text:
\section*{Introduction}

The X-ray binary system LMC X-4 is located in the Large
Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the nearest galaxy
to us (the distance to it is $\sim50$ kpc), and was discovered
in X rays by the UHURU space observatory (Giacconi
et al. 1972). Subsequently, a 14th magnitude
optical OB star located in the source's X-ray error
circle was proposed as the normal companion to the
relativistic object (Sanduleak and Philip 1977). Optical
photometric and spectroscopic studies of this star
(Chevalier and Ilovaisky 1977; Hutchings et al. 1978)
conclusively proved that the system is a binary, and
the orbital period $P_{orb}\simeq1.408$ days was determined
from the modulation of its optical emission. This
result was also confirmed in X-rays
based on the observation of eclipses (Li et al. 1978;
White 1978), suggesting a high binary inclination.
Observations show that many X-ray sources exhibit
a long term-variability in their emission on time
scales from several tens of days to several years.
However, LMC X-4 is one of the few sources whose
long-term variability has a distinct periodicity. The
X-ray pulsars Her X-1 and SMC X-1 and the microquasar
SS 433 are other objects exhibiting a similar
behavior. Variations in the flux registered from
LMC X-4 with a period $P_{sup}\simeq30.5$ days (the variability
was named ``superorbital'' in the literature;
below in the text, we will adhere to the name ``precessional''
or 30-day modulation) were first detected in
the data from the instruments of the HEAO1 observatory
(Lang et al. 1981). Several models, with accretion
disk precession and radiation-induced accretion
disk warping (see, e.g., Kotze and Charles 2012,
for a brief review) being the main ones, have been
proposed as an explanation of the 30-day modulation.
Apart from the long-term periodic variations in the X-ray
emission from the binary, aperiodic intense series
of short flares (each with a duration of several tens of
seconds) lasting for about an hour and with an occurrence
frequency of about once in several days are
also observed (see, e.g., Epstein et al. 1977; Levine
et al. 2000; Moon and Eikenberry 2001). During
one of such series of flaring activity a coherent
pulsating emission with a period $P_{spin}\simeq13.5$ s was
detected from the source for the first time (Kelley
et al. 1983). Subsequently, pulsations with this period
arising from the spin of the compact object were also
detected during the ``quiescent'' state; as a result,
LMC X-4 was classified as an X-ray pulsar.

Based on GINGA data, Levine et al. (1991)
showed that the orbital period in LMCX-4 decreases.
Subsequent observations with other instruments and
observatories confirmed this conclusion and allowed
the rate of such a change to be determined
(Safi-Harb et al. 1996; Woo et al. 1996; Levine et al. 2000;
Falanga et al. 2015).

In this paper, we analyzed all the available observational
data for LMC X-4 from the BATSE, RXTE,
MAXI, SWIFT, INTEGRAL, and XMM-Newton
space observatories and instruments and obtained in
total a quasi-continuous time series with a duration
of around 25 years (1991--2015). Using these
data and historical data from the above papers, we
determined the evolution parameters of the orbital
period and refined the rate of its change. In addition,
such a large set of observational data allowed us to
study in detail the precessional variability.

\begin{table*}[t]
\centering
{{\bf Table 1} Times of superorbital maxima for LMC X-4 from the BAT/SWIFT data}\label{eclipses}
\vspace{5mm}\begin{tabular}{c|c|c|c} \hline\hline
{Time of maximum} & {Time of maximum} & {Time of maximum} & {Time of maximum}\\
{(MJD)}    & {(MJD)}    & {(MJD)}    & {(MJD)}  \\
\hline
$53442.083(262)$ & $54379.497(221)$ & $55322.751(278)$ & $56264.192(212)$ \\
$53472.105(132)$ & $54413.221(041)$ & $55351.775(278)$ & $56295.253(149)$ \\
$53502.218(279)$ & $54444.073(163)$ & $55382.556(267)$ & $56325.917(172)$ \\
$53536.030(279)$ & $54474.505(197)$ & $55412.570(267)$ & $56356.301(251)$ \\
$53562.919(279)$ & $54505.674(200)$ & $55444.178(267)$ & $56387.028(201)$ \\
$53593.763(175)$ & $54535.892(181)$ & $55474.534(190)$ & $56417.406(201)$ \\
$53624.001(134)$ & $54565.828(251)$ & $55505.001(159)$ & $56448.498(239)$ \\
$53653.959(207)$ & $54596.526(134)$ & $55534.980(239)$ & $56478.777(333)$ \\
$53684.864(333)$ & $54625.600(263)$ & $55566.299(239)$ & $56509.446(247)$ \\
$53714.052(223)$ & $54656.823(198)$ & $55596.410(270)$ & $56539.627(247)$ \\
$53744.880(223)$ & $54687.489(333)$ & $55626.959(199)$ & $56570.707(223)$ \\
$53776.377(223)$ & $54718.591(152)$ & $55659.240(199)$ & $56600.626(167)$ \\
$53806.366(223)$ & $54749.088(168)$ & $55688.834(239)$ & $56631.122(199)$ \\
$53835.519(168)$ & $54778.980(131)$ & $55718.794(239)$ & $56662.332(243)$ \\
$53866.359(180)$ & $54809.656(261)$ & $55750.048(239)$ & $56691.965(243)$ \\
$53896.825(253)$ & $54839.357(221)$ & $55780.720(233)$ & $56722.428(197)$ \\
$53927.010(269)$ & $54869.611(137)$ & $55810.834(262)$ & $56753.351(256)$ \\
$53957.470(118)$ & $54899.375(189)$ & $55841.061(248)$ & $56783.600(198)$ \\
$53988.321(097)$ & $54930.155(175)$ & $55872.187(204)$ & $56814.124(198)$ \\
$54019.099(098)$ & $54960.006(172)$ & $55902.129(183)$ & $56844.112(333)$ \\
$54049.203(137)$ & $54989.646(207)$ & $55932.555(207)$ & $56873.079(214)$ \\
$54079.558(147)$ & $55020.347(333)$ & $55962.561(186)$ & $56905.167(214)$ \\
$54109.563(192)$ & $55051.161(232)$ & $55993.282(244)$ & $56934.614(245)$ \\
$54140.746(248)$ & $55080.931(277)$ & $56023.652(255)$ & $56965.146(203)$ \\
$54170.838(180)$ & $55110.628(128)$ & $56053.418(247)$ & $56994.703(244)$ \\
$54202.570(238)$ & $55141.687(136)$ & $56082.717(247)$ & $57025.923(249)$ \\
$54231.799(219)$ & $55171.818(223)$ & $56113.865(229)$ & $57056.006(258)$ \\
$54262.646(219)$ & $55201.876(166)$ & $56143.784(232)$ & $57086.687(278)$ \\
$54291.012(219)$ & $55232.672(259)$ & $56173.306(221)$ & $57116.417(218)$ \\
$54319.538(181)$ & $55261.729(208)$ & $56203.936(178)$ & $57146.931(218)$ \\
$54352.065(135)$ & $55292.334(208)$ & $56233.660(233)$ & $$ \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{table*}

\section*{Observations and data analysis}

To investigate the 30-day modulation of the flux
from LMC X-4, we used all the available data
from wide-field X-ray space telescopes performing a
quasi-continuous monitoring (the source is almost
always observed every day) of the entire celestial
sphere.

To find the precessional variability parameters, we
used the data from the BAT (Burst Alert Telescope,
Krimm et al. 2013) telescope of the SWIFT observatory
(Gehrels et al. 2004) that were obtained in
the 15-50 keV energy band and are publicly available
(http:// swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/results/transients/LMCX-4/).
The light curves used have a time resolution of
$\sim90$ min and span the time interval from February 2005
to May 2015. The telescope is sensitive enough
to be able to determine the position of each
maximum of the 30-day flux modulation ``wave'' on
the time scale of all 10 years. For this purpose, we
fitted the light curve near the maxima by Gaussians
$C(t)=N~e^{-\frac{(t-T_{\psi_0}^i)^2}{2\sigma^2}}$,
restricted by the time interval
[$T_{\psi_0}^i-10$,$T_{\psi_0}^i+10$] days, where $T_{\psi_0}^i$
is the position of the i-th maximum. Thus, we found the time vector
$\overrightarrow{T_{\Psi_0}}=[T_{\Psi_0}^1, T_{\Psi_0}^2,...,T_{\Psi_0}^{123}]$
of the maxima of the 30-day cycle with the corresponding confidence intervals
($\simeq0.2$ day is a typical value, see Table 1). Figure 1
shows that the light curve is adequately fitted by these
Gaussians near the maxima in an arbitrarily taken
time interval.

