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SpaceX Keeps Lining Up Covert Military Launches
Robin Seemangal
There was a time when SpaceX had to sue to bid on Air Force missions. No longer.
Space X
Last September, SpaceX was fueling its Falcon 9 for a routine test fire before launch when a composite liner inside the upper-stage fuel tank failed, letting oxygen seep in. Friction between the tank's aluminum liner and carbon overwrap ignited a towering inferno that engulfed the rocket, the launch pad, and a $200 million satellite owned by Israeli firm Spacecom. It was SpaceX's second disaster in 14 months—preceded by the explosion of a Falcon 9 heading to the International Space Station in June of 2015.
But far be it from Spacecom to get scared off by a little fire and brimstone. According to a Hebrew-language press release published last week, the company will attempt to launch another satellite atop a reusable Falcon 9 rocket in 2019—a freebie to make up for the first kablooie. And after that, they've signed up for another SpaceX launch in 2020.
Somehow, it seems, SpaceX has restored confidence in its customers after its failures in 2015 and 2016. This year, it has launched 15 missions, reusing three of its boosters. On that string of successes, Spacecom is returning to SpaceX's launch manifest along with an array of customers lining up for dramatically low prices—and the opportunity to sign up for an even cheaper recycled booster launch. The value proposition is even appealing to that most cagey of customers: the United States military.
SpaceX owes a great deal of its reputation—and its $21 billion valuation—to its repeat customers. In 2013, Luxembourg-based communications provider SES took a risk to fly atop the first Falcon 9 rocket to geostationary orbit. In return, SpaceX offered SES the first reusable orbital rocket launch in aerospace history and all the free publicity that came along with it. The historic mission launched on March 30, and on October 11, SpaceX fired off its third reusable rocket, carrying another SES payload.
Another loyal customer, Iridium, indicated last week that its next two SpaceX launches would fly on reusable boosters. "I think you're already seeing the commercial satellite industry realize the impact 'flight proven' boosters could have on the market," says former White House space advisor and former SpaceX official Phil Larson. "Some are contributing to the overall push for this new capability."
The main advantage for SpaceX is obvious: price. Going on just the advertised prices from both SpaceX and competitor United Launch Alliance for the cheapest mission, the difference in costs before taxes and insurance is about $47 million. Elon Musk claims that cost difference for certain launches could exceed $300 million––which is the average cost of a satellite. "So flying with SpaceX means satellite is basically free," the billionaire tweeted.
Which is how SpaceX finally broke into the public sector. In May of 2015, SpaceX was certified for national security launches, ending the monopoly on Air Force missions held by United Launch Alliance—and today, the Air Force is a satisfied and enthusiastic customer. The head of US Space Command, John W. Raymond, told Bloomberg that it would be "absolutely foolish" not to be utilizing recycled rockets in the future.
And SpaceX would be foolish not to fight for those military contracts, which are the biggest it gets. So far, it's done well: SpaceX launched its first national security mission earlier this year for the National Reconnaissance Office and followed that clandestine mission with another. In early September, as Hurricane Irma approached Florida's coast, SpaceX launched the secretive Boeing-built X-37B spaceplane for the Air Force.
More on SpaceX
SpaceX Lifts Off as NASA's Kennedy Braces for Hurricane Irma
SpaceX Will Lose Millions on Its Taiwanese Satellite Launch
SpaceX's Mars Plans Hit a Pothole. Up Next: the Moon?
And just last week, SpaceX slated another top-secret mission—code-named Zuma—in between already planned launches in November. Documents obtained by WIRED point to a classified payload built by Northrop Grumman for the military. The details of the launch are heavily under wraps.
Next door to the Air Force at Cape Canaveral is NASA, another customer burned by SpaceX. In June of 2015, SpaceX lost an agency resupply haul bound for the International Space Station when the Falcon 9 exploded minutes after liftoff. But like Spacecom, the agency bounced back. Since the explosion, SpaceX has completed five successful resupply missions for NASA—and it's making progress toward flying NASA astronauts to the space station in late 2018.
NASA's interest in SpaceX's reusable technology seems to be growing as well. Sources at Kennedy Space Center tell WIRED that NASA and SpaceX have preliminarily agreed to launch the next two cargo resupply missions to ISS atop reusable rockets. The agency also announced last week that it has contracted SpaceX to launch the collaborative Sentinel-6A mission in 2020 to gather ocean topography data.
Today, SpaceX's mission cadence puts them in a dead heat with the Russians for 2017 launches. Vice President Mike Pence didn't seem to notice, though, as he held the first National Space Council meeting on October 5. "America seems to have lost our edge in space," Pence said.
SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell sat on the panel, perplexed.
TopicsSpaceXCommercial Spacespacerockets


