text:
\section{Introduction}
The method of sum rules is 35 years old. In spite of this respectable age,
the method is being permanently enriched by new ideas and new calculations
and remains one of the widely used and competitive tools both for the determinations
of the fundamental QCD parameters (e.g., quark masses and $\alpha_s$) and for the
calculation of hadron properties. In this talk we review the recent progress in the
applications of QCD sum rules to hadron properties with the emphasis on the selected topics:
(i) sum rules for two-point vacuum correlation functions and leptonic decay constants of heavy mesons;
(ii) sum rules for three-point vacuum correlation functions, form factors and three-meson couplings;
(iii) sum rules for exotic tetraquark states.

QCD sum rules \cite{svz} (see also \cite{colangelo,ioffe} for further references)
is one of the main {\it analytic} methods for
the study of hadron properties from the field-theoretic Green functions (correlators) in full QCD.
The correlators are calculated by means of the Wilsonian operator product expansion (OPE) which provides the rigorous framework for the separation of long and short distances, in QCD being dominated by
nonperturbative and perturbative physics, respectively \cite{nsvz1984}. The OPE clearly identifies, e.g., the origin
of chiral symmetry breaking and
the emergence of hadron masses, leads to factorization of complicated amplitudes of hadron interactions
at large momentum transfers.

\noindent$\bullet$
QCD sum rules provide hadron amplitudes which satisfy all rigorous properties imposed by perturbative QCD and,
at the same time, contain nonperturbative contributions determined in a unique way.
As an OPE-based method, QCD sum rules are formulated in the Euclidean region.
However, by combining OPE with the knowledge of the analytic structure of the Green functions and resummation schemes,
the analytic continuation to the Minkowski space may be performed. In this respect QCD sum rules may have
a broader range of applicability than lattice QCD. Last but not least, as an analytic method, QCD sum rules provide physics
insights in the hadron structure, which are not easy to get from the numerical results of lattice QCD.

\noindent$\bullet$
The method of QCD sum rules favourably compares with other analytic methods, such as effective theories or functional
methods: the method of sum rules is based on the Wilsonian OPE in full QCD and therefore involves no
other implicit assumptions often present in other analytic method.

\vspace{.1cm}
\noindent {\bf a. OPE and the sum rule for the correlator}

\noindent The basic object in the method of QCD sum rules -- as well as in lattice QCD -- is the vacuum-to-vacuum correlator,
i.e., the vacuum average of the $T$-product of quark and gluon currents. In lattice QCD, one finds this correlator
numerically at large values of the Euclidean time $\tau$. In the method of QCD sum rules, one calculates the correlator
analytically as the Taylor expansion in $\tau$. Technically, one considers a so-called Borelized correlator,
i.e. applies the Borel transform to the Feynman diagrams, written as spectral representations in the energy variables.
The inverse Borel mass parameter is related to $\tau$. The OPE provides the analytic double expansion of this correlator
in form of a perturbatively calculable power series
in the strong coupling constant $\alpha_s$ and in powers of $\tau$; the ``power corrections'' --- terms
involving powers of~$\tau$ ---
are given via {\it condensates},
expectation values of gauge-invariant operators over the physical vacuum in QCD; these condensates describe in an unambiguous
way nonperturbative QCD contributions.

Alternatively, one may derive a representation for the Borelized correlator in terms of the
intermediate hadron states. The two representations for the Borelized correlator
--- by OPE and by sum over hadron states --- constitute the two sides of the QCD sum~rule.

\vspace{.1cm}

\noindent {\bf b. Isolating the ground-state contribution from the Borelized correlator}

\noindent At large $\tau$, the ground-state dominates the correlator which thus fully determines the ground-state parameters.
In the region of small and intermediate $\tau$, where the truncated OPE gives a good description of the correlator,
excited hadronic states give sizeable contributions.
In order to get rid of the excited states and to isolate the ground-state contribution from the correlator, one invokes
the idea~of quark--hadron duality \cite{shifman1,shifman2,lm}: the excited states are dual to high-energy parts of Feynman
diagrams of perturbative QCD. The ground-state contribution is then equal to the ``{\it dual correlator}'' --
the correlator in which the spectral integrals for perturbation theory diagrams
are cut at a certain {\it effective continuum threshold} $s_{\rm eff}$, or simply ``effective threshold''.
The effective continuum threshold differs from the physical continuum threshold determined by masses of low-lying hadrons.
Obviously, apart from a truncated OPE for a correlator, the effective continuum threshold
is a crucial ingredient of every sum-rule extraction of ground-state parameters;
this quantity governs the accuracy of the quark--hadron duality and determines to large extent the numerical
value of the extracted parameters of the bound state. The truncated OPE itself cannot provide precise values
of the ground-state parameters. Therefore, the method of QCD sum rules provides hadron parameters with some uncertainty
which is referred to as systematic uncertainty \cite{lms_2ptsr}.

{\it Understanding the properties of the effective continuum threshold
and finding a criterion for fixing this quantity is the key to obtaining reliable hadron parameters from sum rules}.

\section{1. Two-point correlation function and the OPE}
Let us start with the simplest object -- the two-point correlation function; the perturbative expansion for this object
is known to a higher accuracy compared to more complicated correlators. Because of that, the formulation and application
of the appropriate and reliable algorithms for the extraction of the hadron parameters from this correlator is
becoming increasingly important.

The two-point function, i.e. the vacuum average of the $T$-product of two interpolating quark currents
is the basic object for the sum-rule calculation of the decay constants of the heavy-light mesons
such as $B$, $B_s$, $D$, $D_s$ or their vector analogues. For instance, for heavy-light pseudoscalar currents
$j_5=\overline{m}_b\bar qi\gamma_5b$ (here $\overline{m}_b$ is the scale-dependent $\overline{\rm MS}$ mass of the heavy quark
and $M_b$ will denote its pole mass; the light-quark mass is neglected) one obtains
\begin{eqnarray}
\Pi(p^2)=i\int
d^4x\,e^{ipx}\left\langle\Omega \left|T\left(j_5(x)j^\dag_5(0)\right)\right|\Omega\right\rangle
\end{eqnarray}
The Wilson OPE for the $T$-product and for the correlation function has the following form:
\begin{eqnarray}
T\left(j_5(x)j_5^\dagger(0)\right)=C_0(x^2,\mu)\hat 1 + \sum\limits_n C_n(x^2,\mu) :\hat O(x=0,\mu):
\end{eqnarray}
and
\begin{eqnarray}
\Pi(p^2)=\Pi_{\rm pert}(p^2,\mu)+\sum_n \frac{C_n}{(p^2-M_b^2)^n}\langle \Omega| :\hat O(x=0,\mu): |\Omega \rangle
\end{eqnarray}
Here the physical QCD vacuum $|\Omega\rangle$ is a complicated object which differs from perturbative
QCD vacuum $|0\rangle$. The properties of the physical vacuum are characterized by the
{condensates} -- the nonzero expectation values of gauge-invariant operators over this physical vacuum:
\begin{eqnarray}
\langle \Omega|:\hat O(0,\mu):| \Omega\rangle\ne 0.
\end{eqnarray}
The numerical estimates for the condensates may be found in \cite{colangelo,ioffe}.
Here we only list the recent determinations of the lowest-dimension condensates which claim an extremely high accuracy:
\begin{eqnarray}
\langle \Omega | \bar q q(2\;{\rm  GeV}| \Omega\rangle^{\overline{\rm MS}}=(282\pm 2\;{\rm MeV})^3 \;
[9], \qquad
\langle \Omega |\frac{\alpha_s}{\pi} G^{a}_{\mu\nu}G^{a, \mu\nu}| \Omega\rangle=0.013\pm 0.0016\;{\rm GeV^4} \;
[10].
\end{eqnarray}
The two-point function satisfies the dispersion representation (which requires subtractions not shown here)
\begin{eqnarray}
\Pi(p^2)=\int \frac{ds}{s-p^2}\rho(s),
\end{eqnarray}
and may be calculated both using OPE (which gives it in the form $\Pi_{\rm OPE}(p^2)$)
and using the sum over the hadron intermediate states
(which gives it in the form $\Pi_{\rm hadr}(p^2)$). The sum rule is the statement that both forms
represent the same quantity and thus should be equal to each other
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{srp2}
\Pi_{\rm OPE}(p^2)=\Pi_{\rm hadr}(p^2).
\end{eqnarray}
The spectral densities for the two representations read
\begin{eqnarray}
\rho_{\rm OPE}(s)=\left[
\rho_{\rm pert}(s,\mu)+\sum_n C_n \delta^{(n)}(s-M_b^2)\langle\Omega|O_n(\mu)|\Omega\rangle
\right], \qquad
\rho_{\rm hadr}(s)=f^2_BM_B^4\delta(s-M_B^2)+\rho_{\rm cont}(s)
\end{eqnarray}
Here $M_B$ denotes the heavy-meson mass, $f_B$ is its decay constant defined as
\begin{eqnarray}
\langle0|j_5|B\rangle=f_BM_B^2.
\end{eqnarray}
The truncated OPE series has quark and gluon singularities and does not have the hadron ones;
therefore, comparison of the truncated OPE and the hadron representation in (\ref{srp2}) may be done in the region of $p^2$ far from
hadron thresholds and resonances.

Performing the Borel transform which serves several purposes (suppressing the contribution of
the excited states, killing the subtraction terms in the dispersion representation for $\Pi(p^2)$,
improving the convergence of the perturbative expansion \cite{svz}) one arrives at the Borel image
of the two-point function
\begin{eqnarray}
\Pi_{\rm hadr}(\tau)=\int ds \exp(-s \tau)\rho_{\rm hadr}(s)=f_B^2 M_B^4 e^{-M_B^2\tau}+
\int\limits_{s_{\rm phys}}^\infty ds\,e^{-s\tau}\rho_{\rm hadr}(s),
\end{eqnarray}
where $s_{\rm phys}=(M_{B^*}+M_P)^2$ is the physical continuum threshold, determined by the masses of hadrons
which may appear as the intermediate states, and
\begin{eqnarray}
\Pi_{\rm OPE}(\tau)=\int ds \exp(-s \tau)\rho_{\rm OPE}(s)=
\int\limits_{m_b^2}^\infty ds\,e^{-s\tau}\rho_{\rm pert}(s,\mu)+\Pi_{\rm power}(\tau,\mu),
\end{eqnarray}
where power corrections $\Pi_{\rm power}(\tau,\mu)$ are given via the condensates and radiative corrections to them.

