up and carried by 10 men. Then the procession started. The whole main road of Sanur was blocked off to traffic for 30 minutes as over 200 of us and a full Balinese Gamelin orchestra walked with the body to the cremation site on the beach.
We all waked for about 1km in the middle of the day. I felt really sorry for the guys because the structure is actually massive and extremely heavy so they did a good job carrying it so far in that heat.
Then we finally arrived at the cremation site which is right next to the beach. The boys put the structure down and carried to body to a pyre which was made of bamboo. Then they unwrapped the body and there were more rituals. Being an Aussie I thought some of the things they did were very weird but interesting. One of the things was that they put metal in his mouth to make sure he had strong teeth in the after life!
Then they set the pyre on fire using gas burners and we all stood back and watched his body be cremated. He was actually one of three cremations on that day. After that dad and I left because the heat was too much for me to handle in my dress. It was layers and layers and I was so, so, so hot from the heat. But mum stayed for another 2 hours and said they picked up the ashes, had some rituals and blessings by a priest and took them out in a boat and scattered them into the ocean.
So If you ever visit Bali and come to Sanur be sure to see one of the cremations. They are usually on every Saturday and Sunday and sometimes other days during the week too. Anyone is allowed to go and there are always lots of tourists watching. You can also take pictures and videos, the Balinese don't mind at all.
And in case you are wondering why they are so happy, it is because in the Hindu religion they believe you will be reincarnated and have a better life. In fact there are some gifted people who are meant to be able to tell who is reincarnated from whom!
A Work Place Blessing
Today was a very interesting day for me. Today I went to a ceremony to bless mums work place. I've never heard of a work place blessing ceremony in Australia but in Bali they are a very regular event.
Mum has just started her new work at Puspadi Bali. Mums working in a business development role and helping them to raise money so that they can help more people. Paspudi Bali helps people who are disabled and this includes people who have lost limbs in accidents like riding motor bikes and getting run over and falling out of trees.
The Hindus believe that being disabled is a punishment from the Gods for something you or your family have done. So the disabled are not helped except for the help Puspadi Bali gives them. I'll talk more about mums work in another post.
Mum and I both arrived at her work wearing our new kabayas that we just had made. We all gathered around the car park and sat down on the grass. All the men sat together and all the women were sitting separately. I met two of the ladies who work with mum who were both in a wheel chair.
We all waited and watched for about 30 minutes while a Hindu priest did a religious blessing to the gods. He sprayed water on a table full of brightly coloured offerings and sang prayers. It is believed that he is one of the few people who can actually communicate with the gods. After that a lady came around and blessed every single person in the car park. When she got to me I didn't really want to be sprayed with water and have rice thrown at me but I let her do it anyway. Part of the ceremony was each of us had to drink water three times, similar to taking communion. I was worried the water wouldn't be filtered or boiled and I'd get sick. But the lady reassured me that it was holy water and that it was safe.
She also put water on our foreheads and then stuck grains of rice there. You'll often see Balinese people walking around with 3 or 4 grains of rice on their foreheads and it's another way they do a small offering to the gods.
While the table full of offerings was for the gods, the demons also had their offerings. A little fire was started on the ground for them so the Balinese could make sure the forces for good and evil were both kept happy.
Workplace blessing ceremonies are held every 6 months on the Balinese calendar, so this means every 210 days.
The ceremony finished after an hour and then everyone shared food they had brought, then we all went home.


The CDs aren't totally "original" in that they include additional and alternate performances that expand on the LP issues.
The CDs are packed in mini-LP folders that reproduce the original album covers, front and back. This provides economy, environmental benefits, and ease of handling.
The price is nice. I bought my brand new box from MovieMars (via eBay) for $20.99, including shipping.
The set is manufactured and distributed in the USA by Sony Music Entertainment. I hope that means that my purchase will add a bit to the next royalty check that Rollins gets from Sony.
The music is what it is. I'm not going to second guess Rollins, or for that matter the reviewers, from back in the '60s. The sound on the CDs is just fine, thanks. I haven't compared it to the LP versions I have, but I'm very comfortable when I listen.
There's one thing that rattled me a bit. When I pulled the first CD out of its packet, I found myself looking at a variation of the classic red Columbia six-eye LP label with the name Sonny Rollins on it and RCA logos in the black boxes where the LP eye graphics would have been.
Back in the day, those two companies were direct competitors and Columbia was one of the labels that Sonny Rollins never recorded for. Seeing his name on Columbia red drove home how things have changed in the last 50+ years. I didn't need that.