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Pink Jeep Tours Celebrates Half a Century
The year 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Jeep tour operators in the United States. Sedona, Arizona-based Pink Jeep Tours is known for its iconic namesake vehicles and tops many lists of "must do" activities in both Sedonaand Las Vegas.
Pink Jeep Tours started when Sedona businessman Don Pratt took potential clients in his Jeep to see backcountry real estate. After a trip to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki, where buildings, vehicles, and uniforms were all pink, Pratt was inspired to borrow the memorable color scheme. Years later, his idea is at the heart of a multi-million dollar slice of the tourism industry.
Pink Jeep's fleet of 85 vehicles takes visitors on tours based on Native American history and culture, nature, and geology, as well as trips that take in panoramic vistas and the lights of Sin City. Shawn Wendell purchased the company from Pratt in 1988, and added a Las Vegas location in 2001. He credits his employees and the company's dedication to conservation and preservation as keys to its longevity. Pink Jeeps Tours has earned the Keep Sedona Beautiful Award of Excellence, and the Governor's Tourism Award on Arizona Preservation.
The company is celebrating its milestone with special offers on Twitter and Facebook throughout the year.
Filed Under: South Rim, Tours and Attractions
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1.5 GPa compact double-wall clamp cell for SANS and NSE studies at low temperatures and high magnetic fields
Authors: Sadykov, Ravila; b; c; * | Pappas, Catherined | Bannenberg, Lars J.d | Dalgliesh, Robert M.e | Falus, Péterf | Goodway, Christophere | Lelièvre-Berna, Eddyf
Affiliations: [a] Institute for Nuclear Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, 60-Letiya Oktiabria 7a, 117312 Moscow, Russia | [b] Institute of High Pressure Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142190 Troitsk, Russia | [c] National University of Science and Technology MISiS, Leninsky prosp. 4, Moscow, 119049, Russia. E-mail: [email protected] | [d] Faculty of Science, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 15, 2629 JB Delft, The Netherlands. E-mails: [email protected], [email protected] | [e] ISIS Facility, STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire, Oxon OX11 OQX Didcot, UK. E-mails: [email protected], [email protected] | [f] Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS 20156, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France. E-mails: [email protected], [email protected]
Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].
Keywords: High pressure, small angle neutron scattering, polarised neutrons
DOI: 10.3233/JNR-180056
Journal: Journal of Neutron Research, vol. 20, no. 1-2, pp. 25-33, 2018
We have developed and realised a compact high-pressure clamp cell of the piston-cylinder type for Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) and Neutron Spin Echo (NSE) spectroscopy measurements. The cell can pressurise ⌀5 mm samples up to 1.5 GPa. It is non-magnetic, produces a sufficiently low and flat SANS background with a relatively good neutron transmission and can be used in combination with polarised neutrons. The cell accommodates samples of up to 55 mm3 in volume and adopts a two-layer geometry: a TiZr body (outer layer) and a CuBe2 insert (inner layer). Its design is very compact and can be employed inside cryomagnets featuring a sample bore greater than ⌀30 mm. We present the cell and illustrate its performances with a series of neutron scattering experiments performed on single-crystalline MnSi.
Pressure is a fundamental thermodynamic variable and therefore plays an important role in condensed matter physics. It has a pronounced influence on the structural, magnetic, electric, chemical and mechanical properties of condensed materials [11]. In addition, the experimental investigation of some of the most fascinating phenomena in condensed matter physics, such as quantum critical points [3,6,15], hidden order [2,15] or non-Fermi liquid behavior [6], often require the combination of low temperatures, high magnetic fields and high pressures. In this field of research, neutron scattering is an invaluable probe as it provides direct microscopic information on both the structural and magnetic correlations. It is therefore important to develop non-magnetic pressure cells optimised for neutron scattering studies which can reach moderate pressures, beyond 1 GPa, whilst being able to accommodate relatively large sample volumes.
These requirements are met using piston-cylinder type clamp cells where the pressure is fixed by two knots. In addition, cells of the piston-cylinder type are compact enough to fit in the cryomagnets and cryostats typically used for neutron scattering experiments. In the following we present a new non-magnetic high pressure double-wall cell, which we have developed for Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) and Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy (NSE) experiments. The cell has been successfully tested at the Institute Laue-Langevin (ILL) and the ISIS neutron source. It has been used to investigate the magnetic properties of the archetype helimagnet MnSi beyond the critical pressure of ∼1.4 GPa where a non-Fermi Liquid behaviour sets-in [17]. We show that this pressure cell produces a low-enough and flat neutron background in the Q-range covered by typical SANS instruments and that it can also be used for NSE. The cell can accommodate samples up to 55 mm3 in volume and reaches pressures as high as 1.5 GPa at low temperatures.
2.Choice of materials
The choice of materials is the most important factor determining the performances of high pressure cells. In the specific case of neutron scattering, the materials used should not only have suitable mechanical properties including high tensile strength and hardness, but also be relatively transparent to hot, thermal and cold neutrons. In this way both the attenuation of the intense neutron beam and the activation of the pressure cell are minimised. Furthermore, it is important to choose materials with low coherent and incoherent scattering cross sections to reduce the scattering by the cell, and therefore decrease the (Q-dependent) background, or noise, of the measurement. To be able to apply magnetic fields or use polarised neutron beams (essential for NSE spectroscopy), it is of crucial importance that the chosen materials remain non-magnetic down to the lowest temperatures of interest.
Relevant properties for several materials considered for the pressure cell. Data on the scattering length and neutron cross section are adapted from ref. [21]. Hardness data are given in Rockwell units. Ultimate Tensile Stress (UTS) data at 300 K are provided in [16,24]
Material bcoh [fm] σcoh [barn] σinc [barn] σtotal [barn] σabs [barn] Hardness [HRC] UTS [GPa]
Al 3.449 1.495 0.0082 1.503 0.231
Be 7.79 7.63 0.0018 7.63 0.0076
Cr 3.635 1.66 1.83 3.49 3.05
Cu 7.718 7.485 0.55 8.03 3.78
Ni 10.3 13.3 5.2 18.5 4.49
Ti −3.438 1.485 2.87 4.35 6.09
Zr 7.16 6.44 0.02 6.46 0.185
TiZr 0.06 0.04 314.8 314.9 32 0.86
CuBe2 7.73 7.50 0.49 7.99 35 1.20
NiCrAl 7.36 8.31 141.1 149.4 57–59 1.90
Relative mass weight composition of the Russian NiCrAl alloy 40HNU-VI
C Si Mn Fe Ni Cr Mo Ti Al Nb Co S P
⩽0.03 ⩽0.1 ⩽0.1 ⩽0.6 balanced 39–41 – – 3.3–3.8 – – ⩽0.01 ⩽0.01
Table 1 provides an overview of relevant material properties for chemical elements and the alloys considered for the construction of the pressure cell. The CuBe2 (2 wt.% Be), TiZr [22] and NiCrAl [19] alloys are all non-magnetic. Among them, the Russian Ni alloy with designation 40HNU-VI and mass weight composition provided in Table 2 has the highest hardness and has already been used for high-pressure neutron diffraction studies [4,19]. However, this alloy combines relatively high incoherent and coherent cross sections with strong forward scattering likely due to dislocations and/or short range order [18]. It is therefore much less appropriate for SANS than CuBe2 and TiZr.
The null-matrix TiZr alloy has a zero coherent cross-section σcoh thanks to the combination of the negative and positive coherent scattering lengths bcoh of titanium and zirconium respectively (molar mass ratio 3.44/7.16, i.e. 2.08 Ti/1 Zr). Unfortunately, this combination also leads to a relatively high incoherent cross-section σinc. The neutron scattering from TiZr is therefore almost Q-independent (flat) but high. Fully hardened CuBe2 has a comparable hardness but a much lower incoherent cross-section and therefore leads to a much lower Q-independent neutron background. The strong inelastic contribution observed at meV energy transfers will not be an issue for our needs [8]. Based on this information, we have decided to develop a two-layer clamp cell made from a CuBe2 insert pressed into a TiZr body.
3.Design of the cell
Schematics of the assembled cylindrical multi-layer clamp cell: 1. NiCrAl piston, 2. hardened Ti nuts (grade VT8), 3. NiCrAl pistons, 4. TiZr body, 5. Teflon cap, 6. hardened CuBe2 rings, 7. Teflon can, 8. hardened CuBe2 insert, 9. sample. At the sample position, the diameter of the cell is reduced to 22.2 mm to improve the signal to background ratio.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 show drawings and photographs of the double-wall cell and its auxiliary equipment. It consists of a hardened CuBe2 cylindrical insert pressed into a TiZr cylinder. The TiZr body is 54 mm long and has a maximum outer diameter of 29.5 mm. This diameter is reduced to 22.2 mm at the beam height on 5 mm. Flat faces are machined to ease its operation. M20 threads are provided at both ends to lock the NiCrAl pistons. With this design, the clamp cell matches most of the cryomagnets provided by neutron facilities up to fields of 10 Tesla.
The insert, made from hardened CuBe2, has inner and outer diameters of 4.9 and 10 mm respectively. Its length was chosen to match the dimensions of single crystals that are typically available. Before assembly, the inner cylinder of the TiZr body was machined with a conical shape inclined by 1∘ with the main axis. The outer diameter of the CuBe2 insert was also machined with the same conical shape. The insert was then pressed into the body by means of a press with a force of a few tons, until the insert is centred. The advantage of this two-layer geometry is that it minimises the total amount of material in the neutron beam whilst allowing to reach 1.5 GPa. Indeed, the maximal stress occurs near the bore and we reduce the attenuation by using TiZr in regions where the stress is lower [9].
Photographs of the pressure cell, nuts and pistons.
The sample with a maximum diameter of 3.7 mm and a maximum height of 5 mm is encapsulated in a cylindrical Teflon (PTFE) can placed in the heart of the pressure cell. This Teflon can is topped up with a hydrostatic pressure transmitting liquid, typically Fluorinert [5]. At both ends of the can, the sealing is realised with two hardened CuBe2 rings with an outer diameter of 4.9 mm, only slightly greater than the diameter of the bore. The shape of the internal diameter of each ring is inclined by 45° so that the pressure slightly enlarges the diameter of the ring, ensuring its tightness. The optimum thickness of the rings is ≈0.4 mm.
Nonmagnetic pistons made of NiCrAl alloy are positioned on both sides of the sample can. These pistons have a diameter which is 0.02 mm smaller than the inner diameter of the CuBe2 insert to avoid an excess of friction from the elastic deformation of the pistons at high pressures. Such a deformation ultimately results in "barrel-shaped" pistons leading to an increased contact area with the inner walls of the CuBe2 insert. This increase in friction lowers the effective pressure at the sample area and therefore reduces the effective operating pressure range. Molybdenum sulphide powder can be spread to reduce the friction with the inner surface of the CuBe2 insert but care must be taken because it activates in a neutron beam.
Finally, the pistons are clamped by two non-magnetic titanium (alloy grade VT8) knots positioned at both ends of the pressure cell. An M8 hole threaded in the top knot facilitates the fixation of the high pressure cell to the sample stick of the cryostat or cryomagnet.
Photographs of the PTFE sample cans and CuBe2 rings.
4.Tests and operation of the cell
The cell has been used successfully for a series of neutron scattering experiments on the SANS instrument Larmor at ISIS (UK) and the NSE instrument IN15 at the ILL (France) [20]. The measurements were performed on a 110 mg single crystal of MnSi, approximately 2×2×3 mm3 in size, originating from the same batch as the sample used in previous neutron scattering studies [1,13,14]. The sample was aligned with the [110] axis vertical, parallel to the Teflon sample can axis. This Teflon can was filled with chemically inert Fluorinert FC770 for the NSE experiments at IN15 and with a 50–50% mixture of FC770 and FC75 for the SANS experiments at Larmor [23]. Fluorinert has a very low incoherent scattering cross-section and thus does not contribute significantly to the neutron background. This specific mixture was chosen because it features the highest hydrostatic limit [10]. During the filling of the can, care was taken to not encapsulate air bubbles. These bubbles collapse at low temperatures and significantly reduce the effective pressure on the sample.
At ISIS, we successfully applied pressures up to 2.2 GPa at room temperature. The pressure was applied using a 100 ton press and fixed by tightening the two titanium knots. These knots were tightened stepwise (i.e. first the top, then the bottom, then again the top, etc.) to prevent a displacement of the single crystal. The applied pressure was measured using a Strainstall 20 tons load cell. The press used at the ILL is equipped with an electronic load cell that accurately measures the load force of the press and the displacement sensor of the piston, which makes it possible to determine the friction and the pressure at room temperature by increasing and decreasing the load.
Figure 4 shows the relation between the applied force or the expected pressure in the cell at room temperature, and the effective pressure applied to the sample below 50 K. The pressure at low temperature is estimated from the critical temperature of MnSi as reported in ref [17], where the long range helimagnetic order sets-in at zero field. The figure shows that the pressure losses due to friction and the freezing of Fluorinert amount to about approximately 20%. These losses increase for higher applied pressures, possibly due to plastic instead of elastic deformation of the pistons.
Relation between the applied force or the expected pressure in the cell at room temperature, and the effective pressure applied to the sample below 50 K as deduced from the critical temperature of MnSi. The pressure at low temperatures is estimated from the critical temperature of the helimagnetic order at zero field as reported in [17].
Transmission of the empty cell as a function of the wavelength λ measured on Larmor using a 1×1 mm2 neutron beam through the centre of the cell hosting a Teflon can without sample but with Fluorinert. The Teflon can being very thin (≈0.1 mm) and the Fluorinert FC75 and FC770 containing no hydrogen (generic composition (C8F18)n(C8F16O)m), their contributions are quite low.
Figure 5 presents the neutron transmission of the high pressure cell measured as a function of neutron wavelength at the time-of-flight instrument Larmor. The transmission decreases with increasing wavelength, from about 40% at λ=0.1 nm to approximately 10% around λ=1.2 nm. In addition, a dip is seen around λ=0.35 nm, which is likely due to the Bragg scattering edge of the CuBe2 alloy. This is in good agreement with an estimated transmission T=exp[−μCuBe2(10−4.9)]×exp[−μTiZr(22.2−10)]=12% calculated with the linear absorption coefficients of CuBe2 and TiZr at λ=0.6 nm: μCuBe2=0.1563 mm−1 and μTiZr=0.1020 mm−1.