The sum rule now takes the form
\begin{eqnarray}
\Pi_{\rm OPE}(\tau)=\Pi_{\rm hadr}(\tau).
\end{eqnarray}
Recall that the hadron (i.e. full-QCD) representation $\Pi_{\rm hadr}(\tau)$ is an infinite sum of the exponential terms, whereas
power corrections in $\Pi_{\rm OPE}(\tau)$ contain polynomials in $\tau$ multiplied by $\exp(-M_b^2\tau)$.
Therefore the truncated OPE provides a good
description of $\Pi_{\rm hadr}(\tau)$ at ``not too large'' values of $\tau$. This determines the choice of the {\it Borel window} --
the working $\tau$-range where the OPE gives an accurate description~of the
exact correlator (i.e., all higher-order radiative and power
corrections are under control) and at the same time the ground state gives
a ``sizable'' contribution to the correlator.

The best-known 3-loop calculations of the perturbative
spectral density \cite{chetyrkin} have been performed in form of
an expansion in terms of the $\overline{\rm MS}$ strong coupling
$\alpha_{\rm s}(\mu)$ and the pole mass $M_b$:
\begin{eqnarray}
\rho_{\rm pert}(s,\mu)
=\rho^{(0)}(s,M_b^2)+\frac{\alpha_{\rm s}(\mu)}{\pi}\rho^{(1)}(s,M_b^2)+
\left(\frac{\alpha_{\rm s}(\mu)}{\pi}\right)^2\rho^{(2)}(s,M_b^2,\mu)+\cdots.
\end{eqnarray}
An alternative option \cite{jamin} is to reorganize the perturbative expansion in terms of the running $\overline{\rm MS}$
mass, $\overline{m}_b(\nu)$,~by substituting $M_b$ in the spectral
densities $\rho^{(i)}(s,M_b^2)$ via its perturbative expansion in
terms of the running mass $\overline{m}_b(\nu)$
\begin{eqnarray}
M_b=\overline{m}_b(\nu)\left(1+\frac{\alpha_s(\nu)}{\pi}\,r_1
+\left(\frac{\alpha_s(\nu)}{\pi}\right)^2r_2+\ldots \right).
\end{eqnarray}
As noticed in \cite{jamin,hoang}, two different scales, $\mu$ and $\nu$, naturally emerge when
reorganizing the perturbative expansion from the pole $b$-quark
mass to the running $b$-quark mass. In our discussion we do not distinguish between these scales, but in practical
calculations the scales have been treated independently.

\subsection{Advanced algorithms for an isolation of the ground-state contribution}

The hadron representation contains the sum over all hadron intermediate states, whereas we are primarily interested in the
ground state contribution. To exclude the excited-state contributions, one adopts the {\it duality Ansatz}: all contributions of
excited states are counterbalanced by the perturbative contribution above an {\em effective continuum threshold},~
$s_{\rm eff}(\tau,\mu)$ which differs from the physical continuum threshold.
Applying the duality assumption yields:
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{duality}
f_B^2 M_B^4 e^{-M_B^2\tau}=\int\limits_{m_b^2}^{s_{\rm eff}(\tau,\mu)}ds\,e^{-s\tau}\rho_{\rm pert}(s,\mu)+
\Pi_{\rm power}(\tau,\mu)\equiv\Pi_{\rm dual}(\tau,s_{\rm eff}(\tau,\mu)).
\end{eqnarray}
The rhs is the {\em dual correlator} $\Pi_{\rm dual}(\tau,s_{\rm eff}(\tau))$ (we shall not explicitly write $\mu$ as an argument
of $s_{\rm eff}$ but this dependence should be kept in mind).
{\it Obviously, even if the QCD inputs $\rho_{\rm pert}(s,\mu)$ and $\Pi_{\rm power}(\tau,\mu)$ are known,
the extraction of the decay constant requires $s_{\rm eff}(\tau,\mu)$.}
Let us emphasize, that the effective threshold should be the function of $\tau$ and $\mu$:
(i) one can easily check that $s_{\rm eff}$ should depend on $\tau$ in order the $\tau$-dependences of the r.h.s. and the
l.h.s. of (\ref{duality}) match each other; (ii) since the truncated OPE is used in the r.h.s. of (\ref{duality}),
the effective threshold also depends on the choice of the scale $\mu$.

In early applications of the method of sum rules, it was common to use the approximation $s_{\rm eff}(\tau)=const$; the
value of this constant has been fixed by requiring the maximal stability
(i.e. the least unphysical dependence of the hadron observable on the Borel parameter $\tau$). This procedure
proved to work reasonably well, although it did not allow one to probe the uncertainty of the extracted hadron parameter
induced by using the approximation of a constant effective continuum threshold.

It should be emphasized that even if the OPE for the correlation function is known with very high accuracy in the Borel window,
the hadron parameters can still be determined with some uncertainty which reflects the limited intrinsic accuracy of the method
of sum rules. We refer to the
corresponding uncertainty as to the {\em systematic uncertainty}. The latter is related to the adopted prescription
for fixing~the effective continuum threshold $s_{\rm eff}(\tau)$.

As the accuracy of the OPE for the correlation functions has increased, one faced the acute necessity
to provide more accurate and reliable procedures for the extraction of hadron parameters: gaining control over the systematic
uncertainties has become mandatory \cite{lms_2ptsr}.

The results of \cite{lms_new} demonstrated that in those cases where the bound-state mass $M_B$ is known, one can use it and
improve the accuracy of the decay constant.
We introduce the {\em dual invariant mass\/} $M_{\rm dual}$ and the {\em dual decay constant\/} $f_{\rm dual}$
\begin{eqnarray}
M_{\rm dual}^2(\tau)\equiv-\frac{d}{d\tau}\log\Pi_{\rm dual}(\tau,s_{\rm eff}(\tau)),
\qquad f_{\rm dual}^2(\tau)\equiv M_B^{-4}\,e^{M_B^2\tau}\,\Pi_{\rm dual}(\tau,s_{\rm eff}(\tau)).
\end{eqnarray}
The deviation of $M_{\rm dual}(\tau)$ from~$M_B$ measures the contamination of the dual correlator by excited states.

Starting with any trial function for $s_{\rm eff}(\tau)$ and minimizing the deviation of $M_{\rm dual}$ from $M_B$ in
the $\tau$-window yields a variational solution for $s_{\rm eff}(\tau)$. As soon as the latter is found, one readily
obtains the corresponding decay constant $f_B$ from (\ref{duality}).

We consider polynomials in $\tau$ and obtain
their parameters by minimizing the squared difference between $M^2_{\rm dual}$ and $M^2_B$ in the $\tau$-window:
\begin{eqnarray}
\chi^2\equiv\frac{1}{N}\sum_{i=1}^N\left[M^2_{\rm dual}(\tau_i)-M_B^2\right]^2.
\end{eqnarray}
As shown in several exactly solvable models, the band of the estiamtes for $f_B$ corresponding to the variational solutions for
linear, quadratic,~and cubic trial $s_{\rm eff}(\tau)$, provides a realistic estimate~for the systematic uncertainty
of the decay constant \cite{qcdvsqm,lms2011jpg}.

The resulting $f_{B}$ obtained according to the procedure described above is sensitive to the input values of all the OPE parameters
(quark masses, $\alpha_s$, the condensates) which are known with some uncertainties thus yielding
the {\em OPE-related uncertainty\/} of $f_B$.
To obtain the latter, one assumes the Gaussian distributions~for the OPE parameters mentioned above.
Moreover, because of the truncation of the OPE series, the decay constants exhibit an unphysical dependence on the precise value
of the renormalization scales $\mu$. A priori, any choice of the scale is equivalently good; therefore,
we average over the scale in some intervals assuming the {\it uniform} distribution of $\mu$.

\noindent $\bullet$
Another simple algorithm for fixing the $\tau$-dependent effective threshold in the Borel sum rule
has been recently adopted in \cite{khodj}: for each value of $\tau$ the authors calculated $M_{\rm dual}(\tau)$ {\it neglecting}
the $\tau$-dependence of $s_{\rm eff}(\tau)$ and then easily obtain $s_{\rm eff}$ by solving the equation $M_{\rm dual}(\tau)=M_B$.
Obviously, the resulting effective thresholds do depend on $\tau$; neglecting their $\tau$-dependence while calculating
the dual mass leads to some intrinsic inconsistencies. Following our old idea, we
tested the algorithm of \cite{khodj} in a quantum-mechanical potential model for the case of a potential which contains the
confining and the Coulomb parts \cite{qcdvsqm}. This analysis shows that in quantum mechanics the algorithm with the variational
solutions described above provides more
reliable and accurate estimates for the decay constants of the heavy-light mesons compared with the algorithm of \cite{khodj}.

\noindent $\bullet$
An interesting approach to the extraction of the ground-state parameters within the finite-energy sum rule has been formulated and applied to
the decay constants of heavy-light and heavy-heavy mesons in \cite{dominguez}. We have also tested this algorithm in the potential
model \cite{qcdvsqm}.
For the potential-model parameters appropriate for for heavy-light mesons the algorithm of \cite{dominguez} was shown to provide
rather accurate estimates for the decay constants such that the ``invisible'' systematic error remains at a few percent level only.

\subsection{Charm sector}
For the extraction of the decay constants of the charmed pseudoscalar and vector mesons, one makes use of the best-known three-loop expression
for the spectral densities of the two-point functions for pseudoscalar and vector currents. The OPE in terms of the
pole mass $M_b$ calculated in \cite{chetyrkin} does not exhibit a perturbative hierarchy, therefore one rearrange the OPE in terms of the
running $\overline{\rm MS}$-mass \cite{jamin}. Then, the perturbative hierarchy of the correlation function starts to
depend on $\mu$; this feature allows one to choose the range of $\mu$ where the perturbative hierarchy is visible.
The negative effect of this rearrangement of the perturbative expansion is that,
because of the truncation of the OPE series, the extracted decay constants acquire an unphysical dependence on the scale $\mu$.
In the charm sector this however does not lead to any serious problems. Figure \ref{Plot:1a} shows the dependence of the decay constants of
the charmed pseudoscalar and vector mesons for the central values of all other OPE parameters after applying the algorithm for fixing the
effective thresholds described above. One can see a weak $\mu$-dependence of the decay constants of the pseudoscalar mesons mesons, whereas for
vector mesons this $\mu$-dependence is more pronounced. Averaging over the OPE parameters in their respective intervals and over the scale in the
range $1\le \mu[GeV]\le 3$ one arrives at the following results \cite{lms_charm}
\begin{figure}[b]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{cc}
\includegraphics[width=6.3cm]{3.fdual_D+Dv.eps} &
\includegraphics[width=6.3cm]{3.fdual_Ds+Dsv.eps}
\end{tabular}
\caption{Decay constants of $D$, $D_s$ $D^*$ and $D_s^*$ mesons depending on the scale $\mu$.
\label{Plot:1a}}
\end{figure}
\begin{eqnarray}
&&f_{D}=(208.3 \pm 7.3_{\rm OPE}\pm 5_{\rm syst})\; {\rm MeV}, \qquad
f_{D_s}=(246.0 \pm 15.7_{\rm OPE}\pm 5_{\rm syst})\; {\rm MeV}\nonumber\\
&&f_{D^*}=(252.2 \pm 22.3_{\rm OPE}\pm 4_{\rm syst})\; {\rm MeV}, \qquad
f_{D_s^*}=(305.5 \pm 26.8_{\rm OPE}\pm 5_{\rm syst})\; {\rm MeV}.
\end{eqnarray}
For the ratio we reported $f_{D^*}/f_D= 1.221\pm 0.080_{\rm OPE}\pm 0.008_{\rm syst}$, which compares nicely with the lattice QCD result
$f_{D^*}/f_D= 1.20\pm 0.02$. The results for the charmed mesons from other sum-rule analyses \cite{khodj,narisonfB}
agree well with each other and with the results from lattice QCD \cite{lms_b2014}.