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Home » Special Report » Gov Fintiri 30 Days in Office: Nightmare to Criminals, Revives Education, Other Sectors
Gov Fintiri 30 Days in Office: Nightmare to Criminals, Revives Education, Other Sectors
By Barnabas Augustine
Today, 28 June, 2019 His Excellency, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri is 30 days in office as the Executive Governor of Adamawa State. Within these days in office, the ATM Governor has made a mark in the lives of the people of Adamawa with a laudable initiative policies especially in the education, security and payment of outstanding salaries of civil servants in the State.
Our Government House reporter, Barnabas Augustine was at the press briefing by the Director-General Media and Communications Government House Yola, Solomon Kumangar. The excerpt:
In His inauguration speech and Maiden Broadcast to the State, His Excellency Governor AUF had vowed to initiate and sustain a constant conversation with the people of Adamawa State on what He is doing to address the problems they had elected Him to do.
In keeping with this vow, particularly with due regard to transparency and the accountability which His Excellency is sworn to up hold, we make bold to say that the Government has hit the ground running and is gaining momentum day by day.
The quest to make Adamawa State work again has started in earnest and is yielding the desire impact and results.
Primarily, we are on course in addressing the major security challenges bedeviling the State. So far we have moved against kidnappers and the Shilla boys menace.
Within three days of the expiration of the deadline His Excellency initially gave for criminal elements to shape or ship out, Sixty-Eight (68) Kidnappers and Two Hundred and Fifty-Two (252) Shilla Boys were arrested and detained.
More than One Hundred and Eleven others have voluntarily surrendered while the rest are on the run. His Excellency has since directed Security Agencies to cast their dragnets very wide and not allow the criminals to escape.
The Government has also initiated dialogue between farmers and herders aimed at ending the incessant disturbances especially in the Southern part of the State. In addition, a law to impose harsh punishment on all categories of criminals terrorizing the State, is before State Assembly, to provide the necessary legal bite for enforcement.
You are all aware that His Excellency inherited a State ravaged by insurgency, wracked by heavy debt and a decaying economy. He however has started a stimulus package by pumping money into the Civil Service and off-set two months' salaries arrears of workers. He has managed to do this without imposing any debt burden on the State.
His Excellency has also taken steps to revamp education as part of His poverty reduction and empowerment agenda which is yielding salutary results.Governor AUF has not only ensured free feeding for Nine Junior and Senior Secondary Schools within the State capital but the programme will be expanded to cover Fifty-Eight (58) Boarding Secondary schools beginning from September 2019, as the new school year.
Furthermore, he has directed the payment of matching grant to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to access 8.2 Billion Basic Education Stimulus.
As a prequel to declaring free and compulsory education to shore up enrolment and halt the high level of drop outs, The Government has set as a target, the rehabilitation of Five Thousand Schools (5000) in the next Six Months in the first instance.
Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has also placed Health and Agriculture at the top of His to-do list. His Excellency's visit to the Specialist and German Hospitals paved the way for immediate intervention in this Area.
In Agriculture, His Excellency AUF has approved in principles, the establishment of stock shops in the 21 Local Government Areas, where farmers can access farm imputs easily.
In general Administration, the Governor has moved to revamp Local Government councils after eight years of near dormancy by granting them full autonomy. The Governor had sent in Executive Bill to amend the Adamawa State Local Governments Administration law 2004, to pave way for the Constitution or Transition Committees which will include at least one woman each for all the 21 LGAs.
He has also directed Directors, General Services and Administration, to clean-up their wage Bills of ghost workers beginning from April 2016.
Gentlemen of the Press His Excellency has been able to make progress in a little under one month with little or no resources where distractors never gave him a chance to succeed. They have failed to realize that it is not the resources at one's disposal, but how well one utilizes resources, that make the difference.
Let me conclude by saying that constant change has been the Hallmarks of Adamawa State, change for the better has been its set back; but Governor AUF is changing all that and many are inspired and fired by the belief that indeed, Adamawa State is in good hands.