To check whether the solution for the precessional
modulation obtained in the 15-50 keV X-ray band
was applicable to the measurements in the soft X-ray
band (2-20 keV), we used data from the Japanese
MAXI all-sky monitor (Matsuoka et al. 2009) installed
on the Japanese experimental module of the
International Space Station. The monitor has been
observing LMC X-4 since August 2009 and, thus,
allows an independent time series of data completely
overlapping in time with the BAT/Swift data to be
obtained. The MAXI data are publicly available at
http://maxi.riken.jp/top/.

We also retrospectively applied our 30-day modulation
model to the monitoring data for LMC X-4
in the 20-70 keV X-ray energy band obtained from
June 1991 to June 2000 with the BATSE/Compton-GRO telescope
(Gehrels et al. 1993) and to the data
in the 2-12 keV energy band obtained from January
1996 to December 2011 with the All-SkyMonitor
(ASM) (Levine et al. 1996) onboard the
RXTE observatory (Bradt et al. 1993).

To find the X-ray eclipses associated with the orbital
motion, we used all of the available open data
from the IBIS telescope (Ubertini et al. 2003) of
the INTEGRAL gamma-ray observatory (Winkler
et al. 2003), the Proportional Counter Array (PCA)
(Jahoda et al. 2006) of the RXTE observatory, and
the EPIC camera (Struder et al. 2001) of the XMM-Newton
orbital observatory.

We analyzed the IBIS/INTEGRAL data based
on the balanced cross-correlation algorithm (for a
description, see Krivonos et al. 2010; Churazov
et al. 2014).

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.95\columnwidth,bb=60 180 560 675,clip]{fig01__fit_quality_bat_12012015.ps}
\end{center}
\caption{An example of fitting the light curve of the X-ray pulsar LMC X-4 by
a sequence of Gaussians near the maxima of the 30-day cycle (solid line).
The light curve was constructed in the 15-50 keV energy band from the BAT/SWIFT data.}
\label{fig1}
\end{figure}

\section*{Results}

As has been pointed out above, in this paper we
consider questions related to the long-term variability
of the X-ray flux from LMC X-4. Therefore, the
results obtained were divided into two parts, those
associated with the precessional and orbital motions.

\subsection*{Precessional Variability}

The long-term variability in some X-ray binaries
has also been investigated previously (see, e.g.,
Clarkson et al. 2003; Kotze and Charles 2012; and
references therein). It was established that among all
of the sources exhibiting such variability, LMC X-4
has the most stable precession period. However,
all of these results were obtained under conditions
of limited statistics: despite the fact that the
source's luminosity is very high
($\sim 10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$), it
is at a distance of 50 kpc away from us, and its
flux near the Earth does not exceed a few
mCrab in soft X-rays. Therefore, it was not possible
to determine the time of each maximum of the 30-day
cycle, and the epoch-folding technique, where
several cycles are averaged to improve the statistics,
which reduces considerably the number of degrees of
freedom (independent measurements), was applied to
determine the precessional ephemerides. In addition,
the data in the soft 2-12 keV X-ray band were used in
the above papers, while the maximum of the emission
detected from LMC X-4 occurs at an energy $>20$ keV
(Tsygankov and Lutovinov 2005).

As has been pointed out above, the BAT/Swift
telescope is sensitive enough to trace the evolution of
the flux from the source, and we found the time vector
of the maxima of the 30-day cycle. Next, to analytically
approximate the precession cycle, we assumed
it to have a periodic pattern. Denoting the phase at
which the maximum on the light curve is reached by
$\Psi_0=0$ (phase ``0''), we can then determine the phase
at some arbitrary time t from the formula

$$ \Psi(t)=\left\{\frac{(t-T_0)}{P_{sup}}-\frac{(t-T_0)^2~\dot{P_{sup}}}{2~P_{sup}^2}\right\}\hspace{1cm}(1)$$

where the time  $T_0$ corresponds to the phase $\Psi_0=0$, $P_{sup}$
is the precession period at the time $T_0$; $\dot{P_{sup}}$ is
the first derivative of the period at the time $T_0$ (in
the above expression we will restrict ourselves only to it),
and the braces denote the operation of taking the
fractional part (the integer part is the ``epoch'' at time
``t''). These three parameters are the ephemerides of
the precessional modulation. We can find their best
values by applying the $\chi^2$ test and minimizing the
functional
$\sum_{i=1}^{i=123}\frac{\Psi(T_{\Psi_0}^i)^2}{\delta\Psi(T_{\Psi_0}^i)^2}$.
We obtained the best $\chi^2$ value for the following set of parameters:
$T_0=53441.50\pm0.03$ MJD, $P_{sup}=30.370\pm0.001$ days,
$\dot{P_{sup}}=(0\pm1)\times10^{-5}$. Nevertheless, the $\chi^2$ value
is considerably larger than unity, which may suggest
that either we underestimated the errors in the positions
of the maxima of the 30-day modulation wave
or our hypothesis (1) is not quite correct.

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.95\columnwidth,bb=60 180 560 675,clip]{fig02__bat_pat_diff_22052015.ps}
\end{center}
\caption{Phase shift of the precessional modulation from the best solution obtained
over the entire period of BAT/Swift observations (for more details, see the text).}
\label{fig2}
\end{figure}

Figure 2 shows the deviations of the precession
phase for the vector $\overrightarrow{T_{\Psi_0}}$
from the best solution obtained
for the entire set of BAT/SWIFT observational
data. It follows from the figure that this solution
describes the precessional periodicity, on average,
satisfactorily; at the same time, deviations, both in
individual measurements and systematic ones, that
exceed the admissible values for the normal distribution
are observed. This may suggest that the
variability in the binary is more complex than the
model (1) we proposed, and there exists, for example,
a time dependence of the ephemerides. Figure 2
shows that this dependence must be fairly complex
and nonlinear in pattern; in particular, including the
second derivative in the model does not improve the
situation. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the
parameters we obtained can be used to describe the
observational data.

\begin{table*}[t]
\centering
{{\bf Table 2.} Parameters to calculate the superorbital phase correction for the ephemerides
$T_0=53441.53383$~MJD and $P_{sup}=30.370$ days}\label{tbl2}

\vspace{5mm}\begin{tabular}{c|c|c|r|r} \hline\hline
  $~~~~~~$    & $~~~~~~~~~~~~~$ & $~~~~~~~~~~~~~$ & $~~~~~~~$ & $~~~~~~~~~~$\\
{j}& $T_1$ & $T_2$ & $\Psi_c~~~$ & $\dot{\Psi_c}\times 10^{-4}$\\
  $$    & (MJD) & (MJD) & $$ & $$\\
\hline
$1$   &  $45000.0$   & $51100.0$  &  $ 0.190$ & $ 0.000$ \\
$2$   &  $51100.0$   & $52400.0$  &  $ 0.190$ & $-1.692$ \\
$3$   &  $52400.0$   & $53900.0$  &  $-0.030$ & $ 0.000$ \\
$4$   &  $53900.0$   & $54200.0$  &  $-0.030$ & $ 1.666$ \\
$5$   &  $54200.0$   & $54400.0$  &  $ 0.020$ & $-3.000$ \\
$6$   &  $54400.0$   & $54700.0$  &  $-0.040$ & $ 2.333$ \\
$7$   &  $54700.0$   & $55400.0$  &  $ 0.030$ & $-2.000$ \\
$8$   &  $55400.0$   & $55950.0$  &  $-0.110$ & $ 2.545$ \\
$9$   &  $55950.0$   & $56250.0$  &  $ 0.030$ & $-3.166$ \\
$10$  &  $56250.0$   & $56750.0$  &  $-0.065$ & $2.200$ \\
$11$  &  $56750.0$   & $57000.0$  &  $ 0.045$ & $-1.800$ \\
$12$  &  $57000.0$   & $58000.0$  &  $ 0.000$ & $0.000$ \\
\hline
\multicolumn{5}{l}{}\\ [-3mm]
\end{tabular}
\end{table*}