\subsection{Beauty sector}
Similar to the charm sector, the OPE for pseudoscalar and vector currents containing the $b$-quark, does not show any perturbative hierarchy;
there is no reason to assume that the unknown higher-order perturbative contributions are small. Rearranging the perturbative expansion in
terms of the running mass introduces the dependence of the scale $\mu$ and opens the possibility to choose the working range of $\mu$
in which the perturbative hierarchy is explicit thus allowing to hope the unknown higher orders do not contribute
substantially to the correlation function.

In the $b$-sector one encounters two interesting features of the sum-rule analysis:

\noindent $\bullet$
The sum-rule results for the beauty-meson decay constants correlate very strongly with the $b$-quark mass \cite{lms_bmass2013}
\begin{eqnarray}
{\delta f_B}/{f_B}\approx-8\,{\delta m_b}/{m_b},
\end{eqnarray}
$m_b\equiv \overline{m}_b(\overline{m}_b)$. Making use of $m_b=4.18\pm 0.03$ GeV \cite{pdg} leads to $f_B>210$ MeV, in clear tention with the recent lattice QCD results
for $f_B\sim 190$ MeV. Combining our sum-rule analysis with $f_B$ and $f_{B_s}$ from lattice QCD~yields \cite{lms_bmass2013}
\begin{eqnarray}
m_b=(4.247\pm0.027\pm 0.011_{\rm(syst)})\;{\rm GeV}.
\end{eqnarray}
The sum-rule results for the decay constants corresponding to this value of the $b$-quark mass read
\begin{eqnarray}
f_{B}=(192.0 \pm 14.3_{\rm OPE}\pm 3.0_{\rm syst})\; {\rm MeV},\qquad
f_{B_s}=(228.0 \pm 19.4_{\rm OPE}\pm 4.0_{\rm syst})\; {\rm MeV}
\end{eqnarray}
$\bullet$
For the decay constant of $B^*$, one observes an unexpectedly strong $\mu$-dependence \cite{lms_bstar2014}:
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{cc}
\includegraphics[width=6.3cm]{3.fdual_B+Bv_vs_mu.eps} & \includegraphics[width=6.3cm]{3.Ratio_fBstar_fB_vs_mu.eps}
\end{tabular}
\caption{Decay constants of $B$ and $B^*$ mesons and the ratio $f_{B^*}/f_B$ depending on the scale $\mu$.
\label{Plot:2}}
\end{figure}
Averaging over the scale range $3 < \mu [{\rm GeV}]< 6$ leads to
$$
f_{B^*}/f_B=0.923\pm 0.059, \qquad f_{B_s^*}/f_{B_s}=0.932\pm 0.047.
$$
Taking into account only low-scale results for $2.5 < \mu [{\rm GeV}]< 3.5$,
yields $f_{B^*}/f_B=0.994\pm 0.01$.
The sum-rule analysis \cite{khodj} also gives indications that $f_{B^*}/f_B \le 1$ (ses Table II of \cite{khodj}).
Surprisingly, the QCD sum-rule prediction for $f_{B^*}/f_B$ is below the
corresponding results from lattice QCD, which~seem to favour a value slightly above unity \cite{lms_b2014,becirevic}.
Clearly, such tension calls for further detailed investigations.

\subsection{$\mu$-dependence of the physical quantities}

The heavy-light correltors are known with an impressive three-loop accuracy and are therefore rather weakly sensitive to
the variations of the scale. Nevertheless, the {\it dual correlator} of the vector currents which includes the low-energy region of the
Feynman diagrams only and, respectively, the vector-meson decay constants are rather sensitive to the choice of the scale.
In many cases this scale-dependence is the main sourse of the OPE uncertainty in the decay constants.
We should mention that in some publications the $\mu$-dependence is treated in a specific way \cite{narisonfB}: one just chooses one
scale at which the decay constant has, e.g., an extremum in $\mu$, and provides the results for this very scale assigning no theoretical
uncertainty to the scale fixing. This of course reduces strongly the total uncertainty of the decay constant obtained with the
sum-rule technique but
from our point of view such a treatment is not justified: the (unphysical) $\mu$-dependence is an effect of the truncation of
the OPE series and thus reflects an essential feature of QCD. Any of the scale for which a reasonable perturbative
hierarchy is seen, may be used for the determination of the hadron parameter; the unpleasant $\mu$-dependence of the sum-rule
results should
be thus properly reflected in the theoretical uncertainty of the hadron parameter obtained using a QCD sum rule.

\section{Sum rules for three-point vacuum correlation functions}
Let us now discuss the calculation of the meson elastic and transition form factors from the three-point vacuum
correlation functions \cite{ioffe3pt,radyushkin}. The basic object in this case has the form
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{3pt}
\Gamma(p^2,p'^2,q^2)=\int \langle \Omega|T (j(x) j(0) j(y))|\Omega \rangle \exp(-i px)\exp(-i p'y)dx dy.
\end{eqnarray}
The three-point Green function in full QCD contains the double pole related to the mesons in the $p^2$ and $p'^2$-channels in the timelike region.
The residue in this double pole is the form factor of interest.
The Green function in the spacelike region may be calculated using the same method as the two-point function, i.e. by performing the OPE.
One represents the Green function $\Gamma(p^2,p'^2,q^2)$ as a double spectral integral in $p^2$ and $p'^2$,
performs the double Borel transform $p^2\to \tau$ and $p'^2\to \tau'$ (which, similar to the two-point function, kills the subtraction
terms and suppresses the contributions of the excited states), equate to each other the OPE and the hadron representations for
$\Gamma(p^2,p'^2,q^2)$, and use duality property to isolate the ground-state contribution, thus
relating the meson form factor to the low-energy region of the triangle diagrams of perturbative QCD and power corrections given through
the condensates. For instance, the pion elastic form factor, in which case one sets $\tau=\tau'$, has the form \cite{radyushkin}
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{duality3pt}
F_\pi(Q^2)\,f_\pi^2=\int\limits_0^{s_{\rm eff}(Q^2,\tau)}\,\int\limits_0^{s_{\rm eff}(Q^2,\tau)}
{\rm d}s_1\,{\rm d}s_2\, \Delta_{\rm pert}(s_1,s_2,Q^2)
e^{-\frac{s_1+s_2}{2}\tau}
+\frac{\left<\alpha_s\,G^2\right>}{24\pi}\,\tau
+\frac{4\pi\,\alpha_s\left<\bar qq\right>^2}{81}\,\tau^2
\left(13+Q^2\,\tau\right)+\cdots,
\nonumber \\
\Delta_{\rm pert}(s_1,s_2,Q^2)=\Delta^{(0)}(s_1,s_2,Q^2)+\alpha_s \Delta^{(1)}(s_1,s_2,Q^2)+\cdots.\hspace{4cm}
\end{eqnarray}
An essential feature of the three-point sum rule is that the effective threshold now depends on the Borel parameter $\tau$ and
the momentum transfer $Q$ \cite{lm2012prd,m_lcsr,hagop}; obviously, one faces a serious problem of finding appropriate algorithms
for fixing $s_{\rm eff}(Q^2,\tau)$. It should be understood that the effective
continuum threshold for the form factor differs from the effective threshold for the decay constant.\footnote{The effective thresholds for the
baryon form factors are strongly sensitive to the choice of the interpolating current for a specific baryon.}

For large $Q^2$, power corrections calculated in terms of the local condensates rise as polynomials with $Q^2$, thus
preventing a direct use of the sum rule (\ref{duality3pt}) at large $Q^2$.
There are essentially only two possibilities to study the region of large $Q^2$ starting with the vacuum correlators:

$\bullet$ use nonlocal condensates which are aimed at the resummation of the local condensate effects \cite{bakulev,bakulev2}.

$\bullet$ work in the so-called local-duality (LD) limit $\tau=0$ \cite{bakulev}. A specific feature of this limit is that
all power corrections vanish in this limit and details of non-perturbative dynamics are hidden
in one complicated object -- the $Q^2$-dependent effective threshold $s_{\rm eff}(Q^2)$.

A similar treatment may be performed for, e.g., the $\pi^0\to \gamma\gamma^*$ transition form factor \cite{lm2012jpg,ms2012prd,teryaev}
for which one obtains the single spectral representation in the LD limit:
\begin{eqnarray}
F_{\pi\gamma}(Q^2)\,f_\pi=\int\limits_0^{\bar s_{\rm eff}(Q^2)}\,{\rm d}s\ \sigma_{\rm pert}(s,Q^2)
\end{eqnarray}
Due to properties of the spectral functions $\Delta_{\rm pert}(s_1,s_2,Q^2)$ and $\sigma_{\rm pert}(s,Q^2)$, the form factors obey the factorization theorems
\begin{eqnarray}
F_{\pi}(Q^2) \to  8\pi\alpha_s(Q^2)f_\pi^2/Q^2,\qquad F_{\pi\gamma}(Q^2)\to  \sqrt{2} f_\pi/Q^2, \qquad  f_\pi=130 \mbox{ MeV}
\end{eqnarray}
as soon as the effective thresholds satisfy
\begin{eqnarray}
s_{\rm eff}(Q^2\to\infty)=\bar s_{\rm eff}(Q^2\to\infty)={4\pi^2f_\pi^2}.
\end{eqnarray}
Remarkably, due to the QCD factorization theorems for the hard form factors, the effective thresholds at $Q^2\to\infty$ are given through the
decay constants of the participating mesons. It should be emphasized that the only feature of theory relevant for this property
of $s_{\rm eff}(Q^2)$ is {\it factorization} of hard form factors.

For finite $Q^2$, the effective thresholds $s_{\rm eff}(Q^2)$ and $\bar s_{\rm eff}(Q^2)$ depend on $Q^2$
and differ from each other \cite{blm2008plb,blm2012prd}.
Nevertheless, setting $s_{rm eff}(Q^2)=s_{rm eff}(Q^2\to\infty)$ for all not too small $Q^2$ \cite{radyushkin}
provides an approximate {\it parameter-free} prediction for the form factors which is becoming increasingly accurate as soon as $Q^2$ increases.
The results of \cite{blm2012prd} give convincing evidences that $s_{\rm eff}(Q^2)$ and $\bar s_{\rm eff}(Q^2)$ are close to their asymptotic values
already at relatively low values $Q^2\approx 4-8$ GeV$^2$.