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Here's Why Cannabis Doesn't Need Double Blind Placebo Tests
Matt Weeks June 3, 2018 0 comments
New trials cannot reproduce seventy to ninety percent of all double blind placebo tests of pharmaceutical medicine.
The gold standard in modern research is double-blind, placebo tests. It's a headline-grabbing, shorthand way to tell the world that this study matters. In popular consciousness, it's one step below absolute proof. And yet, even double blind placebo tests have problems.
it comes to medicinal studies, the most reliable form of research experiment is the double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment (also known as a "randomized control group trials" in medical literature). The setup of this study ensures that the power of suggestion is absent from the experiment, providing clean, usable data.
The beauty of the experiment lies in its utter deception. In a true double-blind, placebo-controlled study, neither the doctors nor the patients know who's getting the real drug and who's getting a fake. The process is completely randomized, leaving every participant in the dark.
How Do Medical Studies Work?
This is how it works. First, the researchers divide the patients into two groups. These consist of a control group, which gets a placebo, and the active group, which receives the real drug. The medical professionals who administer the drug aren't told which is real. To keep this secrecy, the researchers provide them pre-sorted pills or shots, and told them give them to the patients.
But this not the only kind of double-blind study.
There's also the double-blind comparative study. This works exactly the same as the other double-blind setup, except that it lacks a control group. Instead, one group gets a drug that works (Advil, for instance). The other group gets the experimental drug. Again, no one knows who's getting which medicine.
What's Wrong with Double Blind Placebo Tests?
What's wrong with double-blind studies? They seem ironclad in theory. And indeed, they're important. But they're not without fault.
What causes doubts in the research? The placebo effect, for one thing. It's a scientific mystery that has troubled researchers for decades. It happens when people report effective treatment when they take a fake drug. A great example is when scientists studied minoxidil, the active ingredient in Rogaine, many men in the control group (those receiving placebo) reported that they re-grew hair!
RELATED Can Your Boss Rule Cannabis Use Off-The-Clock?
Another problem is that double-blind medical studies cannot accurately account for a large number of variables (although they try). Genetic factors beyond our comprehension may play a role in medical treatments, as may natural body chemistry, gut bacteria, and the physical and emotional life of the patient outside the laboratory.
Common Flaws in Research
The real culprit, however, is that research is just never as good as it claims to be.
In fact, recent statistics have shown that many peer-reviewed studies' findings—even the double-blinds—have never been able to be reproduced. How many? In chemistry studies, it's 90 percent (!); for medicine it's 70 percent. In biology, there's an 80 percent failure-to-reproduce rate. That's beyond awful. And that's where cannabis comes in.
The reproducibility crisis happens for many reasons: high-stress corporate labs where dramatic results are demanded, researchers with big egos aching to make a name for themselves, academic journals that demand data that's so clean it's impossible to get without cheating—the list goes on.
All of this is very, very bad news for cannabis. The same evils that contribute to the reproducibility problem are the ones that cannabis battles against every day. The only ones who benefit from poor medical trials are drug makers, crooked researchers, and misguided academics. That's Big Pharma and the folks who benefit from the traditional way of doing things, the same ones who think cannabis deserves to be classified alongside heroin as a Schedule I controlled substance.
DEA Cannabis Restrictions
It wasn't until Aug. 11, 2016 that the DEA announced it was softening the restrictions on medical cannabis studies. This relaxation softens the controlled Substances Act. Even with the relaxations, researching marijuana involves an arduous amount of red tape that isn't applied to most other research interests.
With that kind of government interference, medical cannabis studies are put under a bureaucratic microscope where overseers spend hours looking for any excuse to deny or set back the experiments. Further, the nebulous legality creates a chilling effect on academic journals. These publications are less interested in publishing research that their government – or pharmacy – funded institutions frown upon. This creates a sense that medical cannabis is an "outsider" treatment.
RELATED New Discovery About CB2 Could Unlock the Mysteries of Cannabis
Cannabis Self-Experimentation
Meanwhile, the establishment treats cannabis consumers like outsiders. As a result, must experiment on themselves. While the opioid crisis is making big waves across the country, cannabis users have long known that it provides pain-relieving benefits without the same risks of addiction.
While there are studies that prove that point, the "outsider" status keeps medical marijuana away from patients and doctors who could benefit from its use. For example, one public health study found that people saw Vicodin use as "less risky" than marijuana use despite the opiate being nearly as addictive as heroin.
High-quality medical research has amazing potential, but until we demand that research be free from intervention and 100 percent reproducible, only consumers will truly be doubly blind.
Matt Weeks
A writer living and working in Athens, GA, Matt's work has appeared in various newspapers, books, magazines and online publications over the last 15 years. When he's not writing, he hosts bar trivia, plays in local bands, and makes a mean guacamole. He holds an undergraduate degree in journalism and a master's degree in organizational theory. His favorite movie is "Fletch."
Matt Weeks June 24, 2021
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Matt Weeks March 24, 2021
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Matt Weeks January 18, 2021
Thieves That Can't Tell Hemp Versus Cannabis Costing Hemp Farmers A LOT
Matt Weeks September 21, 2020
Cannabis and Legalization is as American Made as it Gets. What Gives?