To check how applicable our solution is for a wider
time interval and for other energy bands, we analyzed
the light curves of LMC X-4 obtained with other
X-ray instruments having long-term observations of
this binary. In particular, we used the ASM/RXTE
and MAXI data for the soft X-ray energy band (2-12 and 2-20 keV,
respectively) and the BATSE data
for the 20-70 keV energy band. The data from all
three instruments are statistically not good enough
to determine the time of each maximum of the 30-day
modulation from them, as was done using the
BAT/SWIFT data. Therefore, to improve the statistical
significance of the signal, we used the epochfolding
technique and averaged several periods of the
precession cycle, thereby passing from the temporal
light curves to the light curves on the phase plane, and
determined the phase shift in each of the averagings
(foldings). For different instruments, we took different
``windows'' for folding and different successive shifts
of the window: 400 and 60 days for BATSE, 200 and
60 days for ASM, 100 and 30 days for MAXI, respectively.
We used a ``shift'' smaller than the window
duration to trace in more detail the possible changes,
although it should be noted that the measurements
cease to be independent in such an approach. As
a result, we obtained the phase shifts of the 30-day
cycle relative to the presumed model as a function of
time for a 25-year interval of observations (the left
panel in Fig. 3). It follows from the figure that the
period in the early observations was also approximately
constant and close to the value measured from the BAT data,
but its phase was shifted significantly.
The subsequent evolution of the phase shift has no
stable trend but rather changes chaotically. Possible
explanations of such a behavior are discussed in the
concluding part of the paper.

To compare the phase changes in the soft and
hard X-ray bands, we used the MAXI data in the
2-20 keV energy band and the simultaneous BAT
observations in a harder X-ray band (15-50 keV). It
is clearly seen from Fig.3 that the phase changes in
both energy bands occur synchronously, from which
it follows that the data obtained in different X-ray
bands for the source can be simultaneously used to
investigate the long-term variability. In addition,
this fact suggests that the observed precession phase
variations are real and cannot be explained by the
measurement errors.

To investigate the dependence of the emission
characteristics for LMC X-4 on the phase of the 30-day
cycle, it is important to be able to determine it
as accurately as possible. Obviously, the dependence
presented in Fig.3 cannot be described by a simple
analytical model for the entire interval of observations
under consideration. Therefore, we propose to use
the model with the constant precession
period determined above and the tabulated phase
corrections. Thus, the phase of the 30-day cycle can
be calculated in general form from the formula

$$ \Psi(t)=\left\{\frac{t-T_0}{P_{sup}}\right\}-(\Psi_c^j+\dot{\Psi_c^j}*(t-T_1^j)), ~t \in [T_1^j,T_2^j] \hspace{0.1cm}(2)$$

where $P_{sup}=30.370$ days and $T_0=53441.50$ MJD,
the braces denote the operation of taking the fractional part, and
the correction coefficients and the corresponding time
intervals are given in Table 2. The right part of Eq. (2)
(phase correction) is indicated in Fig.3 by the solid
line. The right panel in the same figure presents the
deviation of the precessional modulation phase ``0''
obtained after the data correction in accordance with
Eq. (2). It can be seen that after such a correction,
the residual variations of the zero phase deviation are
within approximately 5\%.

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.99\columnwidth,bb=0 200 575 575,clip]{fig03__suporb_dph_2pans.ps}
\end{center}
\caption{Deviations of the phase of the maxima of the 30-day cycle from the expected value
versus time for the ephemerides $T_{sup,0}=53441.50$~MJD and $P_{sup}=30.370$~days.
The data were obtained over almost 25 years of observations with four
instruments. The solid line indicates an empiricalmodel describing the phase
change (see also Table 2). The left panel presents the directmeasurement results;
the right panel presents those corrected for thismodel (see the text).
Typical errors are indicated by vertical bars on the symbols in front of
the instrument name.}
\label{fig3}
\end{figure}

Figure 4 shows the average flux profiles for LMC X-4
as a function of the precession phase calculated
from Eq. (2) for four instruments operating in different
energy bands. The presented profiles are similar
to one another in shape and are symmetric relative
to their maxima (for the convenience of perception,
phase ``1'' corresponds to the maximum). It can
also be noted that when using mCrab as a unit
of flux, the source in hard X-rays turns out to be
significantly brighter than in soft X rays. The latter
stems from the fact that the spectrum of LMC X-4 differs
significantly from the spectrum of the Crab Nebula.

\subsection*{The Model of Orbital Motion}

The orbital period of an X-ray binary system harboring a
pulsar can be determined most accurately by measuring
the change in the spin period of the neutron
star with orbital phase (based on the Doppler effect).
The period obtained in this way was called the meanlongitude
period $P_{\pi/2}$ in the literature, and the meanlongitude
time $T_{\pi/2}$ (see, e.g., Smart 1953) is taken as
the initial time (``0'') in this case. For high-inclination
binaries, in which eclipses of the X-ray emission originating
near the compact object by the normal star
are observed, the orbital period can be determined
from the frequency of such eclipses. The period and
initial time obtained in this way are called ``eclipsing''
ones and are denoted by $P_{ecl}$ and $T_{ecl}$, respectively.
Generally, both period/time pairs are related between
themselves in a complex nonlinear way (see, e.g.,
Smart 1953). A sufficient condition for the equalities
$P_{\pi/2}=P_{ecl}$ and $T_{\pi/2}=T_{ecl}$ is a circular orbit in the
binary (in other words, with the eccentricity $e=0$).

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.99\columnwidth,bb=0 200 575 675,clip]{fig04__lmcx4_folded_crvs_sup.ps}
\end{center}
\caption{Dependence of the flux recorded from the X-ray pulsar LMC X-4 in different energy bands
on precession (superorbital) phase from the data of four X-ray instruments. The folding
was performed with the period $P_{sup}=30.370$~days and by applying
the correction for the historical ``walk'' of the phase of maximum (Eq. (2)).}
\label{fig4}
\end{figure}

The measurements made precisely by monitoring
the changes in the phase and/or period of the neutron
star spin were used in most previous papers aimed
at determining the parameters of the orbital motion
in the binary (for brevity, we will call this method
``based on the Doppler effect''; see references in Table
3). However, such an approach is rather costly
from the standpoint of organizing observations and
the requirements imposed on them. First, the intensity
of LMC X-4 is low, and sensitive instruments
capable of recording its emission at a statistically
significant level in relatively short time intervals are
needed. Second, a good time resolution is needed to
measure the pulsation period and its changes. Third,
the series of observations must be compact in time
with a total exposure time near or slightly longer
than the orbital period, $\sim1.4$ days. Therefore, there
were few such measurements over the entire history
of observations of LMCX-4, and they were performed
with a low cadence in time. Nevertheless, they turned
out to be sufficient to detect a decrease in the orbital
period in the binary (see, e.g., Levine et al. 2000, and
references therein).

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.99\columnwidth,bb=0 200 575 675,clip]{fig05__individ_eclps_lc.ps}
\end{center}
\caption{
Examples of the profile of an orbital X-ray eclipse in LMC X-4 from the data of three
instruments in different energy bands.}
\label{fig5}
\end{figure}

The model of orbital motion can also be constructed
by using the data only on the eclipse times.
In this case, it is natural that the more eclipses were
registered and the wider the interval of observations,
the more accurately we can determine the orbital parameters
and trace their evolution (see, e.g., Falanga
et al. 2015). The last decades have been marked
by the appearance and successful in-orbit operation
of many sensitive X-ray instruments, which have
accumulated a large set of observational data for
various celestial objects, including those for LMC X-4,
with its total exposure time exceeding several
million seconds. Taking into account the fairly short
orbital period in the binary, dozens of orbital eclipses
must be recorded in such a time. We searched
for them in the data from three instruments over
the last 19 years starting from 1996: PCA/RXTE,
IBIS/INTEGRAL, and XMM-Newton. Since these
instruments operate in different energy bands, we
primarily made sure that the eclipses recorded by
them had a similar shape. Figure 5 shows the profiles
of three eclipses registered by the above instruments.
It can be seen that the duration of a total eclipse does
not depend, with a good accuracy, on the energy band,
and only the steepness of the eclipse ingress and
egress slightly differs from instrument to instrument.
In addition, we made sure that the eclipse shape is
also retained for the eclipses registered at different
times with the same instrument. Thus, we found
43 eclipses in the available observational data.
The mid-eclipse times ($T_{ecl}$) and the corresponding measurement
errors (at the $1\sigma$ level)are given in Table 3.
Since the orbital eccentricity in LMC X-4 is close to
zero (and, consequently, $T_{ecl}=T_{\pi/2}$), we added the
measurements of the times $T_{\pi/2}$ found in the literature
(nine more measurements, see Table 3) to our times $T_{ecl}$,
and constructed a model of the orbital period
change over almost 40 years of observations from the
entire series.