The neutrons absorbed by the cell activate its constituents. We note that although Cu and Mn activate under neutron irradiation (both β-emitters), the activity outside the cell stayed below 2 μSv/h despite the long exposure time to the intense neutron beams of Larmor and IN15 (typically a week). The TiZr outer layer shields the activity originating from the decay of the irradiated Cu and Mn atoms. The resulting low activity measured outside the cell is a major advantage as it allows one to handle the cell and change the pressure directly immediately exposition to neutrons.
5.SANS and NSE experiments
The SANS measurements were performed on the time-of-flight instrument Larmor. The sample was illuminated by a 3×3 mm2 unpolarised incident neutron beam with a wavelength band of [0.09,1.25] nm. The sample was positioned at 4.4 m from the detector consisting of 80 3He position sensitive detector tubes, each 8 mm wide. The magnetic field was applied by a Scientific Magnetics 2T 3D vector field cryomagnet.
Figure 6 presents the scattering function S(Q) deduced by radially averaging the scattered intensity of the 2D SANS patterns, for the empty cryomagnet, the high pressure cell without sample and Fluorinert, and the high pressure cell with the MnSi sample at ambient pressure and 5 K. The curve obtained for the empty cryostat is typical of the background shape observed on all SANS instruments at ISIS, with a substantial background for Q≲0.2 nm−1. The plots show that the contribution of the cryomagnet to the background is negligible and that the background is mainly produced by the pressure cell. The low and flat background for Q≳0.2 nm−1 allowed to get a high signal-to-noise ratio of 53.
Scattering function S(Q) measured on Larmor for the empty cryomagnet, the empty High Pressure Cell (HPC) and the MnSi sample at ambient pressure inside the HPC at 5 K and 0 T.
Typical SANS patterns of MnSi at 1.3 GPa (1.7 GPa at room temperature) and T = 8.3 K. A magnetic field of (a) B = 0 T and (b) 0.28 T was applied along the incident neutron beam. The SANS patterns are background corrected using a high-temperature measurement at 50 K where the magnetic contributions to the scattering are negligible.
Neutron spin echo spectroscopy results obtained on MnSi at a pressure of 1.3 GPa at zero magnetic field. The intermediate scattering function I(Q→,t) is measured on the magnetic Bragg peak, i.e. Q→=τ→, and is provided for four temperatures below the critical temperature of Tc = 6.8 K.
To further illustrate the performance of the clamp cell, we present in Fig. 7 two SANS patterns of MnSi at 1.3 GPa and 8.3 K. Pattern (a) reveals two Bragg peaks indicative of the helimagnetic ordering at zero field. The SANS pattern (b) collected with a field 0.28 T applied along the incident neutron beam reveals six Bragg peaks, characteristic of skyrmion lattice correlations [7,12].
The NSE experiments were performed in the paramagnetic configuration on the NSE spectrometer IN15 using a 95% polarised incident neutron beam with a wavelength of 0.9±15% nm. The NSE spectra were averaged over the entire detector. Figure 8 displays the intermediate scattering functions I(Q→,t) as a function of the Fourier time t at 1.3 GPa (1.8 GPa at room temperature) for several temperatures below the critical temperature Tc=6.8 K. As expected, I(Q,t)≈1 at all temperatures, which indicates that the helimagnetic correlations are completely elastic. These results confirm that the pressure cell does not depolarise the beam and can thus be used successfully in combination with polarised neutrons.
We have successfully designed, constructed and operated a compact high pressure cell of the piston-cylinder type with a relatively high transmission and sufficiently low background, adapted for neutron small angle scattering investigations at low temperatures and high magnetic fields. The high pressure cell is non-magnetic and can be used for investigations with polarised neutrons and NSE spectroscopy. The cell has a two-layer construction with a TiZr outer layer and a CuBe2 insert with an inner diameter of almost 5 mm. It can accommodate samples up to 55 mm3 in volume and is compatible with the cryomagnets typically used in neutron scattering. The high pressure cell can be pressurised up to 1.5 GPa and has been successfully used for SANS and NSE spectroscopy experiments on single-crystal MnSi.
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N°654000. The work of L.J. Bannenberg and C. Pappas is financially supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research through the project 721.012.102.
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Explore Search Results: tagged with Models, Biological
Amygdalar and hippocampal substrates of anxious temperament differ in their heritability (Journal Article)
Andrew S. Fox,
Steven E. Shelton,
Anxious temperament (AT) in human and non-human primates is a trait-like phenotype evident early in life that is characterized by increased behavioural and physiological reactivity to mildly threatening stimuli. Studies in children demonstrate that AT is an important risk factor for the later development of anxiety disorders, depression and comorbid substance abuse. Despite its importance as an early predictor of psychopathology, little is known about the factors that predispose vulnerable children to develop AT and the brain systems that underlie its expression. To characterize the neural circuitry associated with AT and the extent to which the function of this circuit is heritable, we studied a large sample of rhesus monkeys phenotyped for AT. Using 238 young monkeys from a multigenerational single-family pedigree, we simultaneously assessed brain metabolic activity and AT while monkeys were exposed to the relevant ethological condition that elicits the phenotype. High-resolution (18)F-labelled deoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET) was selected as the imaging modality because it provides semi-quantitative indices of absolute glucose metabolic rate, allows for simultaneous measurement of behaviour and brain activity, and has a time course suited for assessing temperament-associated sustained brain responses. Here we demonstrate that the central nucleus region of the amygdala and the anterior hippocampus are key components of the neural circuit predictive of AT. We also show significant heritability of the AT phenotype by using quantitative genetic analysis. Additionally, using voxelwise analyses, we reveal significant heritability of metabolic activity in AT-associated hippocampal regions. However, activity in the amygdala region predictive of AT is not significantly heritable. Furthermore, the heritabilities of the hippocampal and amygdala regions significantly differ from each other. Even though these structures are closely linked, the results suggest differential influences of genes and environment on how these brain regions mediate AT and the ongoing risk of developing anxiety and depression.
Freezing Reaction, Cataleptic,
Genetic Predisposition to Disease,
Heredity,
Models, Animal,
Neural Pathways,
Pedigree,
Stress, Psychological,
Temperament,
Vocalization, Animal,
Anxiety selectively disrupts visuospatial working memory (Journal Article)
Alexander J. Shackman,
Jeffrey S. Maxwell,
Aureliu Lavric,
On the basis of a review of the extant literature describing emotion-cognition interactions, the authors propose 4 methodological desiderata for studying how task-irrelevant affect modulates cognition and present data from an experiment satisfying them. Consistent with accounts of the hemispheric asymmetries characterizing withdrawal-related negative affect and visuospatial working memory (WM) in prefrontal and parietal cortices, threat-induced anxiety selectively disrupted accuracy of spatial but not verbal WM performance. Furthermore, individual differences in physiological measures of anxiety statistically mediated the degree of disruption. A second experiment revealed that individuals characterized by high levels of behavioral inhibition exhibited more intense anxiety and relatively worse spatial WM performance in the absence of threat, solidifying the authors' inference that anxiety causally mediates disruption. These observations suggest a revision of extant models of how anxiety sculpts cognition and underscore the utility of the desiderata.
Linear Models,
Psychometrics,
Assessing the Causal Structure of Function (Journal Article)
Theories typically emphasize affordances or intentions as the primary determinant of an object's perceived function. The HIPE theory assumes that people integrate both into causal models that produce functional attributions. In these models, an object's physical structure and an agent's action specify an affordance jointly, constituting the immediate causes of a perceived function. The object's design history and an agent's goal in using it constitute distant causes. When specified fully, the immediate causes are sufficient for determining the perceived function--distant causes have no effect (the causal proximity principle). When the immediate causes are ambiguous or unknown, distant causes produce inferences about the immediate causes, thereby affecting functional attributions indirectly (the causal updating principle). Seven experiments supported HIPE's predictions.
Causal Models,
Inferences,
Association of temporal factors and suicides in the United States, 2000--2004 (Journal Article)
Augustine J. Kposowa,
Stephanie D'Auria
Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the association of temporal factors, in particular days of the week and seasons of the year and death from suicide in the United States. Method: Data were pooled from the Multiple Cause of Death Files. Hierarchical logistic regression models were fitted to all deaths occurring in 2000 through 2004 by suicide. Results: The incidence of suicide was significantly higher on Wednesdays, compared to Sunday. Specifically, individuals were 99% more likely to kill themselves on Wednesday than on Sunday. Suicides were more prevalent in the summer months, and they were less likely to occur in winter. The state suicide rate significantly elevated individual suicide risk. The results held even after controlling for the potentially confounding effects of socio-economic and demographic variables at both the individual and state levels. Conclusion: It was concluded that the observed association between seasonality and suicide cannot be discounted as a mere coincidence. Future research ought to focus on integrating individual level data and contextual variables when testing for seasonality effects.
Context: Temporal factors,
Daily variations,
Multi-level models,
Seasonality,
Bridging psychology and biology. The analysis of individuals in groups (Journal Article)
Stephen M. Kosslyn,
John T. Cacioppo,
Kenneth Hugdahl,
William R. Lovallo,
David Spiegel,
Biological systems are particularly prone to variation, and the authors argue that such variation must be regarded as important data in its own right. The authors describe a method in which individual differences are studied within the framework of a general theory of the population as a whole and illustrate how this method can be used to address three types of issues: the nature of the mechanisms that give rise to a specific ability, such as mental imagery; the role of psychological or biological mediators of environmental challenges, such as the biological bases for differences in dispositional mood; and the existence of processes that have nonadditive effects with behavioral and physiological variables, such as factors that modulate the response to stress and its effects on the immune response.
Immunity,
Children's context inappropriate anger and salivary cortisol (Journal Article)
Ned H. Kalin,
H. Hill Goldsmith
Some children show emotion that is not consistent with normative appraisal of the context and can therefore be defined as context inappropriate (CI). The authors used individual growth curve modeling and hierarchical multiple regression analyses to examine whether CI anger predicts differences in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, as manifest in salivary cortisol measures. About 23% of the 360 children (ages 6-10 years, primarily 7-8) showed at least 1 expression of CI anger in situations designed to elicit positive affect. Expression of anger across 2 positive assessments was less common (around 4%). CI anger predicted the hypothesized lower levels of cortisol beyond that attributed to context appropriate anger. Boys' CI anger predicted lower morning cortisol and flatter slopes. Results suggest that this novel approach to studying children's emotion across varying contexts can provide insight into affective style.
Anger,
Antisocial Personality Disorder,
Child Behavior,
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay,
Logistic Models,
Models, Statistical,
Personality Assessment,
Twin Studies as Topic
Comparison of fMRI motion correction software tools (Journal Article)
T. Johnstone,
K. S. Ores Walsh,
L. L. Greischar,
A. L. Alexander,
A. S. Fox,
Motion correction of fMRI data is a widely used step prior to data analysis. In this study, a comparison of the motion correction tools provided by several leading fMRI analysis software packages was performed, including AFNI, AIR, BrainVoyager, FSL, and SPM2. Comparisons were performed using data from typical human studies as well as phantom data. The identical reconstruction, preprocessing, and analysis steps were used on every data set, except that motion correction was performed using various configurations from each software package. Each package was studied using default parameters, as well as parameters optimized for speed and accuracy. Forty subjects performed a Go/No-go task (an event-related design that investigates inhibitory motor response) and an N-back task (a block-design paradigm investigating working memory). The human data were analyzed by extracting a set of general linear model (GLM)-derived activation results and comparing the effect of motion correction on thresholded activation cluster size and maximum t value. In addition, a series of simulated phantom data sets were created with known activation locations, magnitudes, and realistic motion. Results from the phantom data indicate that AFNI and SPM2 yield the most accurate motion estimation parameters, while AFNI's interpolation algorithm introduces the least smoothing. AFNI is also the fastest of the packages tested. However, these advantages did not produce noticeably better activation results in motion-corrected data from typical human fMRI experiments. Although differences in performance between packages were apparent in the human data, no single software package produced dramatically better results than the others. The "accurate" parameters showed virtually no improvement in cluster t values compared to the standard parameters. While the "fast" parameters did not result in a substantial increase in speed, they did not degrade the cluster results very much either. The phantom and human data indicate that motion correction can be a valuable step in the data processing chain, yielding improvements of up to 20% in the magnitude and up to 100% in the cluster size of detected activations, but the choice of software package does not substantially affect this improvement.
Algorithms,
Computer Simulation,
Memory, Short-Term,
Compassion: an evolutionary analysis and empirical review (Journal Article)
Jennifer L. Goetz,
Dacher Keltner,
Emiliana Simon-Thomas
What is compassion? And how did it evolve? In this review, we integrate 3 evolutionary arguments that converge on the hypothesis that compassion evolved as a distinct affective experience whose primary function is to facilitate cooperation and protection of the weak and those who suffer. Our empirical review reveals compassion to have distinct appraisal processes attuned to undeserved suffering; distinct signaling behavior related to caregiving patterns of touch, posture, and vocalization; and a phenomenological experience and physiological response that orients the individual to social approach. This response profile of compassion differs from those of distress, sadness, and love, suggesting that compassion is indeed a distinct emotion. We conclude by considering how compassion shapes moral judgment and action, how it varies across different cultures, and how it may engage specific patterns of neural activation, as well as emerging directions of research.