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Do you have a modern household that was integrated the nineteen-eighties? If so, you might think it is time to update your modern household. After all, ever since the eighties "modern" has come a long way.
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I'm probably being overly cautious, but I have a few questions about the secondary.
1. Has anyone submitted the essays on seperate, printed pages?
2. Do they want you to tear out the "waiver of access form" so you can type your name, then put it loosely back into the packet?
3. Can/does the osteopathic physician evaluation form substitute as an actual LOR?
I really wish I can get this DO LOR requirement resolved. I'm anxious to apply to LECOM. Thanks.
I actually typed the essays into a word processor, then adjusted the margins to fit the preprinted secondary app. Probably a little over the top, but hey.
Don't know what they want, but I separated all the pages - seemed like the thing to do since the were perfed.
I recall reading that it would, but having the eval form *and* a LOR would really help 'round out' the picture of you.
I think LECOM does require a DO LOR.


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How To Use A Business Idea Generator To Start A Company
Boost Your Revenue With these Marketing Ideas in this Webinar
Fiverr inspires brand campaign to kickstart business ideas
Best Business Ideas Amidst the Pandemic and New Normal
3 Types of Protection for Business Ideas
Quincy College will begin offering 4-year business management degrees
Maria Flores 2 months ago
QUINCY – The city's municipally run community college will soon begin granting four-year bachelor's degrees for the first time.
The move to add a bachelor's degree in business management to the two-year college's offerings is part of an effort to help stabilize the school, which has seen declining enrollment and financial difficulties.
More:Quincy College helps veterans succeed in their new mission: Getting a degree
From 1956 to 2021:The history of Quincy College
"This is unquestionably a watershed moment in the history of Quincy College," said Quincy College President Richard DeCristofaro in a statement. "Nothing is more important than strengthening our commitment to the ideals of access and affordability, and the unique opportunity to offer students a baccalaureate degree program truly sets us apart among the state's two-year institutions."
Because Quincy College is independent of the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges, it can offer four-year degrees while other community colleges can't.
The program will be offered both in person and online.
College officials have been working to offer a four-year degree for about a decade. The school received approval this year from the state Department of Higher Education and the New England Commission of Higher Education – a regional accreditation institution – to offer the degree.
Enrollment for third-year classes in business management, the college's most popular subject, will begin in January. Quincy College officials hope to attract students from across the state who are looking for an affordable business management degree.
More:'We believe Quincy will get there': Meet the developers ushering the city into a new era
Special report:Quincy College campus debate raises the question: Should the city be running a college?
"I look forward to an exciting new level of engagement with our business management students and to providing them with more direct, guided pathways to achieve their educational goals," Servet Yatin, the college's provost, said in a statement.
Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.
Joe Difazio can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jldifazio.
Posted in Business ManagementTagged #4year #Business #College #Degrees #Management #Offering #Quincy
Staff longevity, regulars make Coaches 'feel like home'
Thu Dec 2 , 2021
Editor's Note: This is the sixth in a series about iconic Gahanna businesses to be featured monthly. Gahanna's Coaches, 230 Granville St., has been a place to enjoy sporting events, live music, pizza and beer for 27 years. The business originally was opened in 1994 on Creekside's Mill Street by […]
How to give positive feedback and lead your team to success
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SemiLEDs Corporation
SemiLEDs Corporation Securities Litigation
On or around 02/21/2014 (Notice of voluntarily dismissal)
According to the law firm press release, SemiLEDs is a holding company for its wholly-and majority-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures that collectively develop, manufacture and sell high performance light emitting diode ("LED") chips and components that are used primarily in general lighting applications, including street lights and commercial, industrial and residential lighting.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's operations and business. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose: (i) that the Company was experiencing known, but undisclosed, pricing pressures for its products which were reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on SemiLEDs' future revenues and operating income; (ii) that known events or uncertainties, including the reduction in demand for the Company's products, the likely (and ultimate) loss of a large customer, and the decline in the value of the Company's inventory, were reasonably likely to cause SemiLED's financial information not to be indicative of future operating results; (iii) that the Company's disclosure controls were materially deficient and its representations concerning them were materially false and misleading; (iv) that the certifications issued by defendants associated with the Company's disclosure controls were materially false and misleading; and (v) that, based on the foregoing, defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company, and its then current business and future financial prospects.
On July 10, 2011, SemiLEDs issued a press release announcing its financial results for its 2011 third quarter ended May 31, 2011. For the quarter, the Company reported revenue of $5.6 million, down 43% from the previous year's third quarter, and a net loss of $5.1 million, or $0.19 per diluted common share. The Company's results for the quarter were adversely impacted by a $1.1 million inventory charge during the quarter, an amount equal to more than 7% of the value of the Company's total inventory at February 28, 2011. In reaction to this news, SemiLEDs' stock price fell nearly 11%, or $0.71 per share, to close at $5.87 per share on July 12, 2011.
An amended complaint was filed on November 15, 2013.
This case was voluntarily dismissed on February 21, 2014.
Defendant: SemiLEDs Corporation
Industry: Semiconductors
Headquarters: Taiwan
Ticker Symbol: LEDS
Jean C. Huard, et al. v. SemiLEDs Corporation, et al.
JUDGE: Hon. Denise L. Cote
Holzer Holzer & Fistel, LLC (Atlanta)
200 Ashford Center North, Suite 300, Holzer Holzer & Fistel, LLC (Atlanta), GA 30338
In Re Semileds Corporation Litigation
Pomerantz LLP (New York)
600 Third Avenue, Pomerantz LLP (New York), NY 10016
212.661.1100 212.661.8665 · info@pomerantzlaw.com/
1 Amended Complaint for Violation of the Federal Securities Laws 11/15/2013
2 Notice of Voluntary Dismissal Pursuant to F.R.C.P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) 02/21/2014