Thus, the LD approximation for the form factors---which requires as its crucial ingredient the knowledge of $O(1)$ and $O(\alpha_s)$ double
spectral densities---is increasingly accurate in the region not too close to zero recoil.
The LD approximation is very promising for the application to, e.g., heavy-to-light weak form factors.
A still missing ingredient here is the two-loop $O(\alpha_s)$ double spectral density of the triangle diagram for different
currents and arbitrary quark masses in the loop. This is a really challenging calculation which however opens the possibilities of very
interesting applications. So far the only known results correspond to all massless quarks in the loop \cite{braguta} and to HQET \cite{bagan,fulvia}.

\section{Sum rules for the exotic polyquark currents}
The OPE for the correlation functions of the exotic polyquark currents involving 4 (or 5) quark fields
of the type
\begin{eqnarray}
D(x)=\bar q_1(x)\hat O q_2(x) \bar q_3(x)\hat O q_4(x)
\end{eqnarray}
where $\hat O$ is an appropriate combination of the Dirac matrices and possibly also of the (covariant) derivatives,
have specific features compared to the OPE for the bilinear currents of the form $j(x)=\bar q_1(x)\hat O q_2(x)$ used
for usual ``nonexotic'' mesons. Namely, the lowest-order $O(1)$ contribution to the OPE for any correlator involving the exotic
current, e.g. $\Pi_{DD}=\langle 0|T(D(x)D(0)|0\rangle$, is given by the disconnected diagrams. As known from the general features
of the Bethe-Salpeter equation and also emphasized
recently by Weinberg \cite{Weinberg}, these disconnected diagrams are not related to the exotic bound states.
The {\it connected} diagrams relevant for the exotic states emerge in the OPE for any correlator at the order $O(\alpha_s)$
and higher; therefore for the analysis of the exotic states the knowledge of the radiative corrections is mandatory.
This makes the analysis of the exotic states a more technically involved problem than the analysis of the normal hadrons.

Nevertheless, due to the fact that the observed exotic states are narrow, the procedure of extracting their parameters
from the OPE has the same features and the same challenges as for the normal hadrons. Our experience in the analysis of the
usual hadrons proves that a truncated OPE for the correlation function does not allow one to study at the same time both
the {\it existence} of the isolated ground state and of its {\it properties}. However, if the mass of the narrow bound state is known,
the method of sum rules allows one to obtain reliable predictions for its decay constants and the form factors.

\subsection{Structure of the exotic tetraquark states}
Obviously, the exotic tetraquark states may have a rather complicated ``internal'' structure;
two most popular scenarios of this structure are
a confined tetraquark state (i.e. a bound state in a confining potential between the two color-triplet diquarks) and a molecular
``nuclear-physics like'' bound state in the system of two colorless mesons.

However, an important question about the structure of the exotic state---which to large extent determines also its production
mechanism---is not easy to answer \cite{jaffe}:
(i) by a combined color-spinor Fierz rearrangement of the tetraquark interpolating current $D(x)$
one can write it either in diquark-antidiquark or meson-meson form;
(ii) the same quantum numbers of the exotic interpolating current may be obtained by different combinations of its diquark-antidiquark
or meson-meson bilinear parts.

The simplest characteristic of a usual meson is its decay constant, i.e. the transition amplitude between the vacuum and the meson
induced by its interpolating current; for a heavy quarkonium state the decay constant is analogous to its wave function
at the origin $\psi(r=0)$.

For an exotic tetraquark state one should considers the {\it connected} self-energy functions
\begin{eqnarray}
\Pi_{DD}=\langle 0|T(D(x)D(0)|0\rangle \equiv \langle DD\rangle
\end{eqnarray}
and study the corresponding sum rules. However, for an exotic state one may obtain a set of the decay constants, related to
different structure of the interpolating current with the quantum numbers of the exotic tetraquark of interest.
{\it The answer to the question of the dominant structure of the tetraquark may be given only by the analysis of a large
set of the decay constants.}

\noindent $\bullet$ As the first step, one needs to study systematically the interpolating currents for tetraquark currents with
different quantum nembers. As the next step one can calculate the set of $\Pi_{DD}$.
Because of the factorization property of the two-point function of the local tetraquark currents \cite{narison},
the radiative corrections to $\Pi_{DD}$ are given via radiative corrections to the various two-point functions of
the bilinear quark currents. For some of these two-point functions (namely, $\langle VV\rangle$ and
$\langle AA\rangle$) the radiative corrections are well-known, for some of them (such as $\langle TT\rangle$, $T$ is the tensor
bilinear current) these corrections should be calculated.

\noindent $\bullet$ Then, the set of the sum rules for different two-point functions $\Pi_{DD}$ should be studied and only then
the answer about the structure of the observed narrow exotic candidates may be obtained.
Especially interesting cases here are the narrow charged tetraquark $Z^-(4430)$ ($J^P=1^+$
and the width $\simeq 45$ MeV, valence-quark content $\bar  cc \bar u d$) and
X(3872) ($J^{PC}=1^{++}$ X(3872), the width $<24$ MeV).

Another interesting possibility---so far not discussed in the literature---is considering {\it nonlocal} interpolating currents for
the exotic mesons. The nonlocality of the interpolating currents should allow one to access in a better way
subtle details of the tetraquark structure.

\subsection{Strong fall-apart decays of the exotic tetraquark states}
In the last decade, QCD sum rules have been extensively applied to the analysis of strong decays of exotic multiquark states
(see e.g. \cite{nielsen2010,nielsen2014} and references therein).
The basic object for the analysis of these decays in QCD is the three-point functions of the type
\begin{eqnarray}
\Gamma(p,p',q)=\int\langle 0|T(D(0)j(x_1)j(x_2)|0\rangle\exp(-i p'x_1 -i q\,x_2)dx_1 dx_2.
\end{eqnarray}
This correlator contains the triple-pole in the Minkowski region
\begin{eqnarray}
\Gamma_{\rm hadr}(p,p',q)=\frac{f_X f_{M_1} f_{M_2}g_{X M_1 M_2}}{(p^2-M_X^2)({p'}^2-M_1^2)(q^2-M_2^2)}+\cdots
\end{eqnarray}
where dots stay for less singular terms. Here $g_{X M_1 M_2}$ is the three-hadron coupling which describes the $X\to M_1M_2$
transition; $f_X$, $f_{M_1}$, and $f_{M_2}$ are the decay constants of the mesons describing the strength of their
their interaction with the interpolating current
$\langle X|D(0)|0\rangle=f_{X}$ and $\langle M_{1,2}|j_{1,2}(0)|0\rangle=f_{1,2}$
(we omit here all Lorentz indices and for simplicity neglect the spins of the hadrons and of the interpolating currents).
The OPE allows one to calculate the expansion of this correlator at
the spacelike momenta far from the hadron thresholds. Again, the leading contribution in $\alpha_s$
is given by a disconnected diagram
(see Fig.\ref{Fig:exotic}a) which factorizes and does not depend on the momentum of the exotic current $p^2$ at all:
\begin{eqnarray}
\Gamma_{\rm OPE}(p^2,p'^2,q^2)=\Pi(p'^2)\Pi(q^2)+\alpha_s\Gamma_{\rm connected}(p^2,p'^2,q^2)
\end{eqnarray}

\begin{figure}[b]
\label{Fig:exotic}
\includegraphics[width=12cm]{exotic.eps}
\caption{
(a) The disconnected $O(1)$ diagram which does not depend on the variable $p^2$ relevant for the tetraquark properties;
(b) One of the lowest-order connected $O(\alpha_s)$ diagram which contributes to the tetraquark decay amplitude. }
\end{figure}
Performing the Borel transform $p^2\to \tau$, which comprises one of the steps of the sum-rule analysis,
we see that the Borel image of the disconnected leading-order contribution vanishes.\footnote{We emphasize
that for the decay of a usual hadron, the $O(1)$ contribution is given by a triangle diagram which depends on all three variables
$p^2, p'^2,q^2$ and therefore of course does not vanish under the Borel transform $p^2\to \tau$; for the decays of the usual hadrons
the $O(1)$ contribution of the perturbative QCD indeed provides the dominant contribution to the decay of interest.}
Therefore any attempt to extract the tetraquark decay amplitude from the leading-order contribution is inconsistent.
Relevant for the exotic-state properties are the $O(\alpha_s)$ corrections which are technically very difficult.
This is a difficult calculation but it should be done before one may hope to get
reliable predictions for the tetraquark properties. So far these corrections have been calculated only for the three-point
function of the bilinear currents in two cases
(i) for massless quarks and (ii) for infinitely heavy active quark and a massless spectator.
For the $O(\alpha_s)$ corrections to the three-point functions $\Gamma$, involving one tetraquark and two bilinear currents,
no results exist in the literature.

Nevertheless, the common feature of {\it all} previous calculations of these decays within QCD sum rules
(e.g. \cite{nielsen2014,wang}) was the attempt to study the tetraquark (and pentaquark)
decays basing on the factorizable leading-order contribution which intrinsically has no relationship with the tetraquark
properties (which is clear both from the factorization property $\Gamma(p,p',q)=\Pi(p'^2)\Pi(q^2)$
and from the large-$N_c$ behaviour of the QCD diagrams emphasized by Weinberg \cite{Weinberg}.
Therefore the existing analyses should be strongly revised by calculating and taking into account the nonfactorizable
two-loop $O(\alpha_s)$ corrections.

Nonzero results based on the leading-order correlation function may be obtained only by a trick. Let us consider e.g. the decay
$Z\to \psi' + \pi^-$. One makes use of the tetraquark current
$j(x)=\bar c(x) c(x)\bar u(x)d(x)$ (we again omit the Dirac matrices for simplicity).
The corresponding three-point correlation function of interest is
\begin{eqnarray}
\Gamma(p^2,p'^2,q^2)&=&\int d^4x d^4y
\exp(-i p' x)\exp(-i qy)
\langle 0| T(\bar c(0) c(0)\bar u(0) d(0), \bar c(x) c(x), \bar d(y) u(y))|0\rangle.
\end{eqnarray}
A nonzero result for the Borel transform of the disconnected zero-order contribution may be
obtained by first considering the soft-pion limit $q\to 0$, i.e. $p'=p$, which gives for the disconnected contribution
$\Pi(p^2)\Pi(0)$ and then performing the Borel transform $p^2\to\tau$. However, the decay rate obtained in this way is not
really trustworthy.