Biological Evolution,
Cooperative Behavior,
Keltner lab,
Nonverbal Communication,
Social support,
Socialization,
Conscientiousness predicts greater recovery from negative emotion (Journal Article)
Gayle Dienberg Love,
Carol D. Ryff,
Greater levels of conscientiousness have been associated with lower levels of negative affect. We focus on one mechanism through which conscientiousness may decrease negative affect: effective emotion regulation, as reflected by greater recovery from negative stimuli. In 273 adults who were 35-85 years old, we collected self-report measures of personality including conscientiousness and its self-control facet, followed on average 2 years later by psychophysiological measures of emotional reactivity and recovery. Among middle-aged adults (35-65 years old), the measures of conscientiousness and self-control predicted greater recovery from, but not reactivity to, negative emotional stimuli. The effect of conscientiousness and self-control on recovery was not driven by other personality variables or by greater task adherence on the part of high conscientiousness individuals. In addition, the effect was specific to negative emotional stimuli and did not hold for neutral or positive emotional stimuli.
Internal-External Control,
Personality,
Personality Inventory
Continuity of the conceptual system across species (Journal Article)
In a recent neuroimaging study of macaque monkeys, Gil-da-Costa and colleagues reported that a distributed circuit of modality-specific properties represents macaques' conceptual knowledge of social situations. The circuit identified shows striking similarities to analogous circuits in humans that represent conceptual knowledge. This parallel suggests that a common architecture underlies the conceptual systems of different species, although with additional systems extending human conceptual abilities significantly.
Concept Formation,
Diagnostic Imaging,
Species Specificity
CRHR1 genotypes, neural circuits and the diathesis for anxiety and depression (Journal Article)
J. Rogers,
N. H. Kalin
The corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) system integrates the stress response and is associated with stress-related psychopathology. Previous reports have identified interactions between childhood trauma and sequence variation in the CRH receptor 1 gene (CRHR1) that increase risk for affective disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms that connect variation in CRHR1 to psychopathology are unknown. To explore potential mechanisms, we used a validated rhesus macaque model to investigate association between genetic variation in CRHR1, anxious temperament (AT) and brain metabolic activity. In young rhesus monkeys, AT is analogous to the childhood risk phenotype that predicts the development of human anxiety and depressive disorders. Regional brain metabolism was assessed with (18)F-labeled fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography in 236 young, normally reared macaques that were also characterized for AT. We show that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affecting exon 6 of CRHR1 influence both AT and metabolic activity in the anterior hippocampus and amygdala, components of the neural circuit underlying AT. We also find evidence for association between SNPs in CRHR1 and metabolism in the intraparietal sulcus and precuneus. These translational data suggest that genetic variation in CRHR1 affects the risk for affective disorders by influencing the function of the neural circuit underlying AT and that differences in gene expression or the protein sequence involving exon 6 may be important. These results suggest that variation in CRHR1 may influence brain function before any childhood adversity and may be a diathesis for the interaction between CRHR1 genotypes and childhood trauma reported to affect human psychopathology.
Disease Models, Animal,
Genetic Association Studies,
Genotype,
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide,
Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
Darwin and the neural bases of emotion and affective style (Journal Article)
This article presents an overview of ways to think about the brain and emotion and consider the role of evolution and expression in shaping the neural circuitry of affective processing. Issues pertaining to whether there are separate unique neural modules hard-wired for emotion processing or whether affective processing uses more generalized circuitry are considered. Relations between affect and cognition--specifically, memory--are examined from the perspective of overlapping neural systems. The role of individual differences in neural function in affective style are discussed, and the concepts of affective chronometry, or the time course of emotional responding and emotion regulation, are introduced. Finally, the extent to which certain emotional traits can be viewed as trainable skills is considered, and the relevance of work on neural plasticity to the skill framework is addressed. Data from a variety of sources using different types of measures is brought to bear on these questions, including neuroimaging and psychophysiological measures, studies of individuals of different ages ranging from early childhood to old age, studies of nonhuman primates, and observations of patients with localized brain damage. Emotions are viewed as varying in both type and dimension. Honoring brain circuitry in parsing the domain of affects will result in distinctions and differentiations that are not currently incorporated in traditional classification schemes.
Neurons,
Receptors, Serotonin
Dynamic Causal Modeling applied to fMRI data shows high reliability (Journal Article)
John M. Ollinger,
Sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility are vital to interpret neuroscientific results from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments. Here we examine the scan-rescan reliability of the percent signal change (PSC) and parameters estimated using Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) in scans taken in the same scan session, less than 5 min apart. We find fair to good reliability of PSC in regions that are involved with the task, and fair to excellent reliability with DCM. Also, the DCM analysis uncovers group differences that were not present in the analysis of PSC, which implies that DCM may be more sensitive to the nuances of signal changes in fMRI data.
Acoustic Stimulation,
Reproducibility of Results,
EEG alpha power and alpha power asymmetry in sleep and wakefulness (Journal Article)
W. H. Obermeyer,
B. Yun,
I. Dolski,
K. D. Kleist,
S. M. Weber,
Asymmetry of waking electroencephalography (EEG) alpha power in frontal regions has been correlated with waking emotional reactivity and the emotional content of dream reports. Little is known regarding alpha asymmetry during sleep. The present study was performed to compare alpha power and alpha power asymmetry in various brain regions across states of sleep and wakefulness. Waking and sleep EEG were recorded in a group of patients undergoing polysomnographic evaluation for possible sleep disorders. Alpha EEG asymmetry in frontal and temporal regions was significantly correlated in waking versus sleep, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. These results suggest that patterns of frontal alpha asymmetry are stable across sleep and waking and may be related to emotional reactivity during dreaming. During sleep, alpha power was highest during slow-wave sleep and lowest during REM sleep. Implications of these data for understanding the functional significance of alpha power during waking and sleeping are considered.
Polysomnography,
Sleep Disorders,
Sleep Stages,
Electromyogenic artifacts and electroencephalographic inferences (Journal Article)
Muscle or electromyogenic (EMG) artifact poses a serious risk to inferential validity for any electroencephalography (EEG) investigation in the frequency-domain owing to its high amplitude, broad spectrum, and sensitivity to psychological processes of interest. Even weak EMG is detectable across the scalp in frequencies as low as the alpha band. Given these hazards, there is substantial interest in developing EMG correction tools. Unfortunately, most published techniques are subjected to only modest validation attempts, rendering their utility questionable. We review recent work by our laboratory quantitatively investigating the validity of two popular EMG correction techniques, one using the general linear model (GLM), the other using temporal independent component analysis (ICA). We show that intra-individual GLM-based methods represent a sensitive and specific tool for correcting on-going or induced, but not evoked (phase-locked) or source-localized, spectral changes. Preliminary work with ICA shows that it may not represent a panacea for EMG contamination, although further scrutiny is strongly warranted. We conclude by describing emerging methodological trends in this area that are likely to have substantial benefits for basic and applied EEG research.
Muscle, Skeletal,
Fear is fast in phobic individuals: amygdala activation in response to fear-relevant stimuli (Journal Article)
Greg J. Siegle,
Cory A. B. Jackson,
Michael J. Anderle,
BACKGROUND: Two core characteristics of pathologic fear are its rapid onset and resistance to cognitive regulation. We hypothesized that activation of the amygdala early in the presentation of fear-relevant visual stimuli would distinguish phobics from nonphobics. METHODS: Chronometry of amygdala activation to phobia-relevant pictures was assessed in 13 spider phobics and 14 nonphobics using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). RESULTS: Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses in the amygdala early in picture processing consistently differentiated between phobic and nonphobic subjects, as well as between phobogenic and nonphobogenic stimuli among phobics. Furthermore, amygdalar BOLD responses associated with timing but not magnitude of activation predicted affective responses to phobogenic stimuli. Computational modeling procedures were used to identify patterns of neural activation in the amygdala that could yield the observed BOLD data. These data suggest that phobic responses were characterized by strong but brief amygdala responses, whereas nonphobic responses were weaker and more sustained. CONCLUSIONS: Results are discussed in the context of the amygdala's role in rapid threat detection and the vigilance-avoidance hypothesis of anxiety. These data highlight the importance of examining the neural substrates of the immediate impact of phobogenic stimuli for understanding pathological fear.
Phobic Disorders,
Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: the transient hypofrontality hypothesis (Journal Article)
Arne Dietrich
It is the central hypothesis of this paper that the mental states commonly referred to as altered states of consciousness are principally due to transient prefrontal cortex deregulation. Supportive evidence from psychological and neuroscientific studies of dreaming, endurance running, meditation, daydreaming, hypnosis, and various drug-induced states is presented and integrated. It is proposed that transient hypofrontality is the unifying feature of all altered states and that the phenomenological uniqueness of each state is the result of the differential viability of various frontal circuits. Using an evolutionary approach, consciousness is conceptualized as hierarchically ordered cognitive function. Higher-order structures perform increasingly integrative functions and thus contribute more sophisticated content. Although this implies a holistic approach to consciousness, such a functional hierarchy localizes the most sophisticated layers of consciousness in the zenithal higher-order structure: the prefrontal cortex. The hallmark of altered states of consciousness is the subtle modification of behavioral and cognitive functions that are typically ascribed to the prefrontal cortex. The theoretical framework presented yields a number of testable hypotheses.
Consciousness disorder,
Hypnosis,
Model, psychological
General multivariate linear modeling of surface shapes using SurfStat (Journal Article)
Moo K. Chung,
Brendon M. Nacewicz,
Kim M. Dalton,
Although there are many imaging studies on traditional ROI-based amygdala volumetry, there are very few studies on modeling amygdala shape variations. This paper presents a unified computational and statistical framework for modeling amygdala shape variations in a clinical population. The weighted spherical harmonic representation is used to parameterize, smooth out, and normalize amygdala surfaces. The representation is subsequently used as an input for multivariate linear models accounting for nuisance covariates such as age and brain size difference using the SurfStat package that completely avoids the complexity of specifying design matrices. The methodology has been applied for quantifying abnormal local amygdala shape variations in 22 high functioning autistic subjects.
Diffusion,
An imaging roadmap for biology education: from nanoparticles to whole organisms (2008, Journal Article)
David L. Nelson
Imaging techniques provide ways of knowing structure and function in biology at different scales. The multidisciplinary nature and rapid advancement of imaging sciences requires imaging education to begin early in the biology curriculum. Guided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap initiatives, we incorporated a nanoimaging, molecular imaging, and medical imaging teaching unit into three 1-h class periods of an introductory course on ways of knowing biology. Activities were derived from NIH Roadmap initiatives in nanomedicine, regenerative medicine, and nuclear medicine. The course materials we describe contributed positively to student learning gains in quantifying and interpreting images, in characterizing imaging methods that provide ways of knowing biological structure and function, and in understanding scale in biology and imaging. The NIH Roadmap provides a useful context to educate students about the multidisciplinary imaging continuum.
Nanoparticles,
Nanotechnology,
National Institutes of Health (U.S.),
Investigating the impact of mindfulness meditation training on working memory: a mathematical modeling approach (Journal Article)
Amishi P. Jha
We investigated whether mindfulness training (MT) influences information processing in a working memory task with complex visual stimuli. Participants were tested before (T1) and after (T2) participation in an intensive one-month MT retreat, and their performance was compared with that of an age- and education-matched control group. Accuracy did not differ across groups at either time point. Response times were faster and significantly less variable in the MT versus the control group at T2. Since these results could be due to changes in mnemonic processes, speed-accuracy trade-off, or nondecisional factors (e.g., motor execution), we used a mathematical modeling approach to disentangle these factors. The EZ-diffusion model (Wagenmakers, van der Maas, & Grasman, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 14:(1), 3-22, 2007) suggested that MT leads to improved information quality and reduced response conservativeness, with no changes in nondecisional factors. The noisy exemplar model further suggested that the increase in information quality reflected a decrease in encoding noise and not an increase in forgetting. Thus, mathematical modeling may help clarify the mechanisms by which MT produces salutary effects on performance.
Decision making,
Jha lab,