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Home/Singer/Who's Cecile Cassel dating? Wiki: Son, Parents, Dating, Salary, Married
Who's Cecile Cassel dating? Wiki: Son, Parents, Dating, Salary, Married
1 Who's Cecile Cassel?
2 Cecile Cassel: Early Life, Childhood, and Education
3 Cecile Cassel: Career, Salary, and Net Worth
4 Cecile Cassel: Controversy and Rumors
5 Cecile Cassel: Body Measurements
6 Cecile Cassel's Social Media Profile
Who's Cecile Cassel?
Cecile Cassel is a French singer and actress. She's appeared in many of tv series and movies. She is also a recording artist.
Le Ruban Blanc, symbole de la lutte contre les violences faites aux femmes @fondationdesfemmes #maintenantonagit
A post shared by hollysiz (@hollysiz) on Feb 27, 2018 at 3:52am PST
Cecile Cassel: Early Life, Childhood, and Education
Cassel was born in Paris, France on June 25, 1982, as the Girl of Jean-Pierre Cassel. Furthermore, she's the half-sister of actor Vincent Cassel and MC Mathias Cassel. She's the half-sister-in-law of Monica Bellucci. The majority of the information about Cassel's early life and youth years isn't available today. Additionally, she hasn't revealed her cultural background currently. Speaking about her schooling, there's not any comprehensive advice about Cassel's educational heritage.
Cecile Cassel: Career, Salary, and Net Worth
Cassel appeared on' Le patron ' at 2000 as Julie Fresnay. Ever since that time, Cassel has appeared in a number of other films and tv show and she's 50 credits as a celebrity. Various other films and tv show Cassel has emerged in are'Two Is a Family','Paris à tout prix',"The Gilded Cage',"Just Like Brothers',"Leila',"Nuit bleue',"Sword of War','Je vais te manquer','My Last Five Girlfriends',"Ex',"The First Day of the Rest of Your Life',"The Romance of Astrea and Celadon',"Foon',"Everybody's a Killer' and'Sex and the City' amongst others. Furthermore, she has a charge for a soundtrack. Her salary has not been revealed by cassel. There are no details about her current net worth.
#Marchedesfiertes pic.twitter.com/N5LFBeqjju
— Cécile Cassel (@CasselCecile) June 30, 2018
Cecile Cassel: Controversy and Rumors
Cassel has kept her life away in the mainstream press spotlight. Till date, she's been a part of some notable controversies. Nowadays, there aren't any rumors regarding Cassel's life and livelihood.
MERCi @taratataofficiel ! Retrouvez les liens des 3 lives dans ma story #taratata #hollysiz #ratherthantalking
A post shared by hollysiz (@hollysiz) on Feb 24, 2018 at 12:36am PST
Cecile Cassel: Body Measurements
There aren't any details about Cassel's height and weight currently. Her hair colour is blond and eye color is blue.
La joie https://t.co/UXVLDcbnM3
— Cécile Cassel (@CasselCecile) June 3, 2018
Cecile Cassel's Social Media Profile
Cassel is busy within the social websites. She's a massive number of followers on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter in addition to Instagram. She's over 19k followers on Twitter. Moreover, she's over 42k followers on Instagram. Likewise, her FB page HollySiz has over 43k followers.
What happened to Heidi Montag? Bio: Baby, Net Worth, Now, Wedding
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What happened to Lainie Kazan? Wiki: Net Worth, Husband, Son, Sister