We therefore conclude that {\it the ``fall-apart'' decay mechanism of exotic hadrons differs from the decay mechanism
of the ordinary hadrons and requires the appropriate treatment within QCD sum rules. The calculation of the
radiative corrections is mandatory for a reliable analysis of the properties of the exotic states.}

\section{Summary and Outlook}
In the recent years, great progress has been seen both in the calculations of the OPE
series for various correlation functions and in the direction of formulating advanced algorithms for the extraction of
the individual hadron parameters from these correlators. We could not discuss all the developments in this talk but let us try
to mention in this summary the interesting open issues to be addressed in the future analyses:

\vspace{.2cm}
$\bullet$
Let us recall that combining moment QCD sum rules with experimental/lattice data gives the most accurate estimates of
the heavy-quark masses \cite{erler}.

\vspace{.2cm}
$\bullet$
{\it Hadron properties from 2-point functions:}

\begin{itemize}
\item[a.]
We have seen a visible progress in developing the new algorithms for extracting ground state parameters from the OPE of the correlators
and gaining control over the systematic errors of the decay constants (finite-energy sum rules, Borel sum rules).
Although it seems impossible to predict both masses and decay constants with a controlled accuracy, using the mass
of the ground state as input, systematics can be controlled).

\item[b.]
We have encountered interesting puzzles in the $b$-sector:

(i) The $b$-quark mass $4.18$ GeV \cite{pdg} when used in the Borel sum rules for $f_B$ leads to tension with lattice results for $f_B$.

(ii) Unexpectedly strong scale-dependence of decay constants of vector mesons and of $f_{B^*}/f_B$ even using the $O(\alpha_s^2)$
correlation function.

\item[c.]
Calculation of the decay constants of heavy-quarkonium states within the method of QCD sum rules is still not fully settled:
The problem here is that the OPE for the doubly-heavy correlation functions contain {\it relatively small} nonperturbative
power corrections. Therefore in QCD, the structure of OPE for the heavy-quarkonium system is somewhat similar to the structure of OPE for a
purely coulomb system. Obviously, the algorithms adopted and tested for light or heavy-light hadrons in which cases the nonperturbative
corrections are large, may work differently for heavy quarkonium states. This feature may be the origin of the tensions between the sum-rule
predictions and the results from lattice QCD and other nonperturbative approaches for e.g. the decay constants of $B_c$ mesons and some
charmonium states \cite{narisonfB,becirevic2}. A more critical analysis of the procedures of an isolation of the ground-state
contribution from the correlation function and in particular of the way of obtaining the systematic uncertainties is necessary.

\item[d.]
Since the accuracy of the isolation of the ground-state contribution from the correlation function can be controlled,
one may try to apply the method for the analysis of the excited states. Very little efforts in this direction have been
done so far.
\end{itemize}

\vspace{.1cm}
$\bullet$
{\it Meson elastic and transition form factors from three-point functions}

The Borel sum rules at $\tau=0$ (the so-called local duality limit) open an interesting possibility of obtaining parameter-free
predictions for the elastic and the transition form factors of light mesons in a broad range of the momentum transfers.
The crucial ingredients necessary for these calculations are the $O(1)$ and $O(\alpha_s)$ spectral densities of the
triangle diagrams. As soon as these are known, the effective thresholds are determined in a unique way by the QCD
factorization theorems for hard form factors. Assuming the effective thresholds to weakly depend on the momentum transfers---a
hypothesis which finds support in the data for the pion form factors---one obtains the parameter-free predictions
for the form factors in a broad range of the momentum transfers. Our analysis suggests that these representations for the
form factors work with a few percent accuracy for $Q^2\ge$ a few GeV$^2$.
It seems very promising to apply the same ideas to heavy-to-light transition form factors. The main problem here is
the necessity to calculate the radiative corrections to the triangle diagrams which is a very difficult task which needs
serious efforts. As soon as this ambitious task is fulfilled, QCD sum rules could provide parameter-free predictions for the form
factors, increasingly accurate with increase of $Q^2$.

\vspace{.2cm}
$\bullet$
{\it Baryon elastic and transition form factors}

The calculations for baryons are obviously technically extremely involved. Many sum-rule analyses of the baryon elastic
and transition form factors have been presented in the recent years (see e.g. \cite{anikin,aliev1,aliev2,altug} and references therein).
With a few exceptions (e.g. \cite{anikin}), these calculations are based on the leading-order $O(1)$ correlation
functions and use the traditional approaches to fix the effective thresholds, usually neglecting the $\tau$- and $Q^2$-dependence
of the latter. These analyses are expected to provide reasonable ball-park estimates for the form factors; however, in most of
the cases, the estimates of the OPE-errors (related to the uncertainties of the QCD parameters, to the missing radiative corrections,
and in particular to a strong dependence on the scale $\mu$) and the systematic errors, related to the adopted procedures
of fixing the effective continuum thresholds) are not done properly. Many efforts are still to be done in the domain of
the baryon form factors.

\vspace{.2cm}
$\bullet$
{\it Three-meson strong couplings of the type $g_{D^*D\pi}$}

These quantities have been extensively addressed using three-point vacuum correlators and the corresponding sum rules.
Again, the radiative corrections to the correlation functions have not been taken into account. Moreover, the results for
the decay constants require extrapolations over large ranges of the momentum transfers. Therefore, one cannot expect
good accuracy of these estimates. In many cases, the results from sum rules lead to an unrealistic picture of the $SU(3)$-breaking effects (see \cite{bracco} and refs therein). For a real progress, one needs the calculation and the inclusion of
the radiative corrections to the appropriate three-point functions.

\vspace{.2cm}
$\bullet$
{\it Properties of the exotic tetraquark states}

The ``fall-apart'' decay mechanism of exotic hadrons differs from the decay mechanism
of the ordinary hadrons and requires the appropriate treatment within QCD sum rules. In distinction to the
decays of the usual hadrons, where the knowledge of the radiative corrections is necessary for improving the accuracy
of the sum-rule form factor calculations, the calculation of the
radiative corrections is {\it mandatory} for a reliable analysis of the properties of the exotic states.
The decays of the exotic states are intrinsically unrelated to the $O(1)$ disconnected correlation functions;
the results obtained from these O(1) correlators cannot be treated as fundamental and reliable.

\vspace{.2cm}
From this summary of the recent advances and still open issues it seems obvious that the future progress in the sum-rule
calculations of the properties of the usual and the exotic hadrons will be related (i) to the calculations of the radiative
corrections to the correlation functions and (ii) to further development of the appropriate algorithms for the extraction
of the properties of the individual hadrons from these correlators.

\begin{theacknowledgments}
I have pleasure to thank Wolfgang Lucha and Silvano Simula for a pleasant and fruitful
collaboration on the topics discussed in this talk. Many thanks are due to the Organizers for maintaining a
stimulating and friendly atmosphere of this Conference for already more than a decade.
\end{theacknowledgments}

\bibliographystyle{aipproc}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Q: Adding array into an array item I am populating a json file and I have an array like this
[{ name: name, address: address, age: age }]

[{ name2: name2, address2: address2, age2: age2 }]

Now, I want to merge these two arrays and I'm expecting a result like this
[
    { name: name, address: address, age: age },
    { name2: name2, address2: address2, age2: age2 }
]

A: Another option...
var array1 = [{ name: name, address: address, age: age }]
var array2 = [{ name2: name2, address2: address2, age2: age2 }]

var merged = array1.concat(array2)

A:

    const a = [{ name: 'name1', address: 'address1', age: 22 }];

    const b = [{ name2: 'name2', address2: 'address2', age2: 23 }];

    const result = [...a, ...b];

    console.log(result);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Our Aluminum Embossed Numbers & Letters are available in 3" character height with Roman style font. Each character comes with pre-punched holes and 1" nails for quick, easy installation. Standard package: 10 identical characters.


text:
#import "kr_Textdata_createEntry.h"

@interface kr_Textdata_createEntry()
FREObject ANE4MBG_social_kr_Textdata_createEntry(FREContext cxt,
                                                 void* functionData,
                                                 uint32_t argc,
                                                 FREObject argv[]);
@end

@implementation kr_Textdata_createEntry
+ (void)ContextInitializer:(FunctionSets *)funcSets {
    LOG_METHOD;
    [funcSets addFuncSet:@"ANE4MBG_social_kr_Textdata_createEntry"
                 pointer:&ANE4MBG_social_kr_Textdata_createEntry];

}

FREObject ANE4MBG_social_kr_Textdata_createEntry(FREContext cxt,
                                                 void* functionData,
                                                 uint32_t argc,
                                                 FREObject argv[]) {
    LOG_METHOD;
    ArgsParser *parser = [ArgsParser sharedParser];
    [parser setArgc:argc argv:argv];

    NSString *groupName = [parser nextString];
    MBGKRTextdataEntry *textEntry = [parser nextKRTextdataEntry];
    NSString *onSuccess = [parser nextString];
    NSString *onError = [parser nextString];

    FREContext context = [ContextOwner sharedContext];

    [MBGSocialKRTextdata
     createEntry:groupName
     entry:textEntry
     onSuccess:^(MBGJPTextdataEntry *entry) {
         FREResult result = TCDispatch(context,
                                     onSuccess,
                                     [ArgsParser jpTextdataEntryToJSON:entry]);
         if(result != FRE_OK) [ArgsParser reportResult:result];
     }
     onError:^(MBGError *error) {
         FREResult result = TCDispatch(context,
                                     onError,
                                     error);
         if(result != FRE_OK) [ArgsParser reportResult:result];
     }];