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.9\columnwidth,angle=-90,bb=90 80 730 950,clip]{fig06__errors_visual.ps}
\end{center}
\vspace{-1cm}
\caption{($1\sigma$) error region for the best-fit parameters describing the orbital
motion in LMC X-4.}
\label{fig6}
\end{figure}

To determine themodel parameters, we applied the
same method as previously when finding the solution
for the 30-day cycle, i.e., we used Eq.(1) to find the
phase and  $\overrightarrow{T_{ecl,\pi/2}}$ as the measurement
vector. In this case, the model describes satisfactorily the
observational data ($\chi^2\simeq80$ for 49 degrees of freedom), and
we obtained the following parameters of the model
of orbital motion:
$T_0^{orb}=53013.5878^{+0.0009}_{-0.0007}$~MJD,
$P_0^{orb}=1.40837607^{+2.9\cdot 10^{-7}}_{-4.1\cdot 10^{-7}}$ days
and $\dot{P}_0^{orb}=(-4.66^{+0.16}_{-0.10})\times10^{-9}$.
The presented errors correspond to the $1\sigma$ deviation under
the assumption that all parameters are independent. The latter is not
obvious; for example, an ``underestimated'' period can
be ``compensated for'' by an increase in the rate of
its change, i.e., these parameters can be correlated.
To estimate the degree of correlation between the
parameters and to obtain more reliable errors in the
parameters, we calculated the $1\sigma$ deviations in the
three-dimensional space ($T_0^{orb}, P_0^{orb}, \dot{P}_0^{orb}$)
of errors. The region of admissible values and its projections
onto the corresponding planes of parameters are
shown in Fig. 6. For comparison, the line segments
indicate the errors calculated by assuming the parameters
to be independent. It follows from the figure that
the parameters have a significant correlation between
themselves and that the above errors were greatly
underestimated. Given all of the aforesaid, the final
solution for orbital motion appears as follows:\\
\hspace{2cm}$\mathbf{T_0^{orb}=53013.5878^{+0.0018}_{-0.0015}}$~MJD\\
\hspace{2cm}$\mathbf{P_0^{orb}=1.40837607^{+4.9\cdot 10^{-7}}_{-6.5\cdot 10^{-7}}}$ days\\
\hspace{2cm}$\mathbf{\dot{P}_0^{orb}=(-4.66\pm0.26)\times 10^{-9}}$.\\
The latter value can be transformed to a more customary
and convenient form for comparison with the results
of previous measurements,
$\dot{P}_0^{orb}/P_0^{orb}=(-1.21\pm 0.07 )\times 10^{-6}$ yr$^{-1}$.
Comparison with the results of previous measurements
$\dot P_{orb}/P_{orb}=(0.98\pm0.07)\times10^{-6}$ yr$^{-1}$
(Levine et al. 2000) shows that the decay rate in the orbital period
in LMC X-4 is actually higher than has been thought previously.

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.99\columnwidth,bb=0 200 575 675,clip]{fig07__orb_ephms_quality.ps}
\end{center}
\caption{
Comparison of the quality of the applicability of two groups of orbital ephemerides in
LMC X-4 to the observational data: the triangles -- Levine et al. (2000);
the circles -- this paper. The dashed lines indicate the $3\sigma$ error region for
the solution obtained in this paper.}
\label{fig7}
\end{figure}

Figure 7 shows the dependence of the orbital
phase deviation from zero value (by definition, phase
``0'' correspond to the mid-eclipse) calculated from
Eq.(1) with the orbital motion parameters obtained
above (filled circles). To improve the visual perception
of the figure, the data were grouped in time with a
30-day step. The dashed lines bound the $3\sigma$ error
region within which all of the measurement results
lie. For comparison, the triangles in the same figure
indicate the orbital phase deviations obtained by using
the orbital ephemerides of LMC X-4 from Levine
et al. (2000). It can be seen that our model describes
the orbital motion in LMC X-4 considerably better,
but it was constructed fromthe data spanning amuch
longer time interval. Such a significant increase
of the observational data set is associated mainly
with the series of deep observations of the Large
Magellanic Cloud performed by the INTEGRAL
observatory in 2003-2013 (Grebenev et al. 2013).
Interestingly, the decay rate in the orbital period
$\dot P_{orb}/P_{orb}=(1.00\pm0.05)\times10^{-6}$ yr$^{-1}$
obtained by Falanga et al. (2015), who used only the data from the
first series of INTEGRAL observations of LMC X-4
in 2003-2004 in addition to the historical data,
turns out to be similar to the results from Levine et al.
(2000). The latter may suggest a change in the decay rate
in the orbital period in the binary in the last
decade, although the significance of these differences
is low (about $2\sigma$).

Applying the solution obtained for the orbital motion
in LMC X-4, we constructed an averaged
profile of the dependence of the flux registered
from the source on orbital phase from the data of
four instruments operating in different X-ray bands
(Fig. 8). To increase the statistical significance of
the signal, we used only the data obtained near the
maxima of the 30-day cycle $\Psi_{sup} \in [0.8-1.2]$. The
averaged profiles constructed in this way in different
energy bands are similar to one another in shape, as
we have pointed out for the profiles of single eclipses.

\section*{Discussion}

We presented the results of a comprehensive study
of the long-term variability of the X-ray flux from
the high-mass X-ray binary LMC X-4 based on the
data of several space observatories over the last 25 years.

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.99\columnwidth,bb=0 200 575 675,clip]{fig08__lmcx4_folded_crvs_orb.ps}
\end{center}
\caption{
Averaged dependence of the X-ray flux recorded from LMC X-4 on orbital phase from the data
of four instruments. To increase the statistical significance, we used only the data for
the range of precession phases $\Psi_{sup}=0.8-1.2$.}
\label{fig8}
\end{figure}

We obtained the mean precession period $P_{sup}=30.370$ days,
which may be considered as the equilibrium
one over the time interval under consideration.
Note significant variations of the period measured
in each specific cycle near this value, causing the
measured phase of the 30-day period to ``walk'' with
respect to the phase predicted by the model with a
constant period. The shape of the ``walk'' is very
similar to the shape of the deviation of some quantity
from its initial value in a ``Brownian'' process.
Indeed, if we represent the expression to calculate
the times of some phase in successive cycles as
$T_i=T_0+\sum_{j=0}^{j=i}P_j$, where i is the cycle number and
$P_j$ is the period of the jth cycle, and if assume that
[$P_j$] obey a normal distribution, then [$T_j$] will have the
frequency characteristic of ``red noise'' (corresponding
to Brownian motion), which, by definition, is a
``white noise'' integral. Unfortunately, because of the
insufficient quantity and quality of observational data,
we cannot test this hypothesis by constructing the
power spectrumof the time series. Nevertheless, if the
suggested hypothesis is valid, then it is necessary to
determine the processes responsible for the changes
in the precession period. Two processes that explain
the existence of the 30-day modulation are usually
considered: tilted accretion disk precession or
radiation-induced accretion disk warping. Neither of
the two scenarios forbids the period variability, although
they do not give a clear answer to the question
of why and how this can occur.

Using long-term observations, we refined the orbital
period in the binary system and its decay rate. In
particular, this decay rate in the orbital period
$\dot{P}_0^{orb}/P_0^{orb}=(-1.21\pm 0.07 )\times 10^{-6}$ yr$^{-1}$
turned out to be 20\% higher than the values obtained
previously (Levine et al. 2000; Falanga et al. 2015).
The latter can be connected with a change in the decay rate
in the orbital period in the last decade.