Who's Caity Lotz? Wiki: Family, Death, Son, Sister, Real Name, Ethnicity


There is more to healthy skin than just looks. Your skin's health is dependent upon your whole body, so you must be aware of it. The tips that are going to be covered here will allow you to have great looking skin all over your body.
TIP! Avoid using too much makeup when you suffer from acne. Makeup such as foundation and powder can clog your skin's pores.
You can always enlist the help of alpha-hydroxy treatments. Alpha-hydroxy acids are present in several milks, wines, and fruits. These acids work by dismantling the proteins that allow dead skin cells to stick around. After theses bonds have been broken, the lingering dead skin cells can be easily scrubbed away, revealing new, healthy skin.
Take a shower after the gym to reduce the sweat on your body. Using a washcloth to rinse off your face won't remove all of the pore-clogging oil and bacteria that comes with sweat. A warm shower is the best way to keep your skin clean and healthy.
TIP! When applying sunscreen, use a makeup sponge. It helps to spread it evenly and it doesn't give you time to feel its sticky or greasy texture.
Lotions that have no scent and are hypoallergenic will contain all-natural ingredients and are the best option for sensitive skin. You should also avoid products that contain alcohol, as they do more to dry out your skin and have no benefit. Look at the ingredients of these products before buying them. Don't waste money on any that list alcohol or fragrances.
Try exfoliating three times weekly to maintain a healthy-looking face. There are scrubs that are specifically made for facial skin. If you have sensitive skin, search for moisturizing exfoliants. Exfoliation does lots of things for the skin, like getting rid of clogged pores and eliminating dead skin cells. You will look more radiant if you exfoliate on a regular basis.
TIP! Always avoid putting wet clothing on your hands and feet, like wet gloves. These can be annoying skin irritants and also cause health problems, such as eczema, to re-surge.
Apply sunscreen with a sponge to reduce the bacteria that gets on your face. A sponge assists the sunscreen in penetrating your skin, which will make it more effective. Also, this method will keep your hands clean and help you avoid over-applying sunscreen to your face.
Many body washes on the market can cause extreme skin dryness, moreso than the environment. Keep your skin from getting dried out by carefully considering the amounts of nutrients and moisturizers that are inside your skin care products. These ingredients will help keep moisture in, and will also help your skin regenerate.
TIP! Pomegranate pills are an excellent form of sun protection. These pills help you tan by raising your resistance to UVA and UVB rays.
You can use a tissue to find out your skin type. When you first wake up, press a tissue (make sure it is clean) over your face. Depending on how much oil is on the tissue you will know if you have oily, dry, normal or combination skin. Having this knowledge will let you know which skin care products you should be using.
The advice covered in this article will help you restore and maintain your skin. Use the tips from this article to keep your skin looking its best throughout the years.