    return NULL;
}
@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Coaching, Law Firm Growth
Three Key Principles of Being a Game Changer
10–13 minutes to read
If you were to ask yourself, "What is a game changer?" your answer would most likely be different from your top competitor's, your colleague's, or even your partner's.
When it comes down to it, our perception of what defines a game changer is determined by the array of experiences — the triumphs, failures, and learning lessons — an individual has collected throughout their life.
At the end of every episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Crisp Founder & CEO Michael Mogill asks his guest: "What does being a game changer mean to you?"
In this post, we're sharing some of the most impactful answers to this question from attorneys and entrepreneurs alike in an effort to inspire, challenge, and motivate you to think about how you can be a game changer in your own sphere of influence:
Being a Game Changer Means Playing by Your Own Rules
Being a Game Changer Means Changing the Game for Somebody Else
Being a Game Changer Means Constantly Upping Your Game
Mark Lanier
"Being a game changer to me means trying to not just do what everyone else has done, but trying to go out there and blaze a new trail. You know, one of the things that I've really tried hard to do as a lawyer is this: I made a decision before every case I tried that I wanted to kick my game up another notch. I wanted to learn a new skill set. I wanted to learn a new concept. I wanted to learn and develop something new so that I don't look back at the end of my legal career and say, 'I peaked seven years ago. I peaked at this trial or that trial.' I want to be able to look back and say, 'I got better each time.' If you have that attitude, you've got no choice but to be a game changer because you're going to find all of these new things and new ways you can do things that change your own game. And if you're changing your own game, you're changing the game for others — because people will watch, and people will learn."
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Listen to the full episode of "Achieving Billion-Dollar Verdicts" here.
Ryan Deiss
"It's about playing by your own rules. So many of us don't like the game that we're playing, and we don't realize we can opt-out of that game. You can completely create a new game that you can win. I think so often we accept the rules. We accept the game that other people in that life have given us. I think if there's one thing that entrepreneurs do — whether you're an entrepreneurial programmer and you write software or you're an entrepreneurial attorney — is we make up our own rules. We don't accept the default settings that others place in our lives. I think that's what it means to be a game changer."
Ryan Deiss is the CEO of DigitalMarketer, a company with a hunger to teach others how to grow their own businesses with valuable digital marketing resources and trainings.
As he tells us in his featured episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, he believes that to be a game changer, you must reject the rules that have been written in order to create your own game, forge your own path, and ultimately embrace taking your own track to find success.
Listen to the full episode of "Truth Over Tactics: Marketing Strategies That Actually Work" here.
"It's not called the game playing attorney, right? What it means to be a game player is that you accept the rules as written, and you do your best to win. To be a game changer is to say, 'I'm going to take one step up to a new dimension and figure out how to play a different game.' If you founded a book group inside your law firm and dealt with everybody rolling their eyes and everyone showing up late and all the status games but still got eight people in your firm to read the practice and discuss it, you would be changing the game because the law — the game of being a law firm if you don't have a book group — well, you could change the game."
Seth Godin is a world-renowned marketing expert and author of 19 best-selling books that have been translated into 35 different languages. This man has built a wildly successful career for himself, but he didn't get where he is today by playing it safe.
When he joined Crisp Founder & CEO Michael Mogill as a guest on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Godin shared that being a game changer is all about rejecting the rules that have been handed to you to forge your own way toward greatness. By refusing to follow the path others have already taken, you have the opportunity to make a difference in a way that no one ever has.
Listen to the full episode of "Putting Your Best Work Out Into the World" here.
Joe Fried
"Being a game changer means that in each stage and each place that you have in your life, you have the ability to be a game changer — that you are a servant leader. It means that you are bringing up the next generation. I think at the end, we're here to live our lives in service of other people. I find that the happiest people in the world are not the richest people. They're not the ones that the world might call successful from a socioeconomic perspective. They're the ones who most live that way in service of other folks. As you get more resources, it's easier to do that, but you don't really need resources in order to do it."
As a police officer turned trucking attorney, Joe Fried has always been driven by the pursuit of justice. With his passion for personal injury in the trucking niche and his ambition to be the best, Joe has opened up a whole new legal specialty and become a driving force behind lasting change in the trucking industry.
However, Joe's success is not self-serving. In his episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, he declares that being a game changer is all about how he can use the knowledge and experience he's attained to help bring up a new generation of attorneys who also have the goal of making the world a better place.
Listen to the full episode of "America's Preeminent Trucking Attorney" here.
Billy Gene Shaw
"Being a game changer means I created an opportunity for somebody else. A body of work or a content piece that I put out has created an opportunity for someone else that either didn't exist, that they didn't know it existed, or that they were too afraid to tap into. That's a game changer. If someone goes to one of my trainings or works with me or something, and let's say they don't learn anything — which would be really hard to do because it's just good — but they left with the idea that it was possible, to me, that's a game changer."
Billy Gene Shaw is the Founder & CEO of Billy Gene is Marketing. As one of the most prominent voices in the marketing industry, he knows what works to make people not only look, but pay attention and rave about the content he produces.
When he joined Crisp Founder & CEO Michael Mogill for an episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Billy Gene shared his thoughts on what it means to be a game changer, stating that his goal is to ultimately create opportunities for other people to succeed through the training he offers. In doing so, he can rest easy knowing he made an impact for someone else to be great in their own career.
Listen to the full episode of "Entertain, Educate, Execute: How to Dominate on Social Media" here.
Sherry Stewart Deutschmann
"It means changing the way business has been done — business that benefits mostly white men, and business that keeps the wealth at the top 1 percent. It means changing the game so that other people can actually play — and have a chance to benefit."
Sherry Stewart Deutschmann is a serial entrepreneur, speaker, and author of Lunch With Lucy: Maximize Your Profits By Investing In Your People. Her story is unique — as a single mother without a college degree, Sherry achieved massive success growing her company to $40 million, and even being included on the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing Private Companies 10 years in a row.
Sherry's answer to the question "What does being a game changer mean to you?" on her episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast came as no surprise. Propelled by her own humble beginnings, she believes those at the top who work to create a more inclusive landscape for entrepreneurs coming from different backgrounds are the true game changers.
Listen to the full episode of "Maximizing Profits by Investing in Your People" here.
Reza Torkzadeh
"Having the courage, having the vision, and having the relentless pursuit to win. Then, being able to invent and reinvent yourself and your firm. You can make one or two decisions within your own organization where you say, 'Wow, that just changed the game for us.' I think it's really a combination of all of those."
Reza Torkzadeh is the Founder and CEO of TorkLaw based in Los Angeles, California. His approach to leading his law firm is rooted in creating a one-of-a-kind, client-first experience for each person who walks through the door.
In his episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, he shared that what separates game changers from the rest is their ability to rise to the top, then reinvent the wheel time and time again to stay on the forefront of success in the legal industry. With a passion to win and make a difference in the world, Reza knows that starts with ensuring every client is treated with the respect and kindness they deserve.
Listen to the full episode of "Leading a Client-Service Driven Law Firm" here.
Dr. Benjamin Hardy
"It's kind of about changing your game and also about changing the game. You know, the game I'm playing right now is very different from the game I was playing three or four years ago when I tried to become a professional author. Now, it's like, 'How do I get to a higher level?' I think being a game changer means that you're constantly playing a better and a different game than your former self and that your future self is the one driving that game."
Dr. Benjamin Hardy is an organizational psychologist and best-selling author who has spent his career studying and teaching others about the nuances and complexities of what the average person knows about their personality. He hopes to inform others about the radical changes they are capable of to reach their full potential.
In his episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Dr. Hardy says that being a game changer is really all about outdoing yourself and pushing the limits of what you're capable of. In doing so, we are able to consistently better ourselves to accomplish things our past selves never even knew was possible.
Listen to the full episode of "Personality Isn't Permanent" here.
Joey Coleman
"I think being a game changer is refusing to accept the standard for success that is today. I don't think it's enough to say, 'Yeah, but I'm better than other lawyers.' Stop that! That's not a game changer. That means you have the ante up chips to sit down at the table and get dealt a hand. I would love it if on the list of Tesla, Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook, Netflix — the brands that were creating experiences that everybody's talking about — your law firm was on that list. I know that seems like a crazy stretch, but I absolutely believe it's attainable. The bar for client experience in the legal profession is lying on the ground. Literally, all you have to do is not trip over it. You have to lift your foot instead of dragging your foot to step over what the standard is for client experience, especially the US legal system. I think there is huge possibility."
Joey Coleman is a best-selling author and Client Experience Expert. For nearly 20 years, he has helped organizations retain their best clients and turn them into raving fans.
With that in mind, his answer to the question "What does being a game changer mean to you?" came as no surprise. Joey is always looking to raise the bar for what it means to deliver an incredible experience for the consumer. By never settling with the status quo, he believes there is always a new standard of success to reach instead of accepting second best.
Listen to the full episode of "Never Lose a Client Again: Creating Memorable Experiences to Gain an Advocate for Life" here.
The truth is, there is a game changer within all of us — if we are willing to do what it takes to unlock our full potential.
If you are interested in hearing the incredible stories from a variety of other game changing attorneys, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders, check out The Game Changing Attorney Podcast today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Play, or www.crispvideo.com/podcast.
Want to Take Your Firm to the Next Level?
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Crisp Game Changers Summit 3 Update

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Jan. 15, 2007) - Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGP) (TSX VENTURE:NGP)(OTCBB:NGLPF) announces a progress update on the development at the Blue Mountain Geothermal site.
Well 38-14 has been drilled to 2006 feet with 13 7/8 inch production casing cemented in place. Drilling has been temporarily suspended with the hole at 2006 feet due to a major equipment breakdown that occurred on December 5th. The mechanical difficulty had been that the draw works motor seized and on December 9th the second motor that had been installed ran for less than 1 minute before it seized leaving the drill pipe suspended in the hole. The pipe was recovered on December 31, 2006 and the pipe laid down and the rig was subsequently released.
A replacement geothermal rig has been identified and is expected to be on site mid-February. The new contractor is reputable and very well known, with over twenty years of experience in the completion of geothermal production wells in Nevada. Well 38-14 is anticipated to be drilled to approximately 3500 feet and is expected to yield similar results to Well 28A-14. As per the news release on (October 18, 2006), Well 28A-14 encountered a "prolific" production zone between 2215 feet and hole bottom at 2815 feet.
Drilling problems at Well 38-14 have been resolved without any impact on the overall development schedule. This means that the Faulkner 1 Geothermal Power Plant at Blue Mountain will still be brought on line in 2009.
- The Company's initial development well 26A-14 has a gross power capacity of 9.6 MW (enough to supply power to 7,000-10,000 homes). Furthermore, the 365 F degrees (185 degrees C) temperature and the energy content of produced fluids per unit of volume was higher than anticipated at the depth encountered. New chemistry of representative geothermal waters from 26A-14 predicts source temperatures of 225-235 degreesC (Thermochem Laboratory and Consulting Services Report, December18, 2006). Drilling and geothermometry results indicate that the Blue Mountain reservoir may be capable of supporting a flash-type geothermal plant which would result in lower capital and operating costs.
- A 20-year Power Purchase Agreement ("PPA") was completed in July 2006. According to this Agreement, Nevada Geothermal Power Company, NGP's U.S. subsidiary will provide Nevada Power Company, a Nevada utility, with up to 35 MW (gross) 31.25 MW (net) of geothermal power and associated Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). In October 2006, Nevada Power Company filed the NGP PPA along with others as an amendment to its Resource Plan and submitted them to the Nevada Public Utilities Commission of Nevada ("NPUC") for approval. NPUC approval of the power contract is anticipated early 2007.
- System Impact Studies for the electrical grid connection of the Faulkner 1 Power Development Project have been completed. Additionally, a location north of Mill City, Nevada was approved for the Blue Mountain power line to connect with the SPPCo #162 (120 kV) transmission line in September 2006. Separately, a Facilities Study will be completed by February, 2007.
- In November 2006 an initial Utility Environment Protection Act (UEPA) permit application was submitted to the Public Utility Commission. In addition, work has commenced on all of the other major permits required by the project.
- NGP met with the Humboldt and Pershing County Commissions in November 2006 and also held public forums to discuss the Blue Mountain Faulkner 1 Power Development and the transmission line project. The commissioners of both Humboldt and Pershing and other public authorities have expressed their support for the Blue Mountain project.
Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. is a renewable energy company exploring and developing geothermal projects in the United States to provide electrical energy that is clean, efficient and sustainable. NGP is committed to the geothermal industry and currently owns a 100% leasehold interest in the Blue Mountain, Pumpernickel, Black Warrior projects in Nevada and the Crump Geyser Project in southern Oregon.
This Press Release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We have tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "plans", "intends", "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect our current belief and are based upon currently available information. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. We undertake no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition, or alteration to the information catered in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements.