In general, investigating the orbital period changes
can give valuable information about the evolution
of close binaries and the mechanisms responsible
for this process. For LMC X-4, the current orbital
period has been measured many times: from the
SAS-3 (Kelley et al. 1983), EXOSAT (Dennerl 1991),
Ginga, RXTE (Levine et al. 1991, 2000), ROSAT
(Levine 1996), and INTEGRAL (the first series of
observations in 2003-2004; Falanga et al. 2015)
data. Levine et al. (1991) were the first to point to
a decrease in the orbital period in the binary and
to obtain an upper limit on its derivative. Subsequently,
using additional data, Safi-Harb et al. (1996)
and Levine (2000) confirmed these conclusions.
LMC X-4 is one of the five high-mass X-ray binaries
(HMXBs) for which significant decreases in
the orbital periods have been detected: LMC X-4,
Cen X-3, 4U 1700-377, SMC X-1, and OAO 1657-415
(see the review of Falanga et al. 2015 and
references therein). Various models were proposed
to explain the observed changes in the orbital period
(Kelley et al. 1983; van der Klis 1983, 1984; Levine
et al. 1993, 2000; Rubin et al. 1996; Safi-Harb et al.
1996; Jenke et al. 2011). They are all based to
some extent on two mechanisms that can lead to
a decrease in the orbital period in the binary: tidal
interactions and mass transfer due to a fast stellar
wind, which characterizes most of the companion
stars in HMXBs, or evolution of the companion star
itself, in particular, its expansion and an increase
in the moment of inertia, causing the star to spin
down. The tidal angular momenta will then transfer
this change to the orbital angular momentum to
synchronize the binary, causing the orbital period to
decrease (see, e.g., Levine et al. 1993, and references
therein).

Our calculations show that both tidal interactions and mass
transfer can play an important role for such a close
binary as LMC X-4. The latter, in turn, must lead to
a change in the accretion rate onto the neutron star
and, as a consequence, to a change in its luminosity.
This must be particularly noticeable in the last
decade, when an increase in the rate of decrease in
the orbital period is observed. Based on INTEGRAL
data, we attempted to detect possible trends in the
X-ray flux from LMC X-4, while the X-ray flux in
such binaries must correlate with the mass transfer
rate. For this purpose, we used only out-of-eclipse
data near the precessional modulation maxima. From
these results we concluded that, within the measurement
error limits, the flux may be considered constant.
Taking this into account, the model predicting
a change in the orbital period due to the evolution of
the normal star may be more plausible for the binary
under consideration (recall that an O8 III giant is the
companion star in it). To confirm or refute this hypothesis,
it is necessary to perform optical monitoring
observations and to compare them with the archival
data, while its confirmation can become the first direct
argument for the model of a change in the orbital
period in the binary due to an evolving and expanding
normal star.

\section*{ACKNOWLEDGMENTS}

{\sl
This work was financially supported by the Russian
Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 13-02-12094
and grant President of Russian Federation NSh 6137.2014.2).
We are grateful to E.M. Churazov, who
developed the IBIS/INTEGRAL data analysis methods
and provided the software. We thank the International
Space Science Institute (Bern, Switzerland)
for organizing a meeting on the theme of the publication.
}

\bigskip

\section*{References}
\parindent=0mm

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\begin{table*}[t]
\centering
{{\bf Table 3.} Mid-eclipse times for LMC X-4 from the data of various instruments}\label{eclipses}
\vspace{5mm}\begin{tabular}{l|c|l|c} \hline\hline
{Mid-eclipse}& Instrument & {Mid-eclipse}& Instrument \\
      (MJD)  & & (MJD) & \\
\hline
$42829.494(19)^a$   &  SAS-3   & $55385.294(7)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$44956.15(1)^b$   & optics   & $55499.373(6)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$45651.917(15)^c$  & EXOSAT & $55593.729(4)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$45656.154(8)^d$  & EXOSAT & $55595.130(5)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$46447.668(11)^c$  & EXOSAT & $55596.556(13)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$46481.467(3)^c$  & EXOSAT & $55597.938(6)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$47229.3313(4)^{e}$  & GINGA & $55747.234(4)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$47741.9904(2)^{f}$  & GINGA & $55748.645(5)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$48558.8598(8)^e$  & ROSAT & $55751.446(5)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$50315.130(15)^{g,h}$ &  RXTE/PCA & $55938.778(9)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$50740.460(15)^h$   &  RXTE/PCA & $56079.594(6)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$50744.670(15)^h$   &  RXTE/PCA & $56082.424(5)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$51113.680(15)^h$   &  RXTE/PCA & $56109.174(14)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$52647.408(7)^i$  &  INTEGRAL &  $56111.993(6)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$52648.804(6)^i$  &  INTEGRAL & $56119.037(8)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$52892.474(15)^{h,j}$ &  XMM-Newton & $56141.583(8)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$53013.588(4)^i$  & INTEGRAL &  $56142.985(5)$  & INTEGRAL \\
$53016.411(4)^i$  & INTEGRAL & $56292.271(6)$  & INTEGRAL \\
$53172.732(15)^{h,j}$   &  XMM-Newton & $56293.672(5)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$55354.284(9)$  & INTEGRAL & $56295.084(4)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$55355.717(18)$ & INTEGRAL & $56447.192(7)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$55358.531(8)$  & INTEGRAL & $56448.602(6)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$55376.841(8)$  & INTEGRAL & $56450.014(5)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$55378.252(8)$  & INTEGRAL & $56452.824(8)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$55379.656(5)$  & INTEGRAL & $56478.170(4)$  & INTEGRAL\\
$55382.463(5)$  & INTEGRAL & $56483.794(8)$  & INTEGRAL\\
\hline
\multicolumn{4}{l}{}\\ [-3mm]
\multicolumn{4}{l}{$^a$ ``based on the Doppler effect'' (see the text) (Kelley et al. 1983)}\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{$^b$ from the optical 1976\u20131983 observations (Ilovaisky et al. 1984)}\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{$^c$ Dennerl (1991)}\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{$^d$ Pietsch et al. (1985)}\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{$^e$ ''based on the Doppler effect'' (Woo et al. 1996)}\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{$^f$ ''based on the Doppler effect'' (Levine et al. 1991)}\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{$^g$ eclipse was observed partially}\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{$^h$ a conservative estimate of the error from above (see the text)}\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{$^i$ see also Falanga et al. (2015)}\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{$^j$ light curves with eclipses are also given in van derMeer (2006)}\\
\end{tabular}
\end{table*}