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James McClean comes forward to reveal the way his name should be pronounced - think Die Hard, not McDonald's cleaning solutions. The people on Sky were right, sadly. But can a person be wrong about how their own surname is pronounced? I'm sure it sounds correct when said in a Derry accent.


text:
Las elecciones municipales de 2020 en Costa Rica se realizaron el día domingo 2 de febrero de ese año para elegir todos los cargos municipales del país; alcaldes, regidores de los Concejos Municipales, síndicos de distrito, concejales de distrito y los intendentes de ocho distritos autónomos especiales, junto a sus respectivos suplentes en todos los casos. Estas elecciones fueron las quintas elecciones municipales directas desde la reforma al Código Municipal de 1998 y las segundas en realizarse a medio período desde la reforma de 2009.

En el recién fundado cantón de Río Cuarto, el más joven del país, se realizó por primera vez la elección de alcalde e integrantes del Concejo Municipal.

El partido que obtuvo más alcaldías fue el Partido Liberación Nacional con cuarenta y dos perdiendo ocho incluyendo las cabeceras de provincia de Cartago y Limón. Seguido por el Partido Unidad Social Cristiana con quince (una más respecto a la anterior elección) y Acción Ciudadana con cuatro (cinco si se cuenta la coalición Gente de Montes de Oca de la cual forma parte) perdiendo por tanto dos. El Partido Republicano Social Cristiano, escisión del PUSC, preservó la alcaldía de Vázquez de Coronado y arrebató la alcaldía de Barva al Frente Amplio aumentado por tanto su número de alcaldes a dos. Alianza Demócrata Cristiana cosechó la alcaldía de Cartago en la figura de su líder y candidato presidencial el exdiputado Mario Redondo Poveda, mientras la formación liberal de la exdiputada Natalia Díaz Unidos Podemos obtuvo el alcalde de Oreamuno. El izquierdista Frente Amplio perdió su única alcaldía y no obtuvo nuevas, así como no cosecharon alcaldías los partidos evangélicos Restauración Nacional y Nueva República. El partido del excandidato Juan Diego Castro no logró inscribirse a tiempo para participar en estas elecciones.

Diez formaciones locales obtuvieron alcaldías, cifra inédita en la historia costarricense, incluyendo la reelección de los partidos Curridabat Siglo XXI y Auténtico Limonense a la cabeza de sus cantones respectivos. Además obtuvieron la alcaldía Somos Moravia, Unidad Comunal de Turrubares, Primero Palmares, Alianza por Sarchí, Movimiento Avance Santo Domingo, La Gran Nicoya, Auténtico Santacruceño, Nandayure Progresa y el provincial Recuperando Valores en Pococí. Destacó el crecimiento de los partidos cantonales en detrimento de las formaciones tradicionales, pues aunque obtuvieron la mayoría de alcaldes, PLN, PUSC y PAC redujeron su presencia en los concejos municipales, al igual que lo hizo el Republicano, el Frente Amplio y la mayoría de partidos nacionales.