The client was small start-up from USA. They made a request to design a new product called MineralBox — a mobile application for geologist and geology enthusiast. The app was aimed at helping people to find more useful tool for the android users. Users would be able to browse for different type of minerals and read more useful informations about them. Moreover, the app could be useful for students as a tool for education purposes. The specific feature of MineralBox app was expected to discover rare Minerals and shared with community.
not visual appealing apps available in android store.
to provide knowledge to professional and hobbies people.
[ivy_services_shortcode top_text="." title="Research process" desc="We take a ride to check apps already push to Google Play shop. We fond out that lots of the applications have exactly the same goals, so we decide (along with a start-up company) to focus on UI to make a difference on the market. As the final solution we prepared a visual attractive content for our future users.
When all the requests were considered, we went to the stage of wireframing. Our team think that is a good starting points to invest more time into solving problems process than start working on high-end UI design. At the time of design sprints we focused on quick manual sketches of wireframes. We went from visuals to the basic concept of app. Than we start to prepare a low fidelity wireframes and prototypes to display them on devices.


With a unique combination of High Tech engineering and an innovative, solely for maximum power constructed design, LUMMA Design introduces, in cooperation with G-Power, one of the fastest limousine worldwide. Do you need a true-bred sports car for a spectacular appearance? By no means! With this unique sports limousine CLR 730 RS LUMMA Design, basic vehicle BMW M5 E60, benches many sport cars. Ten cylinders, bi compressor engine, 730 hp and 700 Nm. Is there any room for improvement? Definitely not! The new LCR 730 RS from LUMMA Design is a commitment to racing. But also concerning style and luxury the CLR 730 RS goes strong.
Aerodynamics is of elementary importance to get a more then 360 km/h maximum speed. The body of the BMW M5 is improved with ultra light but extremely compact carbon components. The LUMMA Bodykit "CLR 730 RS" consist of a hood, a trunk lid with integrated tearing edge, mirror caps, door handles, entrance strips and fenders - all made of carbon.
The LUMMA chassis brings true racing technology on the street. The sport suspension is multiple adjustable on both axles in bound and rebound and lowering the car up to 45 mm.
Extra light and forged wheels were produced for the ultra broad track. On the front axle are LUMMA Racing rims in 10x21" with tires size 255/30-21, on the rear axle 12Jx21 with tires from Michelin size 295/25-21. The wheelwork is three piece crafted, the rim star is forged, and dull black anodized and has stainless steel outer rims.
Because of the combination of lightweight, enormous engine power and innovative aerodynamics the LUMMA CLR 730 RS from Winterlingen achieves acceleration times which were so far only subject to true race cars. The 730 hp V10 bi-compressor engine obstructed from G-power is the most powerful engine that has ever been obstructed into a road-legal BMW. Off the top off one's head the car catapults itself within 4.2 seconds up to speed 100. After 10 seconds the sport limousine has already doubled the speed. After 29.5 seconds the car achieves 300 km/h. Top speed is at 367,4 km/h. This power explosion is traced back to the core of the G-Power compressor system, the ASA radial compressor. Also used is a LUMMA sport exhaust system with 100 cells racing catalysts and 105 mm end pipes made of stainless steel and engraved LUMMA logo.
Of course LUMMA Design does not count on the original brake system. Also at this the best just isn't good enough. LUMMA Design obstructed a 6-pistons (rear axle 4-pistons) brake system, which affects on the front- and rear axle on a drilled brake disc dimension 405 mm (380 mm).
The cockpit of the CLR 730 RS unites a pure racing look in a combination of carbon, leather and Ultra suede with the comfort that is nowadays expected from a luxury sport car. The comfort features are: a bicolor complete leather interior in red/white with stitched diamond patterns and white fancy seems. The Ultra suede improvement includes the dashboard, the seat consoles and the coverages. All panels on the dashboard and the center console, the transmission control, the steering wheel, the hand brake lever and the backside of the sport seats are beautified with carbon. Finally everything is completed by suede car mats edged with leather, a trunk mat and sporty aluminum pedals and a footrest.