Please explore these newly released NH County Health Rankings videos that focus on the top three public health issues in NH: tobacco, obesity and substance use. The goal of the videos is to educate and motivate NH individuals and communities into action to improve the health of their community and state.
Watch them here or below.


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Q: Uncaught PHP Exception Exception: "No URL signature provided" in Symfony Application I am working on a Symfony application (Mapbender3) and new to this framework (as I am a Codeigniter guy). The application is supposed to load the view page using ajax request but it does not. I checked the console and it said:
Failed to load resource: http://localhost/mapbender3/web/app.php/owsproxy/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalhost%2Fmapbender3%2Fweb%2Fapp.php%2Fapplication%2Fmopwmaps%2Finstance%2F9%2Ftunnel&TRANSPARENT=TRUE&FORMAT=image%2Fpng&SERVICE=WMS&VERSION=1.1.1&REQUEST=GetMap&STYLES=&LAYERS=cite%3ARoad_Master&SRS=EPSG%3A4326&BBOX=62.69026197435,31.478060912429,70.30973802565,35.521939087571&WIDTH=2400&HEIGHT=1273
the server responded with a status of 500 (Internal Server Error)

And a error:
GET http://localhost/mapbender3/web/app.php/owsproxy/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalhos…60912429%2C67.942541429504%2C35.521939087571%26WIDTH%3D908%26HEIGHT%3D1273 500 (Internal Server Error)
jquery.js:9659

I followed the error in the jquery.js file and it was:
xhr.send( ( options.hasContent && options.data ) || null );

Moreover, The logs/prod.log stated:
[2015-11-22 07:54:42] request.CRITICAL: Uncaught PHP Exception Exception: "No URL signature provided" at C:\wamp\www\mapbender3\owsproxy\src\OwsProxy3\CoreBundle\Controller\OwsProxyController.php line 95 {"exception":"[object] (Exception(code: 500): No URL signature provided at C:\\wamp\\www\\mapbender3\\owsproxy\\src\\OwsProxy3\\CoreBundle\\Controller\\OwsProxyController.php:95)"} []
[2015-11-22 07:54:42] security.DEBUG: Write SecurityContext in the session [] []

Please let me know what I have to do to solve this issue.

A: It is not a Symfony error. As you are using Google Maps APIs, the request needs to include authentication params as defined here : https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/business/webservices/auth
https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json
  ?address=1600+Amphitheatre+Parkway,+Mountain+View,+CA
  &client=gme-YOUR_CLIENT_ID
  &signature=YOUR_URL_SIGNATURE


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Appraisal, coping, social support, and posttraumatic stress of trauma patients one week following accidental injury
Tsay, Shiow-Luan
McCrone, Susan Hillman
The purposes of the study are to test relationships among injury appraisals, coping, social support and outcomes of coping efficacy, mood states, and post-traumatic stress; and to test the interaction effects of coping and social support on the relationship of stress and outcomes in the traumatically injured individual one week following accidental injury. The conceptual model for the study is primary derived from the stress and coping theory which includes major components of stress appraisals, coping, social support, and outcomes. A sample of 152 hospitalized trauma patients a week following accidental injury were recruited from two trauma centers. The measures included the injury appraisal of perceived stressor, perceived stressfulness, perceived controllability, and perceived injury severity; the modified Ways of Coping Scale (WCS); the brief Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ); the brief Profile of Mood State (POMS); the Impact of Event Scale (IES); and selected demographic and injury related variables.;Data were analyzed by multivariate statistics. The results indicated that perceived controllability (beta=.17, p<.01), satisfaction with social support (beta=.27, p<.01), wishful thinking (beta=-.33, p<.01), and problem-focused coping (beta=.23, p<.01), were the significant predictors for coping efficacy; perceived stressfulness (beta=.33, p<.01), problem-focused coping (beta=-.19, p<.01), and wishful thinking (beta=.47, p<.01),explained a significant amount of variance in mood states; and avoidance coping (beta=.42, p<.01), and wishful thinking (beta=.23, p<.01), were the significant predictors for post-traumatic stress. The moderating effects of emotion-focused coping at high and medium levels were identified as the underlying mechanism that affects coping efficacy by enhancing negative effect of stress on outcome. No buffering effects of social support were identified in the study. These findings can be used to identify traumatically injured patients who are at risk for mood disturbance and post-traumatic stress in the trauma center. Nursing interventions to address these factors can be developed and tested. Longitudinal studies are needed for understanding the mechanism of relationships among appraisals, coping, social support and outcomes of coping efficacy, mood states, and post-traumatic stress.
University of Maryland, Baltimore. Nursing. Ph.D. 1997
Health Sciences, Nursing
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Wounds and Injuries--psychology
Theses and Dissertations School of Nursing


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Speed Regulating Peristaltic Pump Market Growth By Regional Analysis (America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa) Growth Opportunity and Industry Forecast 2021-2028
Europe speed regulating peristaltic pump industry 2021
The report offers detailed coverage of Speed Regulating Peristaltic Pump industry and main market trends. The market research includes historical and forecast market data, demand, application details, price trends, and company shares of the leading Speed Regulating Peristaltic Pump by geography. The report splits the market size, by volume and value, on the basis of application type and geography.
A peristaltic pump is a type of positive displacement pump used for pumping a variety of fluids, they are also commonly known as roller pumps.
The report forecast global Speed Regulating Peristaltic Pump market to grow to reach xxx Million USD in 2020 with a CAGR of xx% during the period 2021-2028.
First, this report covers the present status and the future prospects of the global Speed Regulating Peristaltic Pump market for 2015-2028.
Watson-Marlow
Cole-Parmer
PSG TECHNOLOGIES
Baoding Longer
Chongqing Jieheng
Flowrox
Baoding Shenchen
IDEX Health&Science
Stenner Pump Company
Wanner Engineering
At the same time, we classify Speed Regulating Peristaltic Pump according to the type, application by geography. More importantly, the report includes major countries market based on the type and application.
Stainless Steel Material
Cast Iron Material
Alloy Material
• What is the estimated growth rate and market share and size of the Speed Regulating Peristaltic Pump market for the forecast period 2021 - 2028?
• What are the driving forces in the Speed Regulating Peristaltic Pump market for the forecast period 2021 - 2028?
• What are the market trends influencing the progress of the Speed Regulating Peristaltic Pump industry worldwide?
Capsule Counters Market Report By Type (Manual Capsule Counter, Electronic Capsule Counter, Automatic Capsule Counter), By Application (Pharmacy, Biotechnology Companies), By Region - North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa | Analysis by Size, Share, Growth, and Trends 2022-2027
Carbon Coaters Market Report By Type (Metal, Glass, Semiconductor, Others), By Application (Automotive, Electronics & Semiconductor, Institutes, Others), By Region - North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa | Analysis by Size, Share, Growth, and Trends 2022-2027
Cartridge Filters Market Report By Type (Diatomaceous Earth, Activated Carbon, Cellulose, Perlite), By Application (Small Molecule Processing, Biologics Processing, Cell Clarification, Others), By Region - North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa | Analysis by Size, Share, Growth, and Trends 2022-2027
Cell Phone Signal Shielding for Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Market Report By Type (Copper-Nickel-Zinc Alloy shielding cover / frame, Stainless steel shielding cover/frame, Nickel Silver shielding cover/ frame, SPTE/Tin plated mild steel cover/ frame), By Application (Most of cell phones, Cheaper cell phones), By Region - North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa | Analysis by Size, Share, Growth, and Trends 2022-2027
Commercial Printing AGV Market Report By Type (Unit Load Type, Automated Forklift Type, Tugger Type, Others), By Application (Heavy-duty Applications, Lightweight Applications), By Region - North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa | Analysis by Size, Share, Growth, and Trends 2022-2027