El fracaso de los partidos evangélicos en obtener alcaldías fue destacado por la prensa, esto debido al protagonismo que tuvo el candidato evangélico Fabricio Alvarado en la pasada elección presidencial donde fue el candidato más votado en primera ronda y obtuvo 800.000 votos en segunda aunque perdiendo ante su rival. Alvarado fue candidato por Restauración Nacional pero desertó poco después de pasadas las elecciones creando su propia formación llamada Nueva República con ambos partidos junto al histórico Renovación Costarricense cosechando resultados testimoniales.

Reelecciones

66 alcaldes titulares intentarían obtener la reelección en estos comicios, de los cuales 24 serían del Partido Liberación Nacional. Entre ellos el actual alcalde de San José desde 1998 y excandidato presidencial Johnny Araya Monge. Arnoldo Barahona de Escazú quien fue elegido por el partido local Yunta Progresista Escazuceña lo intentaría por medio del Partido Nueva Generación. Se lograron reelegir 50.

Coaliciones y partidos
Los distintos partidos políticos se unieron en diferentes alianzas y coaliciones. El que inscribió la mayoría fue el oficialista Partido Acción Ciudadana con cuatro: en el cantón de San José con Coalición Chepe junto al partido VAMOS apoyarían la candidatura del independiente Federico Cartín y postularían las dos vicealcaldías, pero que sería disuelta por el TSE por la participación pasiva de VAMOS; en Aserrí junto al Partido Unidad Social Cristiana en la coalición Aserrí de Todos apoyando al candidato socialcristiano; en Montes de Oca donde ya actualmente tienen la alcaldía mantendría la coalición Gente de Montes de Oca junto al partido local Gente, el Humanista y VAMOS; y Alianza por Nicoya en Nicoya donde además participaría el partido local Partido de Nicoya.

Le sigue el Partido Unidad Social Cristiana con dos coaliciones; la ya mencionada con el PAC en Aserrí, y una con partido local Todo Por Flores en el cantón de Flores llamado Unidad por Flores. Aunque hubo negociaciones para coaliciones entre el PAC y el PRSC en Belén, el PRSC y Unidos Podemos en Heredia y el PAC en Cartago, estas finalmente no se concretaron.

El Frente Amplio al lado al partido local Alternativa SJO formaría la coalición Juntos para participar en San José y con el Independiente Belemita la coalición Unión Belemita en Belén.

Finalmente el Partido Liberación Nacional iría en alianza con Restauración Nacional aportando el alcalde y los otros la vicealcaldesa en San Carlos.

Nueva República el partido del excandidato Fabricio Alvarado anunció que no realizará coaliciones con ningún otro partido. Mientras que el Movimiento Libertario (otrora uno de los partidos mayores del país pero que se encuentra sufriendo una dura debacle) anunció que no participará en las elecciones municipales.

Candidaturas
En total Liberación Nacional postuló 82 candidatos, uno en cada cantón, seguido por Restauración Nacional con 79, Nueva República 74, Unidad Social Cristiana 71, Unidos Podemos 50, Acción Ciudadana (partido de gobierno) 44, Republicano Social Cristiano 43, Nueva Generación 35, Integración Nacional 32, Frente Amplio  31 y Alianza Demócrata Cristiana 16. El oficialismo perdió 11 candidaturas por problemas a la hora de la inscripción como falta de requisitos o asambleas cantonales.

Controversias

Acusaciones
El diputado frenteamplista José María Villalta denunció públicamente en plenario que 19 alcaldes habrían realizado un aumento ilegal de salario, si bien varios de los aludidos se defendieron emitiendo comunicados de prensa donde lo negaban. Trascendió además que 178 candidatos a alcaldes estaban morosos ante la Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, siendo la mayoría de estos del PUSC, Restauración Nacional y Unidos Podemos. Más de la mitad de los alcaldes que deseaban reelegirse tenían denuncias pendientes bajo investigación incluyendo en el caso del alcalde de Cartago una denuncia por violación. De los alcaldes con causas pendientes el "récord" lo tenía el alcalde de Limón Néstor Mattis con 28 causas sin que esto le impidiera reelegirse.

Denuncias por abuso sexual
Destacó también el candidato a alcalde de Abangares y ex regidor Gerardo Cascante Suárez por el partido cantonal Único Abangareño y líder evangélico del Ministerio Ecuménico de Reconciliación quien tenía ya una condena por abuso sexual contra un menor. También trascendió un candidato a vicealcalde por Nicoya del Partido Integración Nacional quien sostenía una relación afectiva con una adolescente de 16 años (algo prohibido por la ley costarricense cuya edad de consentimiento es 18 años) lo que llevó a la diputada Zoila Rosa Volio Pacheco a renunciar al partido y declararse independiente ante la negativa de las autoridades del mismo de condenar el hecho.

Reelección y salarios

Otros temas controvertidos fueron los salarios de los alcaldes ya que son proporcionales al presupuesto de la Municipalidad que gobiernan y deben ser mayores al salario más alto de la planilla, algunos alcaldes ganan más que el Presidente de la República. Otro tema que fue polémico es la reelección, que en las autoridades municipales es consecutiva e ilimitada lo que permite que algunos alcaldes hayan estado por décadas en el cargo (caso de Johnny Araya en San José por ejemplo, alcalde desde 1990). Dos proyectos de ley en sede legislativa se discuten para terminar con estos aspectos.

Encuestas

Según la encuesta de CID Gallup publicada en enero de 2020, 60% de los costarricenses no tienen partido político, de los que tienen 37% votan por el PLN, 7% por el PUSC, 6% por el PAC, 4% por Restauración Nacional, 1% por el Frente Amplio y 1% por Nueva República el partido del excandidato presidencial Fabricio Alvardo.

Partidos habilitados
(En orden alfabético)

Nacionales

Provinciales

Cantonales

 Acción Cantonal Siquirres Independiente (Siquirres, Limón)
 Acción Naranjeña (Naranjo, Alajuela)
 Acción Quepeña (Aguirre, Puntarenas)
 Acuerdo Cantonal Desamparadeño (Desamparados, San José)
 Acuerdo de Alianza de Quepos (Quepos, Puntarenas)
 Alianza Cristiana Santaneña (Santa Ana, San José)
 Alianza por Palmares (Palmares, Alajuela)
 Alianza por Sarchí (Sarchí , Alajuela)
 Alianza por San José (San José, San José)
 Alianza Sancarleña (San Carlos, Alajuela)
 Alianza Social por La Unión (La Unión, Cartago)
 Alternativa SJO (San José, San José)
 Anticorrupción Costarricense (San José, San José)
 Auténtico Labrador de Coronado (Vázquez de Coronado, San José)
 Auténtico Limonense (Limón, Limón)
 Auténtico Nicoyano (Nicoya, Guanacaste)
 Auténtico Santacruceño (Santa Cruz, Guanacaste)
 Auténtico Siquirreño (Siquirres, Limón)
 Autónomo Oromontano (Montes de Oro, Puntarenas)
 Avance Isidreño (San Isidro, Heredia)
 Avance Montes de Oca (Montes de Oca, San José)
 Avante Pococí, (Pococí, Limón)
 Barva Unida (Barva, Heredia)
 Cantonal de Carrillo (Carrillo, Guanacaste)
 Ciudadanía Goicoechea (Goicoechea, San José)
 Ciudadanos Libres (Goicoechea, San José)
 Civíco de Tibás Fuenteovejuna (Tibás, San José)
 Comunal Pro-Curri (Curridabat, San José)
 Corredores en Acción (Corredores, Puntarenas)
 Curridabat Siglo XXI (Curridabat, San José)
 Del Sol (Santa Ana, San José)
 Demócrata (Vázquez de Coronado, San José)
 Demócrata Costarricense (San José, San José)
 Desarrollo Talamanqueño (Talamanca, Limón)
 Despertar Alajuelense (Alajuela, Alajuela)
 Desamparados Unido (Desamparados, San José)
 Ecológico Comunal Costarricense (Desamparados, San José)
 La Gran Nicoya (Nicoya, Guanacaste)
 El Puente y los Caminos de Mora (Mora, San José)
 Fuerza Democrática Desamparadeña (Desamparados, San José)
 Fuerza Sarchiseña (Sarchí, Alajuela)
 Fuerzas Unidas para el Cambio (Cantón de San José, San José)
 Garabito Ecológico (Garabito, Puntarenas)
 Gente de Montes de Oca (Montes de Oca, San José)
 Goicoechea en Acción (Goicoechea, San José)
 Guanacaste Primero (Nicoya, Guanacaste)