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Q: How to get attribute value for disabled element in Angular JS application I need to get attribute value of a disabled element during run time and assert its value.
My current code looks like this but is not returning a value:
softAssert.assertFalse(shrSub.nextButton().waitForPresent().getAttributeValue("disabled").equals(true), "Next button must be disabled");

Tried find the value returned by .getAttributeValue("disabled") but it is coming as null.
String test = shrSub.nextButton().waitForPresent().getAttributeValue("disabled");
System.out.println(test);

shrSub is the class object reference for the webpage.
The element properties are as follows:
<button _ngcontent-nnr-c51="" class="share-button mat-button" mat-button="" matsteppernext="" disabled="" type="submit">
    NEXT

</button>

Please help me find the right attribute value for this disabled element so that I can assert successfully during run time.
I am expecting some attribute value for disabled field (true or false) to get fetched which can then be compared with expected value.

A: Looking at your DOM, this is right because the disabled attribute has no value in it.
When it is converting it from HTML to your coding language, it is becoming null.
Can you try following:
softAssert.assertFalse(shrSub.nextButton().waitForPresent().getAttributeValue("disabled").equals(null), "Next button must be disabled");

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Since 1949, The Harold J. Becker Company has provided quality moisture protection services to commercial and industrial customers in the private sector, as well as municipalities, counties, state and federal agencies. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, the company serves customers in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
We offer a complete line of services, such as: roofing and sheet metal, waterproofing and dampproofing, roof maintenance programs, caulking and masonry restoration. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, The Harold J. Becker Company serves customers in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
Because we are not directly affiliated with any single manufacturer, we have the flexibility to work with our customers to find the best and most cost-effective system for their particular needs and applications.


Latch Key Kid is widely known for the song, "Good Times" from the hit 2009 DreamWorks Picture film featuring Paul Rudd and Jason Segal, "I Love You, Man" and the 2009 Warner Bros. movie, "The Invention of Lying". It was also played on many television shows including "The Hills", "Degrassi The Next Generation", "Ghost Whisperer", and played on many other television shows, and his music has been played in department stores, and national television commercials.
With such a long list of features in mainstream media world wide, Latch Key Kid is still very much an independent artist. "How could this be?" you might ask. Without a record label, it is nearly impossible to break from an indie artist to rockstar status, but with the help of his agent and PR company, Latch Key Kid is out there getting his music heard and is very successful at it.
After the much success surrounding the release of his song, "Good Times", Gavin Heaney plans to continue the momentum of his success with the 6th full length LP installment with the release of "Wide Open".
"Wide Open" captures the essence of Latch Key Kid not only for his retro 60's music style, but the way he captures the essence of surf-rock that reminds you of the Beach Boys with a hint of the throwback style of Simon & Garfunkel. Not only does his resemble artists of old, but Gavin brings a modern edge, that of a Jack Johnson meets Jason Mraz. While he emulates a multitude of different artists, he is very much his own unique persona, one that future music artists will want inspire to be like.
While you may expect more of an acoustic sound that mirrors his previous work, "Wide Open" delivers another side of Latch Key Kid especially with song like, "Walkabout" that brings a touch of the Outback in Australia. Other songs like "Destiny" and "Wide Open" take you on a mental journey to the sandy beaches of Hawaii and make you crave the summer weather.
I totally recognize this music. I'm surprised he's not on the radio yet. Gotta work on that!