\end{document}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
How growing is going global
International nursery groups revamp to keep up with and drive the world of managed varieties.
Jared Johnson, Ross Courtney // Aug 19, 2019
The world's two largest and oldest multinational nursery organizations — the Associated International Group of Nurseries and the International New Varieties Network — are revamping to keep up with and drive forward a new world of branded varieties. Here is a look at each group's wide reach. (Jared Johnson/Good Fruit Grower)
Yesteryear, when nurseries introduced a new variety to growers, volumes grew from the ground up — from growers, to packing companies and then to sales teams.
Today, the trend is toward the reverse, as branded varieties have made the process more controlled and more global. Variety owners now look first at potential markets and distribution, then work to find shippers, packing facilities and growers.
Gavin Porter
"It's become almost an industry in itself for the protection of varieties globally," said Gavin Porter of the Australian Nurserymen's Fruit Improvement Co. and CEO of the Associated International Group of Nurseries, or AIGN.
To both react to and drive the brave new world of branded fruit, AIGN and the International New Varieties Network (INN), the two most globally entrenched nursery networks, are reorganizing to take a more visible, aggressive role in variety management.
In May, some 20-plus members of AIGN gathered in Yakima, Washington, for an annual meeting to discuss everything from the quarantine process in different nations to changes in U.S. laws that extend plant variety protections to grafted plants, which fall more in line with the rest of the world. Good Fruit Grower had a chance to chat with the group's leaders about priorities.
"The global village we live in is becoming smaller," Porter said.
AIGN also has been revamping its website and centralizing variety performance information in a database named Hertha, which all members can access.
For its part, INN recently contracted a new general manager with a long history of branded variety management, is revamping its website and is actively pursuing new varieties instead of relying on members to bring them forward.
Behind all these changes is the world's fruit market, shifting from open commodities that anyone can grow and sell to brands for which fruit standards, supply and sales are all controlled in an increasingly sophisticated world of intellectual property rights, international plant treaties, quarantines, global performance evaluations and politics.
Jack Snyder
"Now, it's just about completely backwards," said Jack Snyder of C&O Nursery, one of the members of INN.
The trend started with ENZA, the New Zealand marketing "monopoly" that released the Gala, Braeburn and Fuji, all public commodity apples, said Desmond O'Rourke, a tree fruit market analyst in Pullman, Washington. Soon, it became clear that open varieties, even good ones, would eventually oversupply the same way Red Delicious oversupplied.
That's when the New Zealanders switched and the breeding program HortResearch worked with ENZA to commercialize the Pacific series, including Pacific Rose, to select production companies and limit supply — the model the industry now calls clubs. A successor private company, called ENZA Ltd., inherited the rights to the Pacific series, as well as to Jazz and Envy. HortResearch has since been absorbed into a larger New Zealand national organization called Plant & Food Research.
New Zealand remains a hotbed of innovation in apple and pear varieties, O'Rourke said. The commercialization work is now dominated by Prevar, which is partly owned by New Zealand Apples & Pears Inc., Apple and Pear Australia Ltd. and AIGN.
Nursery groups such as AIGN and INN have positioned themselves to be first in line for information. As new varieties roll out, developers look to nurseries to sell them. With global members, the two partnerships can steer those varieties through the quarantines and breeders' rights deadlines around the world and learn how they perform in different regions before anyone plants them commercially.
However, only those two groups and the breeders have access to the intel; that information is proprietary. Independent growers looking to diversify plantings are left out.
"The big question, really, in all this is will these investments pay off?" O'Rourke said. Most likely, some will and some won't. "Ultimately, consumers and retailers will determine winners and losers," he said.
Florent Geerdens
Competing with volume through brands
Branding is the only way for Western companies to compete with producers of commodity apples that grow and pack them for lower production costs in China, Poland and other Eastern European nations, said Florent Geerdens, vice president of AIGN and a nursery executive from Belgium. Of the varieties propagated by Geerdens' Belgian nursery, 85 percent are proprietary brands.
Brands for which AIGN has played a role in global propagation rights include: Rockit, Smitten and Lemonade apples; Reddy Robin pears; and a few unnamed cherry varieties.
Geerdens expects Eastern Europe — Poland, Romania and Ukraine — will eventually follow the same business model of brands and intellectual property to generate more profit and higher grower returns.
Rob Meihuizen
The global market is proving that consumers will pay for brands if they believe it means consistent quality and production. For example, Pink Lady, a brand of the Cripps Pink variety, does more sales in Africa than continental Europe, said South Africa's Rob Meihuizen, executive director of AIGN. "That just shows the value that the consumer, a very poor consumer, can see in a brand," he said.
That's because apples don't feed the world, said Garry Langford, general manager of INN, from his office in Tasmania. Grains and proteins do that. Yes, apples are healthy, but people around the globe buy apples because they want them, not because they are starving.
There's a lot of room for growth in this new world of brands, he said. Commodity apples still comprise most of the world's production. INN represents 60 new branded apple varieties that make up only 3 percent of its volume.
Garry Langford
For growers to keep up with these complex changes, Langford makes many of the same recommendations frequently preached at annual meetings and conferences. Stay abreast of changes in the industry. Attend trade shows. Ask what larger, neighboring companies are planting, and why. Seek alliances with packers and sales groups known for introducing new products.
"The new variety is not going to come down the road and knock on the door," he said. •
—by Ross Courtney
Ross Courtney2019-08-22T10:10:15-07:00August 19th, 2019|Apples, August 2019 Issue, Cherries, International, Jared Johnson, Marketing, New Developments, Pears, Production, Ross Courtney, Stone fruits, Trade, Varieties|
About the Author: Ross Courtney
Ross Courtney is an associate editor for Good Fruit Grower, writing articles and taking photos for the print magazine and website. He has a degree from Pacific Lutheran University. -- Follow the author -- Contact: 509-930-8798 or email.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Chiba City Museum of Art celebrates its 14th anniversary this year. Although the current economy is pulling down the art market, the museum received generous donations of works and is expanding their collection. This exhibition presents paintings, prints, calligraphy, sculptures and photographs that became a part of the museum collection after 2003. This will be the first time in the last four years to hold an exhibition of the museum's recent and new acquisitions.
Chiba City Museum of Art holds a strong collection of "nishiki-e" (multi-colored woodblock prints). Works on display in this show include a work by Toshusaisharaku, Hiroshige Utagawa and Eisen keisai's collaboration "The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaido," and Yumeji Takehisa's books. Also on view are about 40 of modern paintings, mostly landscape works, donated by Toyomatsu Kusuhara.
The museum has also been enriching their extensive collection of works by artists from Boso in Chiba Prefecture. Shunkei Taoka and Kofu Ishii are some of the artists whose works are in the collection. In addition, works created in the postwar era were donated to the museum, many of which will be on view in this exhibition.
Kyubei Shimizu, Kofu Ishii, Jiro Takamatsu, Shunkei Taoka, Chikara Seki, Toshusaisharaku, Yumeji Takehisa et al.


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Care New England
Care New England Medical Group
Providence Center
Women & Infants
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FAQS - Digestive Disorders
Please be advised that the following location is a provider-based clinic and both a physician and facility fee will be assessed, which may result in a higher out-of-pocket expense.
Center for Women's Gastrointestinal Health
100 Dudley Street
P: ( 401) 453-7953
We have a policy for missed appointments at all Women & Infants' physician practices. If you need to reschedule or cancel an appointment, please give us at least 24 hours notice. Learn More
How common are Hepatitis B and C in women?
The prevalence of Hepatitis C among American women varies with age and race, although it is estimated that close to 1 percent of women of childbearing age have the virus. The prevalence of Hepatitis B varies even more based upon race and age, with the Asian population being particularly affected now. An estimated total of .66 percent of American women of childbearing age is Hepatitis B positive.
Can a woman with Hepatitis C have a baby?
Yes, women who are Hepatitis C positive can get pregnant and deliver healthy babies. Approximately 3 percent of their infants will acquire the infection. As part of prenatal care, it is very important that women tell their health care providers of possible risk factors for diseases like Hepatitis C to protect their babies. If a woman is identified as positive, the risk of passing the infection to the baby can be reduced by decreasing the length of labor after the membranes are broken and avoiding scalp monitors during delivery. Babies born to mothers who are Hepatitis C positive must be tested at three, 12 and 18 months of age. Therapy is available for children who are infected.
What is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and what are its symptoms?
The causes of IBS are not understood but it is believed faulty movement of the intestine causes an accumulation of gas and bacteria in the bowel, which causes irregular bowel movements, a sensation of bloating sensation, and cramping.
How is IBS the same and/or different from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)?
With IBS, the movement of the intestine is altered but the lining of the intestine is normal. With IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the lining of the intestine becomes inflamed and ulcerated, causing bleeding, infection, scarring with narrowing and even blockage of the intestine. The two diseases often manifest similarly at the beginning with cramps and diarrhea but if IBD is not treated, it can lead to serious complications and even colon cancer.
How is IBD treated?
There are many medications - including newer and more potent ones - available to help control IBD by working to decrease inflammation in the intestine. Many patients never require surgery.
Are IBS and IBD more common in women?
Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which are the most common forms of IBD, probably occur with the same frequency in men and women, although some studies suggest that Crohn's may be slightly more frequent in women.
Are there any gastrointestinal disorders related to pregnancy?
Pregnancy exacerbates almost all gastrointestinal disorders, from gastro esophageal acid reflux to IBS and IBD. Gallstone formation is enhanced and hepatitis and liver disease may get worse during pregnancy. In addition, there are a few specific gastrointestinal diseases that occur only during pregnancy. Hyperemesis gravidarum, for example, is a very extreme form of morning sickness that can lead to serious complications for the mother, including kidney failure and neurological issues, and fetal loss. In addition, pregnancy can also lead to cholestasis, which blocks the flow of bile from the liver; preeclampsia; and acute fatty liver.
What are the symptoms of colorectal cancer?
Symptoms vary depending on the location of the cancer within the colon or rectum, though there may be no symptoms at all. The most common presenting symptom is rectal bleeding. Cancers arising from the left side of the colon generally cause bleeding, and in their late stages may cause constipation, abdominal pain and obstructive symptoms. On the other hand, right-sided colon cancer may produce vague abdominal aching or weakness, weight loss and anemia from chronic blood loss.
Can colorectal cancer be prevented? How?
Screenings can detect CRC when it can be treated. In the meantime, certain practices have been identified as protecting the body against CRC, including:
Diet high in fruits and vegetables, and low in red meat, animal fat and/or cholesterol.
Folic acid, vitamin B6 and calcium.
Regular physical activity and maintenance of normal body weight.
Smoking cessation.
Regular use of aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women, although these drugs are not routinely recommended for chemoprevention of colon cancer due to the associated long-term risks.
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins), although data is conflicting.
Who should be screened? How often?
Screenings can detect CRC when it can be treated. For individuals at normal risk, screening tests should begin at age 50. The preferred approach is a screening colonoscopy conducted every 10 years. In addition, consider the following recommendations for screening:
Physician experts with the American College of Gastroenterology issued new recommendations that CRC screening in African Americans begin at age 45.
Colonoscopic surveillance needs to be performed at more frequent intervals for individuals at high risk for colon cancer (for instance, those with a personal history of CRC or adenomatous polyps, family history of CRC, HNPCC, FAP or IBD).
An alternate strategy consists of annual stool test for blood and a flexible sigmoidoscopic exam every three to five years.
Colorectal cancer is one of the few cancers that can be prevented through screening. Learn more about prevention and treatment.
Nothing can hinder quality of life more than irregularity and pain in digestion and bowel movements. You're not alone.
Heartburn: Fight Back!
Heartburn is very common, can strike people of all ages and any kind of medical history and should be taken seriously.
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Job Queue?   At home, my experimental cluster is a pack of 4 beaglebones running a pretty vanilla debian - not exactly a mindbender in performance, but easy to fool with to experiment.
At work, yeah, all the usual stuff.