 Humanista de Montes de Oca (Montes de Oca, San José)
 Independiente Belemita (Belén, Heredia)
 Independiente Escazuceño (Escazú, San José)
 Innovación Cantonal (Cantón de San José, San José)
 Integración Barbareña (Santa Bárbara, Heredia)
 Justicia Generaleña (Pérez Zeledón, San José)
 Liga Ramonense (San Ramón, Alajuela)
 Limón Independiente (Cantón de Limón, Limón)
 Movimiento Avance Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo, Heredia)
 Nueva Mayoría Griega (Grecia, Alajuela)
 Nandayure Progresa (Nandayure, Guanacaste)
 Organización Social Activa (Osa, Puntarenas)
 Palmares Primero (Palmares, Alajuela)
 Parrita Independiente (Parrita, Puntarenas)
 Progreser (San Carlos, Alajuela)
 Progreso Comunal Desamparadeño (Desamparados, San José)
 Pueblo Garabito (Garabito, Puntarenas)
 Puriscal en Marcha (Puriscal, San José)
 Puriscaleños de Corazón (Puriscal, San José)
 Reciclarte (San Ramón, Alajuela)
 Renovación Cartago (Cartago, Cartago)
 Renovemos Alajuela (Alajuela, Alajuela)
 Rescate Cantonal de La Unión (La Unión, Cartago)
 Restauración Parriteña (Parrita, Puntarenas)
 Sentir Heredia (Heredia, Heredia)
 Soberano (San José, San José)
 Solidaridad (San José, San José)
 Somos Moravia (Moravia, San José)
 Somos Sarchí (Sarchí, Alajuela)
 Tarrazú Primero (Tarrazú, San José)
 Terra Escazú (Escazú, San José)
 Todo Por Flores (Flores, Heredia)
 Todos Por Goicoechea (Goicoechea, San José)
 Turrialba Primero (Turrialba, Cartago)
 Unidos Para el Desarrollo (Mora, San José)
 Unidos por Escazú (Escazú, San José)
 Único Abangareño (Abangares, Guanacaste)
 Unión Ateniense (Atenas, Alajuela)
 Unión Caribeña (Pococí, Limón)
 Unión Domingueña (Santo Domingo, Heredia)
 Unión de Puntarenenses Emprendedores (Puntarenas, Puntarenas)
 Unión Griega (Grecia, Alajuela)
 Unión Guarqueño (El Guarco, Cartago)
 Unión Palmareña (Palmares, Alajuela)
 Unión Poaseña (Poás, Alajuela)
 Yo Soy el Cambio (Pococí, Limón)
 Yunta Progresista Escazuceña (Escazú, San José)

Análisis
El escritor Daniel González Chaves destacó como los resultados revelan un decrecimiento de los tres partidos mayoritarios que han gobernado, pero sin que estos resultados hayan implicado un crecimiento en intención del voto de los partidos de oposición. Los partidos PLN, PUSC y PAC obtienen mayoría de alcaldías por un tema de estructura pero reducen su cantidad de votos y de autoridades electas respecto a procesos anteriores, sin embargo pocos partidos de escala nacional logran realmente remontar o consolidarse como alternativas, caso particularmente notorio en los partidos evangélicos que tuvieron protagonismo en la pasada elección y siendo los grandes vencedores los partidos cantonales los que se les suele ver como "neutros" o más "limpios" al no estar vinculados al gobierno central ni a la oposición legislativa.

Resultados

Alcaldes

Por partido

Por provincia

Concejos municipales

Galería

Notas

Referencias

2020
Costa Rica
Costa Rica en 2020

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


For over 15 years, David has seen every aspect of testing, as he worked his way up from SQA to QA Manager. David has successfully managed and delivered complex projects and large teams while aligning business units, stakeholders and customers in the delivery of multiple cross-functional and cross-divisional efforts spanning the entire project life cycles.
David loves sports, traveling and watching movies.
David is one of the tallest consultants at Ingage.


Gain strength and endurance through proper instruction on weight machines and hand weights.
Find balance, enhanced breathing, strength, vitality and more. This class is designed for seniors and taught by a certified instructor.
Known as the gentlest of the martial arts, T'ai Chi is an ancient practice that helps keep the body healthy and strong. Most anyone can do the flowing movements.
SilverSneakers encourages older adults to participate in physical activities that help them maintain greater control of their health. Drop by the senior center to see if you are eligible.
SilverSneakers® membership is free for select Medicare beneficiaries through their health insurance provider. Check with the senior center staff to see if you qualify. Classes are open to other seniors via a recreation center drop-in fee or punch pass card.
Free use of pool facilities, weight room, and participation in fitness classes and other educational programs.
Senior-friendly SilverSneakers fitness classes that are easy on your joints and help improve balance, muscle strength, and coordination - whatever your fitness level.
Senior Advisor: your contact for information and personalized, friendly service.
Opportunities to meet people and participate in fun promotions and social activities!
SilverSneakers SilverSplash® offers fun and shallow water moves to improve agility, flexibility and cardiovascular endurance. Swimming ability is not required, and a SilverSneakers kickboard is used to develop strength, balance and coordination.
Get stronger and improve your balance through exercises that strengthen the ankle, knee and hip joints, all in a fun setting. This class is designed specifically to prevent falls.
Have fun and move to the music through a variety of exercises designed to increase muscular strength, range of movement, and activity for daily living skills. Hand-held weights, elastic tubing with handles, and a ball are offered for resistance, and a chair is used for seated or standing support.
Combine fun with fitness to increase your cardiovascular and muscular endurance power with a standing circuit workout. Upper-body strength work with hand-held weights, elastic tubing, and a ball is alternated with non-impact aerobic choreography. A chair is offered for support, stretching and relaxation exercises.
Brought to you by SilverSneakers, BOOM™ is a three-class series that meets the needs of Baby Boomers and beyond. Three 30-minute classes can be done individually, or in pairs, to provide cross-training within a within a 60-minute block.


text:
Q: Bash Scripting, reading an indefinite number of integers and applying formulas I just started learning bash. I know there are advanced ways of solving this problem but I can't use any advanced methods. I recently finished a lecture on loops and I'm expected to know how to solve this. But after 3+ hours of reading I can't find a solution.
Here's the prompt:
Create a script that will take in x amount of numbers from a user (minimum 5 numbers) via the use of positional variables. Then do the following:

*

*Count how many numbers were inputted

*Add up all the numbers

*Multiply all the numbers

*Find the average of all the numbers

read -p "Enter at least 5 integers"

#Check to make sure integers entered are indeed integers (how?)
#Check to make sure at least 5 integers were entered (how?)

#for total number of integers entered, add into a sum
#for total number of integers entered, find total product
#find average of all integers entered

My main issues are with the checks. Also, how do I assign an indefinite number of values to variables? Thanks for any help. I've looked around but have found no beginner solution to this.

A: #!/bin/bash
declare -i sum=0
declare -i counter=0
declare -i product=1
if [[ $# -lt 5 ]]
then
    echo "Please enter atleast 5 positional parameters"
    exit 1
fi

for num in "$@"     #$@ means all positional parameters, $1, $2, $3 and so on
do
#checking if the entered positional parameters are digits using regular expression, [0-9]+ means match any digit 1 or more times
    if [[ "$num" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]
    then
        sum=$(($sum+$num))
        product=$(($product*$num))
        ((counter++))
    else
        echo "$num is not a number"
    fi
done
echo
echo "Result: "
echo "count of numbers: $counter"
echo "sum of numbers: $sum"
echo "average of numbers: "$(echo "scale=4;$sum/$counter" | bc)
echo "product of numbers: $product"

Output:
$ ./script.bash 1 2 3 4 5 abcd
abcd is not a number

Result:
count of numbers: 5
sum of numbers: 15
average of numbers: 3.0000
product of numbers: 120

$ ./script.bash 1 2 3
Please enter atleast 5 positional parameters

$ ./script.bash 56 78 235 67 466

Result:
count of numbers: 5
sum of numbers: 902
average of numbers: 180.4000
product of numbers: 32048758560