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HomeIT Management
This E-tailer Delivers Profits
By Chris Nerney
After Tuesday's column about eBay, I was in the mood for another feel-good piece about Internet stocks. And wouldn't you know it, one dropped right in my lap.
Amazingly enough, it involves an e-tailer. Online flower and gift seller FTD.com just announced its second consecutive quarterly profit. Even better, the company also said it should be profitable for the entire fiscal year, which ends June 30.
Q2 figures for EFTD show revenue of $32.5 million, an increase of 38% from last year's second quarter. Net income was $2.3 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $11.2 million, or 24 cents per share in Q2 '2000. In the first fiscal quarter of the year, EFTD had a razor-thin net income of $253,000, or 1 cent per share.
Obviously, by eBay or Yahoo standards, these aren't blow-away numbers, but EFTD investors should be pleased (and relieved) the company already is in the black and headed toward increased profitability. In the e-tail sector, that's the equivalent of discovering the lost continent of Atlantis.
Not that EFTD is a pure, stand-alone e-tailer. The company is a subsidiary of Florists' Transworld Delivery (otherwise known as FTD), which retains majority ownership, and EFTD taps into FTD's network of florists for order fulfillments.
However, unlike competitor 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, which gets more than half its orders through the telephone, FTD.com's Internet operation was responsible for 84% of total orders in Q2, up from 69% in the year-ago quarter. That may be why EFTD has been able to nudge its gross margin to more than 30%. In contrast, Amazon.com's gross margin is less than half that.
FTD.com credits its move to profitability on a conscious decision to cut costs. It slashed spending on traditional media advertising (television and print), relying instead on Web advertising and catalogs to attract customers. The difference was dramatic: In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2000 (ended June 30), EFTD's spending for cost of goods sold and operating expenses was $47.1 million. That total was reduced to $18.3 million just one quarter later.
Granted, the quarter ending in September is the slowest for flower sellers, as it lacks lucrative events such as Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. Regardless, FTD.com still managed to cut operating expenses 24% from the year-ago quarter ended in September 1999.
Like most other 'Net stocks, EFTD shares have taken a beating over the past year, falling to as low as $1.06 in late December from their Dec. 31, 1999 starting price of $5.25.
But FTD.com's Q2 report pushed shares up 47% to $3.31 by Tuesday's close, just 37% below the '99 year-end mark. I'm not sure you can find another e-tail stock that comes close to matching that ticker performance.
On a revenue multiple basis, EFTD is a bargain, trading at 1.4x trailing 12 months' sales of $112.9 million. But on an earnings basis, FTD.com is still an open question, with only two quarters of profitability under its belt. Investors probably should wait for the company's next quarterly report to determine if it is still headed in the right direction.
Chris Nerney
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Coming national election may be boycotted by Maharashtra's deaf community
Get-hooked February 16, 2019
Faced with longstanding apathy, Maharashtra's deaf community is considering a boycott of the coming national election.
The State Level Association Deaf (SLAD) , a leading organization in Maharashtra, has held many meetings to press for their demands with the government, but nothing concrete has emerged so far.
The organization represents the deaf community in the state and feels fed up of the way they are being ignored by policymakers. To make their presence felt, they have decided that the entire deaf community will boycott the election.
We the deaf people of Maharashtra have decided not to vote in elections as we are fed up of the false promises made to us by politicians ad government heads. Even after the passage of the RPWD2016 Act, the deaf people are still waiting for their welfare and development. Unlike people with other disabilities, deaf people are being ignored and no one is bothered about our sufferings. We have been raising our demands since 2012 and are still waiting for justice. There are no accessibility and inclusion considerations made when it comes to the need of deaf people. – Pradeep More, General Secretary,SLAD
On behalf of the deaf community, SLAD members have submitted their demands to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis but even after assurances, promises remain unfulfilled.
The SLAD's idea has found widespread support among the deaf community. Dhananjay Desai from Parbhani, says he plans to follow the decision.
"I am disappointed in the false promises made by the politicians and have decided not to cast my vote in the upcoming general elections. None of the political parties have taken any interest in the welfare of the deaf community. When it's time for elections, political parties come for vote but do nothing for us once they are elected", says Desai.
The demands made by SLAD are:
Quality education for children of deaf community.
Higher education courses such as BA, BCOM, BSC, Engineering, pharmacy, B.Ed should be free.
Technology institutes for deaf
Books of sign Language in Hindi, English, and Marathi for classes 1 to12.
Proper test should be conducted to identify deaf people as many people get fake disability certificates and get jobs.
Issuance of fake disability certificates should be curbed.
Inclusion for students who are deaf.
Employment opportunity in every district of Maharashtra.
Written test shouldn't be mandatory for government jobs.
Deaf people should be allowed to drive vehicles.
Committees should be set up for welfare of deaf community.
People with 80%- 100% deafness should be given government jobs.
Deaf people should be give jobs at bus stations, Jilha Adhikari offices.
CBI investigation into the working of Ali Yavar Jung National Institute Bandra (Mumbai).
Interpreter presence be made mandatory for meetings of deaf people and the government should pay for these services.
Rules be framed for recruitment of teachers for special schools for deaf people.
There are around 15 lakh people in Maharashtra who are deaf, a sizeable presence that is seeking to make itself heard.
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U.S. public sector under attack
by Andrew Pollack
Politicians of both major parties in the United States, from the federal level down to the smallest towns, are making clear the next big ruling-class assault will come in the public sector. While the labor movement is ill prepared to combat that assault, it is ironically in that sector where workers can perhaps best make a stand to turn around the bosses' overall offensive.
Let's begin by looking at the latest wave of these attacks. Foremost among them was President Barack Obama's Nov. 30 order of a two-year pay freeze for two million federal workers. Several commentators called it Obama's PATCO, referring to Ronald Reagan's savage anti-union attack on air-traffic controllers, which emboldened private employers to follow his lead.
In monetary terms Obama's freeze is mostly symbolic. It would cut just $5 billion by 2012, or 0.4% of the $1.3 trillion deficit. But we can be sure he'll follow it with more such measures, and that local and state governments will echo his "debt reduction" logic to demand cuts of their own. Private firms will ask for comparable concessions.
Then in mid-December, Obama reached a deal with Republicans to continue Bush's tax cuts, including for the richest Americans. The deal also reduced the amount of Social Security taxes workers pay from 6.2% to 4.2% for one year. The long-term effect of that move will be to endanger Social Security's fiscal soundness and perhaps even its existence. By making the program dependent for the first time on general revenues, it sets up a scenario in which politicians can demand its curtailment or abolition using deficit-cutting, tax-slashing rhetoric.
Numerous governors-elect have announced plans to attack public workers in their states. Ohio's John Kasich announced he would end collective bargaining for child-care and home-care workers. In Wisconsin, Scott Walker has called for tripling health-care costs for public workers and ending their right to collectively bargain if they don't agree. Walker also floated the idea of making Wisconsin a "right-to-work" state.
Even supposedly pro-labor Democratic candidates have been blunt about their intentions to go after labor. In New York, governor-elect Andrew Cuomo said during his campaign that labor would have to make steep sacrifices. After the election he formed a team of business executives to advise him on where to cut, and to craft advertising promoting the attacks—a team joined by New York City Building Trades union leader Gary Barbera, who repeated the "we must all sacrifice" mantra.
Jerry Brown, returning to the California governor's mansion, declared he would have to "do things that labor doesn't like"—including reducing public-employee pensions. Oregon's newly elected Gov. John Kitzhaber said he would hold down projected pay increases for public-sector workers.
Meanwhile, attacks on teachers and students continue to increase. The Los Angeles Unified School District is demanding pay cuts, and "value added" evaluations to replace tenure. And the ideological assault in the form of propaganda for school "saviors" who impose testing and bust unions is swelling, thanks in great part to financing by a foundation headed by Bill Gates. A draft bill in Illinois—which faces opposition from the progressive Chicago Teachers Union—would strip teachers' unions of many rights, decimate tenure rights, and restrict teacher say on school affairs, reducing their ability to bargain over issues that impact students such as class size and staffing.
The dropping of pro-labor rhetoric by Democrats has conservative commentators gloating. Washington Post business columnist Charles Lane announced that "the big political story in 2011 will be the struggle to rein in public- sector unions, whose pay, pensions and health benefits are bankrupting some of the biggest states. … What's really interesting, as I've written, somewhat obsessively, is the looming struggle between budget-cutting Democrats and the unions.
"This is the contest that will determine whether Democrats can survive … by putting the sustainability of vital public services ahead of the unions' demands."
James Pethokoukis reported in a Reuters column titled, "Secret GOP plan: Push states to declare bankruptcy and smash unions," that "Congressional Republicans appear to be quietly but methodically executing a plan that would (a) avoid a federal bailout of spendthrift states and (b) cripple public employee unions by pushing cash-strapped states … to declare bankruptcy."
Pethokoukis repeated claims that states would have unfunded pension liabilities of up to $3 trillion in coming years, and looked hopefully to legislation amending federal bankruptcy law so states can declare bankruptcy and then tear up union contracts.
Alongside efforts to savage the public workforce are new unprecedented steps to curtail public services. For instance, more than 20% of Detroit's 139 square miles would be refused services under a plan developed by Mayor Dave Bing, who wants to force residents of some neighborhoods to move into other parts of the city.
Yet amidst this campaign against the public sector came renewed evidence that the private sector is in no position to lead the economy out of depression. A Wall Street Journal article titled "Companies Cling to Cash" said that "rather than pouring their money into building plants or hiring workers, nonfinancial companies in the U.S. were sitting on $1.93 trillion in cash and other liquid assets at the end of September. … Cash accounted for 7.4% of the companies' total assets—the largest share since 1959."
"The cash buildup shows the deep caution many companies feel about investing in expansion while the economic recovery remains painfully slow and high unemployment and battered household finances continue to limit consumers' ability to spend."
A New York Times article on Dec. 4 made a telling comparison between the public sector crisis and other aspects of the global downturn: "The finances of some state and local governments are so distressed that analysts say they are reminded of the run-up to the subprime mortgage meltdown or of the debt crisis hitting nations in Europe… at some point investors could balk at lending to the weakest states, setting off a crisis that could spread to the stronger ones, much as the turmoil in Europe has spread from country to country."
This gets to what's really behind the crisis in the public sector. Most fundamental is the long-term crisis of profitability that the global economy has been in for decades. But the crisis plays out on a terrain of economic and political structures that have long outlived their usefulness or even survivability, whether states within the U.S., or countries on the European continent.
There is clearly no economic (or political, for that matter) rationale for the U.S. state structures. Yet these states pay for and provide services that in most industrialized countries were long ago taken over by national governments to take advantage of economies of scale. And states pay for those services by regressive taxes, and by bonds that yield massive profits to private investors.
So in times of crisis, the impact of a downturn plays out in irrational ways, varying by state. But in all cases the state's rulers, and their allies in Washington, seek to force each state's workers to pay for the crisis. (In the same way, the differential impact of the crisis within Europe is a product of the artificial restriction, by vestigial nation-state boundaries, of continent-wide investment, production, and consumption flows. See article on page 4.)
But it doesn't take a sophisticated grasp of capital's functioning, much less of irrational, outdated political structures, for workers to know they are being stripped of public services that they need now more than ever.
That's why the potential for a class-wide defense of public-sector workers and the services they provide is possible. Workers desperately need jobs, and they know that they and their families need education, health care, and other services that can only be rationally provided by the public sector.
To turn that awareness into struggle, we can start with building solidarity with particular struggles of city and state workers. We can hold conferences to compare notes on the attacks and organize solidarity, and to call common nationwide days of action in defense of the public sector as a whole. At such conferences, with the participation of community groups, we can draw up a list of services needing to be expanded, and formulate demands on the bosses' profits and the Pentagon's budget to fund them.
> This article was originally published in the January 2011 print edition of Socialist Action newspaper.


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Shop Talk: 3 Little Monkeys
BY Dayanti Karunaratne
POSTED August 24, 2010 1:19 pm
Photography by Angela Gordon
It's stores like this that keep people propagating. The fun, well-made toys and clothing at 3 Little Monkeys harken back to a time when the playthings of our youth were passed down through generations, shared among siblings, and put in the basement until the next round of offspring. Indeed, the new hobby horses at the Bank Street store trotted all the way from Ireland to delight little ones. Hand-crafted, hand-stained, and hand-painted, these horses are cut from windfall timber in the Leitrim region of Ireland. Yee-haw!
The look: cute and crafty.
The labels: Petunia Pickle Bottom and Ju-Ju-Be for bags; blabla for dolls; Bugaboo for strollers.
Perfect for: kids who play hard and parents who don't want to replace toys every week.
USP: a new location offers more play space; an interactive website invites all to play with their food.
1150 Bank St., www.3littlemonkeysottawa.com


Many individual trail segments are already in place within the project area, but lack critical connections. Linking all the individual trails would close gaps in community connections, provide safe alternative means of transportation, decrease the need for motorized travel, and improve the quality of life for a broad user base. Through a scoping study led by LAND studio in 2012 and 2013, many area stakeholders were engaged including municipalities, institutions, neighborhood groups and regional entities. Upon conclusion of the scoping study in the spring of 2013, all agreed that in order to move the concept forward, a more formal planning process was needed.
LAND studio partnered with the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission to receive a Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative (TLCI) grant from the Northeast Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) to conduct a planning study for the Eastside Greenway in 2014 and 2015. The anticipated outcome of the TLCI planning process will result in specific trail alignment recommendations throughout the study area, suggested trailhead locations, and a phasing strategy for moving forward into design and implementation.
The goal is to lay the groundwork to create an interconnected public space network that will enhance transportation and recreation in the area, and simultaneously serve as a catalyst for economic development, increased educational opportunities and social benefit.


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