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We've requested the Americans not to do it again
The London Sunday Times (no one else seems to have this story) says that the bombing of that Pakistani madrassa last month, killing 82, was actually carried out by American warplanes, but according to its source, described by the paper as a key aide to Gen. Musharraf, "there was a lot of collateral damage and we've requested the Americans not to do it again." So that's okay then.
New York police shot up some people leaving a bachelor party at a strip club, killing the groom. They say they were acting to "prevent an incident." I don't know, shooting 54 bullets at a car full of people seems to me rather like an "incident." As always with one of these incidents, nearly as horrifying as the number of rounds let off is the number which missed. It sounds like the cops hit the target – a car which was no longer moving – only 21 times, while hitting a lot of other cars and an apartment window.
Cheney's visit to Saudi Arabia is now concluded, and no one will say what he actually discussed with the members of the royal family he met, although it is suggested that he asked them to rein in the Sunni insurgents in Iraq. It's news to me that the House of Saud actually has that sort of influence, and possibly it was news to them as well (the Sindy refers to Riyadh's "tribal connections" to the militias).
Cheney doesn't do the hand-holding thing, you'll notice.
In a WaPo article on the Iraq Study Group, Robin Wright quotes one of the "experts" as saying that James Baker "doesn't tolerate fools." Of course he doesn't.
Comfortable in his own mind
Bush meets Maliki: This business about graceful ex...
I always thought Bill Frist's centeredness was fue...
The Hadley memo
Caption contest, Latvian style
Wherein I must allude to disemboweling, and not th...
Following Bush on his expedentions abroad
Bananas redux
A new phase characterized by this increasing secta...
They want to drag you all into angry reactions
I'm very sorry, fake sincerity. Oh, I wasn't supp...
Breaking the horn of the big head
A very Chimpy Thanksgiving
Happy, happy home
As long as it takes
Aloha means hello, goodbye, and "The old bat's try...
When in Hanoi
Conversing with God in Hanoi
The president has been doing a lot of waving
A disaster? No, really? You do say.
The chimp and the tiger
We'll succeed unless we quit
Today in censorship
I hated Iraqis
Contrary to what a lot of other people believe
It's still all about what you wear on your head
Wherein is explained what the Republican party sta...
What is happening is not terrorism
Maliki & Abizaid talk about...
The ideological struggle between extremists and ra...
Do not confuse the workings of American democracy ...
Happy Veterans Veterans' Veteran's Day
Awe and reverence
The problems haven't gone away
America at its best
Thank you for playing Posture Play-Off
Care and restraint
The most important job Rick Santorum will ever hav...
Bush press conference: This enemy's not going away...
Deciding Bush's potency
Chimpy Votes!
Hey, I understand there's an election of some sort...
And as you go to the polls, remember, we're at war...
It is hard to plot and plan America when you're hi...
That says to them that their strategy is working
The martyrs of Iraq now have the right to smile
Protecting you and your cowboy hat
See, if he ordered the first attack, he might know...
Speed bumps and blobs of paint
Extracting blackmail
It's not just car bombs
Force has kind of a negative connotation
It didn't sound like a joke to me
What they really believe is they believe freedom i...


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Literacy Tutoring
Mentoring Book Club
Ravenswood Classroom Partners has consistently provided reliable, trained volunteers for the last thirteen years. Our success is measured by the improved individual reading scores as well as the touching handwritten thank you notes from the students and teachers.
Our programs have the scale to make a real difference in improving academic outcomes and supporting overall student success. Many
of our volunteers take on multiple assignments each week.
Annual Teacher Survey and Teacher Comments
Every year, 100% of teachers surveyed say RCP volunteers have a measurable impact on the academic and social-emotional skills of their students. This year, our teachers said:
"I love my RCP volunteers! They are amazing, reliable, communicative."
"The work RCP does is invaluable and extends my impact to 3x's more students."
"My volunteers are amazing! They work so hard with my kids."
"All my students who work with the volunteers have progressed. Some have moved up several reading levels!"
Student Comments
"The book club helped me to learn to reach out for help."
"I made a friend in the Book Club. We have each other's backs."
"We appreciate Ms. Sher because she takes her time to teach us and comes and helps us with reading and writing. For example, she helps us understand words by helping us sound them out. She gives us more ideas in writing. She also supports us and comforts us when we're down." -- Written by three 4th graders at Costaño School
Volunteer Comments
"There's no bigger impact, that's why I do it."
"Running a book club was so amazing! This is my favorite volunteer experience that I've ever done."
"The format of the Book Club allowed the students to quickly feel relaxed and safe to share personal struggles. It was amazing to witness such bravery, bonding and soothing support."
Principal Comment
"Ravenswood Classroom Partners volunteers have become a part of our school family. They have integrated themselves to be part of every classroom. Some have even been with the same teacher for multiple years or followed their students to the next grade level.
"Our students look forward to working with them weekly on their literacy, math, and social emotional skills. It is evident in the way our students perform that our volunteers make a difference. Our students' confidence and willingness to try comes from the attention they receive from our volunteers. We are extremely grateful and thankful that Ravenswood Classroom Partners has built a strong relationship with our school, students, and staff."
Michelle Masuda, Principal of Belle Haven School
Superintendent Comment
"Thank you, Ravenswood Classroom Partners volunteers, for your support and dedication to our students and instructional program! Your commitment is critical during this time as we reconfigure and redesign our elementary schools.
"Students and their families will either move to a new school community or welcome a new school community. Where our students attend, I guarantee you will be needed! The individual tutoring you provide to students makes a tremendous difference and will be instrumental to ensure the future success of every student."
Gina Sudaria, Superintendent
Juliana Andersen
As a former teacher, RCP volunteer Juliana thinks it's especially rewarding to work one-on-one with students, getting to know them and building a strong rapport. "I love working with the kids, establishing a connection with them and seeing their progress throughout the year."
Juliana has been able to work with one student in particular for 3 years at Costaño School in East Palo Alto. This student opens up to her about her friends and how school is going. Due to their strong connection, the student lets Juliana know which academic areas she wants help with and this enables Juliana to focus her tutoring and mentoring in the areas that matter most to the student.
Lori Brockman
Lori started volunteering with RCP when parent volunteers were no longer needed in her youngest child's classroom. She says, "The best part is feeling like I am making a difference in a bigger community than just my home and with my kids."
Lori has built a special relationship with a student named Amir (not pictured). She began working with him in 3rd grade and continues to work with him in the 6th grade this year. Amir had social difficulties with peers and teachers and had trouble focusing and following through. Lori has helped him with his focus and learning habits. Lori works on math, reading, writing, and the two talk about whatever is going on in Amir's life both at school and at home.
PO Box 384, Menlo Park, CA 94026.
Ravenswood Classroom Partners is a 501(c)(3) organization.
Donations are tax deductible. EIN 47-1582614