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Don't Cross Lynette Price: The Scorpio Play Opens at Dog Story Theater
Sizzling Summer Arts
Written by Allison Parker
Though traditional art seasons are wrapping up, the blazing heat has failed to dry up all opportunities for West Michigan artsy-fartsy fun. Summer theatres are drawing back their curtains, while year-round venues are lining up a diverse array of events and exhibitions sure to offer visitors more than just air conditioning.
One of West Michigan's most noteworthy summer theaters, Mason Street Warehouse, allows actors of various experience levels to collaborate together on original productions and older theatre gems.
"I wanted to bring really high quality professional theatre to the lakeshore, and I wanted to combine local artists with professionals from New York and Chicago and LA to have them come and experience what it's like to work with people who actually do this for a living," said Mason Street Warehouse Artistic Director Kurt Stamm. "Our seasons are relatively short, but they're also relatively unique."
This season, Mason Street's line-up includes the Bob Fosse inspired musical revue Steam Heat (June 27-July 13), the comedic-thriller Death Trap (July 25-Aug. 10) and the '60s extravaganza Beehive (Aug. 15-31).
Offering a similar mixture of light-hearted hilarity and spine-chilling suspense, Circle Theatre is an additional noteworthy summer theatre hot spot. The season includes the ridiculous farce Don't Dress for Dinner (June 25-21), the gangster comedy One Man, Two Guvnors (July 10-26) and the smash hit Monty Python's Spamalot (Aug. 7-23).
For a more family friendly Circle Theatre experience, round up your kiddies and head off see to A Sleeping Beauty Somewhere in Time (June 5-29). The timeless fairytale is part of Circle Theatre's Magic Circle tradition, an effort to involve youngsters in community theatre.
Other children's theatre offerings this summer include Disney's Camp Rock the Musical (July 25- Aug. 3) and The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe (July 25-Aug. 3) at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre. No, the excuse about missing the show because you're in Narnia won't work here.
If evil snow queens aren't your thing (don't listen, Elsa), Hope Summer Repertory Theatre offers additional promising family options like The Sound of Music (June 13-Aug. 7), Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (TBA) and The Doll People (TBA).
"We're pretty excited about everything we're doing over the summer," said Company Manager Reagan Chesnut. "Hope Summer Repertory has been around for 43 years, and it's a tradition in Holland. It's something that people look forward to when their kids are home from school. We have children's plays that go on during the day, which are very, very popular."
More adult-geared performances at HSRT this season include A Raisin in the Sun (June 18-July 1), Hot Mikado (July 11-Aug. 9) and The Matchmaker (July 18-Aug. 8). This diverse lineup is bolstered by an impressive company of more than 100 professionals and newcomers taking up summer residence in Holland.
Although not offering any plays this summer, Calvin College still leaves its mark on the theatre scene by continuing its River City Improv shows (June 21, July 19, Aug. 16). Audience interaction, split decisions and a selection of planned songs and skits provide fast-paced, witty entertainment for sluggish summer months.
Theatre is also on hiatus Grand Rapids Community College, but that won't stop the affiliated Actors' Theatre from bringing to life the musical Grey Gardens (June 5-14). The show explores the complex relationship between Jacqueline Kennedy's aunt and cousin as they fall from the status of elite aristocrats to crazy cat ladies.
Meanwhile, Farmers Alley Theatre celebrates both the traditional and experimental theatre scenes with the Broadway classic, Cabaret (June 6-29) and the more recent play [title of show] (July 18-Aug. 3). Quirky and offbeat, the latter is a musical about writing a musical about writing a musical. Heads up, all you meta-lovers and profound, artsy peeps.
Lovers of the highbrow may also enjoy two plays from one of the most famous and respected playwrights of all time, William Shakespeare. Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company, Michigan's only year-round touring theatre troupe devoted to the Bard, will perform Coriolanus (June-July) and Two Gentlemen of Verona (August-September). The latter will be PCSC's first workshop production and will provide an opportunity for theatre newcomers to gain training in Shakespearian text, voice and movement.
A further treat for the intellectuals in our midst is C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce (June 19-22) at Master Arts Theatre. An epic journey from hell to heaven, the play is laced with both quick humor and provocative insight.
In addition to theatre, visual gallery art is also flourishing this summer.
Grand Rapids Art Museum tips its hat to Michigan's contributions to design with Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America. Running from now until Aug. 24, the exhibit pays special tribute to the ways in which Michigan automobile and furniture manufactures changed the look of the American garage and home.
Also from now until Aug. 17, the GRAM also features Tim Powers: Below the Surface as part of its Michigan Artist Series. The exhibit consists of a giant installation that showcases more than 400 pillow forms, as well as other experimental sculptures.
Over at Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, a special Louis Comfort Tiffany attraction is generating buzz through three linked exhibits (now through Aug. 24). Tiffany Jewels displays exotic, Middle-Eastern infused jewelry, while Tiffany Glass: Painting with Color and Light showcases three glass windows, 16 lamps and 75 pieces of flat glass. The final exhibit, Louis Comfort Tiffany's Quest of Beauty, is a collection of various Tiffany art forms that show off the scope and versatility of Tiffany's artistic talent.
The KIA will also hold its annual West Michigan Area Show (now through Aug. 16) featuring more than 500 works in all media from local artists.
Meanwhile, at Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Con Artist Crew Present: COMMIX (June 6-Aug. 17) will plunge visitors into two floors of immersive street art. Vibrant colors and funky nature motifs celebrate and explore themes of collaboration, entrepreneurship and regional identity.
At Muskegon Museum of Art, Interference Pool: Annica Cuppetelli and Cristobal Mendoza (now through Aug. 3) integrates digital images, light, shape and visitor interaction. Islands of stretched fiber will run the length of the gallery, while overhead lights and projections will create pools and shapes. As viewers walk though the exhibition, computers capture their movement so that their motion will create new patterns and shadows.
Summer at Muskegon Museum of Art also means the arrival of the museum's juried 86th Regional Exhibition (now through Aug. 20), one of the first regional art shows in Michigan. Hundreds of art pieces from both professionals and amateurs will vie for purchase awards and cash prizes.
On a more sobering note, Holland Museum's Art and Propaganda in Nazi-Occupied Holland (now through Oct. 4) provides a grim look at Hollanders' history. Images of Nazi propaganda, concentration camp horror and wartime devastation will remind visitors of our dark past.
For a more cheerful exhibit, children and man-children alike can check out Grand Rapids Public Museum's Dream It, Build It (now through Aug. 31). Burj Khalifa, the Gateway Arch, the Empire State Building and the Van Andel Museum Center itself are just a few of the gigantic Lego models in this brick lovers' paradise. Don't worry about keeping your hands off, kiddos and AFOLs! There are designated areas throughout the exhibit for visitors to build their own masterpieces.
More in this category: « Madama Butterfly Soars Mason Street Warehouse Cranks up the Heat »


In her new film Kidnap, Halle Berry finds herself in the midst of every parent's worst nightmare, and must go to extremes to save her kidnapped son.
Director Luis Prieto is playing his cards close to his chest with this one, releasing no other information except for the basic plot, but his approach to filming Kidnap's action scenes, and the menace and fear that he plagues Berry's character with, makes for one scary watch.
Kidnap will be released on December 2.


Do Imeretians love Imeretian Khachapuri the most?
The FINANCIAL -- Driven by the sharp seasonal increase in price of Imeretian cheese, the average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian Khachapuri in December 2016 stood at 3.62 GEL.
The Index reached its lowest value (3.51 GEL) in Batumi; the maximum was observed in Kutaisi and Tbilisi (3.75 GEL and 3.63 GEL, respectively). The average price of 3.62 GEL is 4.2% higher compared to the previous month (November 2016), and 4.0% lower compared to December of last year.
As often discussed, the seasonal increase of the Khachapuri Index in the winter season is mainly driven by a sharp decline in the supply of fresh milk, which directly affects the prices of cheese and other dairy products. However, according to the last three years' Khachapuri data, we observe that in December, the price of cheese is higher in Kutaisi than anywhere else in Georgia. Year after year, we see the price of cheese in Kutaisi exceeding the national average in December.
A possible explanation would be that during holiday seasons, Imeratians might consume much more Imeretian cheese than other regions of Georgia. Kutaisi is in the heart of a traditional Imeretian cheese-producing region, and other regions have their own cheese varieties. Every region in Georgia has its own New Year supra traditions and not all of them necessary include Imeretian Khachapuri, while it is one of the main dishes for Imeretian supras. So, in the New Year period, increased demand pushes up cheese prices and makes it the most expansive compared to other cities.
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text:
Home / Section: Obituary
Kathleen Andrews – RIP
Posted by D. D. Degg
Universal Press Syndicate co-founder Kathleen Andrews has passed away.
Kathleen Whalen (Kathy) Andrews
Kathy was there in the beginning:
In 1970, Andrews McMeel Universal was founded as Universal Press Syndicate by Jim Andrews and John McMeel.
With an impressive company name and energetic young owners, Universal Press Syndicate began in a rented house in Leawood, Kansas—where Kathleen Andrews, as the financial officer, pored over spreadsheets on the couple's dining-room table while, upstairs, Jim Andrews, was the editorial department—and in a one-room office on Fifth Avenue in New York City where John and Susan McMeel were the syndicate's sales and marketing division.
© Ziggy and Friends
From the Ziggy Wikipedia entry:
Ziggy eventually appeared in an American Greetings gift book, When You're Not Around (1968) which caught the eye of Kathleen Andrews, a founder of the fledgling startup Universal Press Syndicate, which badly needed a popular comic to keep it afloat. A deal was struck, a name was given and Ziggy was born. The strip began in 15 newspapers in June 1971, and that number eventually grew to over 600 publications.
Garry Trudeau talks about Kathy:
"Kathy was the indispensable Mom in the Mom-and-Pop basement operation that drew young creators to Leawood, Kansas," said Garry Trudeau, creator of Doonesbury. "Success seemed unlikely, so it took someone with a sharp, critical financial eye to make it probable. Kathy's mastery of spreadsheets kept the lights on; her warmth and graciousness kept her visitors charmed and reassured — then and for years to come. All of us will miss her greatly."
1971 ad from Editor & Publisher
From Andrews McMeel Universal tribute:
After the company's first few years, she paused her full-time involvement to care for her two young sons, Hugh and Jim, although she remained closely tied to its operations.
That ongoing tie to UPS operations would be famously shown with Cathy:
"My career as a cartoonist began at Kathy Andrews' kitchen table the night her husband, Jim, brought my submission home and asked her if she thought it was sellable," said Cathy Guisewite, creator of the comic strip Cathy. "The blessing she gave my work that night launched my comic strip. Her great, generous heart helped hold me together in the beginning years. Her devotion to her own family and to the corporate family she helped wrap around all of us lucky enough to be with Universal Press Syndicate (now AMU) helped sustain me for all the years that followed. She was a rock of security, a trusted sounding board, and a dear friend. I will be always be grateful to Kathy for being such a great role model of strength, integrity and humor, and for the wonderful life my family and I had because of her belief in me."
first Cathy comic strip from 1976 © Cathy Guisewite
Kathleen would soon return to the executive offices of the company becoming Vice Chairman of Andrews McMeel Universal and CEO of Andrews McMeel Publishing.
After Jim's untimely death at the age of 44 in 1980, Kathleen returned to the company she helped create. With characteristic strength, determination, and an enduring and droll sense of humor, she worked diligently with McMeel to grow the company into the largest independent newspaper syndicate in the world and a renowned publishing powerhouse, Andrews McMeel Publishing (AMP), serving as chief executive officer of AMP. Although she retired in 2006, her presence remains in AMU's culture and heritage.
Andrews McMeel Universal Remembers.