Fires are often much harder to restore than many home and business owners realize. Even though the fire has gotten extinguished, damaging effects can continue to devastate the property, spreading to even formerly unaffected areas of the property. Fast response from trained IICRC-certified Fire and Smoke Restoration Technicians like our SERVPRO team can help to contain these effects and start the critical mitigation process to reduce your loss and overall expenses to restore the home or business entirely.
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Why Choose SERVPRO of North Durham?
When your Durham home or business experiences fire or smoke damage, you need professional help quickly. SERVPRO of North Durham is dedicated to responding immediately, which helps to prevent secondary damage and to reduce the cost of restoration.
SERVPRO of North Durham is locally owned and operated—so we are part of the Durham community too. We are also part of a national network of over 1,700 SERVPRO Franchises and special Disaster Recovery Teams strategically located throughout the country to respond to large-scale disasters.
Whom to Call When a Fire Damages Your Durham Property?


Do you have a toy car loving kid?
Channel that interest into a fun math activity to practice making ten.
Grab those cars and let's have some fun!
You'll need 12 toys cars, painter's tape, and a marker. Make sure you have a tape that will peel off easily. You don't want it to be stuck to the car permanently.
Put a small piece of tape on top of each car.
Mix up the cars. Challenge your child to match up the cars so that each pair adds up to ten.
Let them use their imagination while they play. Park the cars in a parking lot in the correct pairs. Or maybe each pair of cars lives at a different house.
Let your kids drive the cars around, have fun, and practice making ten all at the same time.
Pair up the cars in the wrong pairs. Have your child put them in the correct pairs.
Don't just make ten. Pick any two cars and add them together. What is the total?
A younger child would enjoy lining the cars up into the correct order from zero to ten.
How would you play with these cars?
This game is the perfect excuse to get out the toy cars.
Just add a few numbers and suddenly you've turned learning into a game. And, when you're done, just peel off the numbers and have fun playing cars.
If you enjoyed this post, the above photo can be share on Facebook. Or, you can Pin the photo below.


We witnessed an attempted coup in Turkey on the night of July 15. Despite its oddities, obscurities and uncertainties about the actors behind it, this was a genuine coup attempt.
The failure of this attempted coup is to the benefit of our people. If the coup had succeeded, the working people already burdened with all the imaginable problems laid on them by the capitalist system would have had to face heavier and more destructive conditions.
One needs to keep in mind that the coup plotters have a pro-NATO and Islamist orientation and they have been serving the international monopolies for decades.Another fact that one should keep in mind is that Fethullah Gülen emerged in the arena of politics within the ranks of the "Organization of the Struggle against Communism".
This organization was founded in 1960's by the CIA.What is interesting and ironic is the fact that Erdoğan, the primary target of the coup, and the coup plotters share the same ideological and political background. Islamism, anti-communism and full loyalty to the capitalist class are defining characteristics of Erdoğan as well and just like Fethullah Gülen, Erdoğan has also played significant roles in the Middle East scenarios spearheaded by the U.S.
There are a few reasons behind the recent tension between U.S., E.U. countries and Erdoğan. The failure in Syria, Erdoğan's continuous triggering of tensions within Turkey, his creation of a large room for maneuver with electoral support behind him, his 'out of control' moves are some of the first reasons that come to mind.
However, this tension has gradually become a factor in the contest created by the deep economic and political conflicts ongoing between U.S. and the forces under U.S. influence against the Russian Federation.As Erdoğan and his clique are in an existential struggle, facing domestic and international isolation, Putin administration, using 'carrot and stick' tactics, are advising Erdoğan to break ties with NATO or at least refrain from supporting NATO policies of Russia's encirclement.
Following the coup attempt, there are many within the government circles in Turkey who are accusing U.S. and E.U. and advocating for"collaboration with Russia". Without a doubt, this current trend is not one preferred by the bourgeoisie of Turkey but the product of the government clique looking for a safe haven and extremely scared following the coup attempt.
The dissolution of Turkey's economic, political and military relations with especially Germany and U.S. can only be achieved by a socialist revolution. A change of axis within the current order will only increase the possibility of chaos, conflict, civil and international war.
2. The debate in the international press about whether"the coup was real or not" is a trap, one that should be avoided. What needs to be discussed are the nuclear weapons in İncirlik base, NATO's covert operations, how and on whose behalf Fethullah Gülen founded this dark organization that serves the capitalist class in over hundred countries, the profits that tie Islamist Erdoğan and"secular" European leaders, the plunder of Turkey's public resources by the international monopolies and the immense exploitation all workers and toilers in Turkey are subject to.
3. While seemingly against the anti-people government of Turkey, we need to stand against all interventions of imperialist centers and attempts of a"color revolution". There is no good and bad capitalist. The insincerity of the statements by NATO and E.U. expressing concern about the issues of freedom and democracy in Turkey is obvious. The social liberation in Turkey will be the product of only the working people in Turkey.
4. Similarly, it is incomprehensible that Putin's Russia is portrayed as the liberator. The position of the Russian Federation towards Turkey is totally pragmatic and is completely shaped by the interests of the Russian ruling class. Putin administration that extolled Erdoğan a year ago declared the same Erdoğan a war criminal following the downing of the Russian war plane and even handed the U.N. a file full of proofs. However a few weeks before the coup attempt, the love affair between Putin and Erdoğan war rekindled. We will not let the forces within the imperialist-capitalist world order be the ones determining the future of our country.
6. The history of Turkey is the history of coups, political assassinations, religious fanaticism and militarism.
However, this is not all Turkey is about. Throughout its history, there have also been good developments in Turkey. The Republic of Turkey was founded as a result of the struggle waged together with the young Soviet Russia against an imperialist occupation. Since 1923, struggles against war, tyranny, capitalist exploitation never ceased to exist, with mass actions of the working class. An international communist poet like Nâzım Hikmet is the product of this country.
The legitimate popular movement that rose up against the government three years ago also point to the fact that there also exists a different front in Turkey that recently witnessed the fight between two Islamist cliques. We are calling on you to follow the front of the workers, to stand in solidarity with them and to make its voice heard. Against the capital, dictators, coup plotters of the monopolies, the working people, the revolutionary intellectuals and the communist militants have the tradition of internationalism.
Down with imperialism, NATO, and the imperialist EU as the source of coups. They should be be dissolved.


2nd CFP - RC21 conference - The end of urban neoliberalism (as we knew it)?
Call for papers - "Populating : The Elusive Category of Urban Policies"
Call for Papers ICCG VI -- Theme 4: Subjectivities - in crisis?
CFP RGS 2011: Postgrad population geography.
CFP RGS 2011: Sociospatial inequalities and the lifecourse.
cfp RGS-IBG 2011 " Imaginative Geographies and Environment: Where Land and Water Meet"
CFP RGS-IBG 2011: 'New Imperial Geographies'?
CFP RGS-IBG 2011: Mobile Geographies of Art: Bodies, technologies and transnationality.
CFP: RGS-IBG 2011 session on ?Economic, Ecological and Resource Crises: Developing Coping Strategies for the Future?
CFPs RGS 2011: Meteorological Imaginations.
Metropoles - New Issue "La nouvelle critique urbaine"
NEW WELFARE GEOGRAPHIES: THE REMAKING OF THE BRITISH WELFARE STATE?
RGS-IBG international Conference: Panel Session on 'Migration, forced and unfree labour: issues and approaches'.
sign and circulate: You cannot arrest a generation!
Re: sign and circulate: You cannot arrest a generation!


Intel kicked off its Intel Developers Forum in San Francisco on Tuesday by showing off an Ultrabook with Siri-like functions, new gesture controls for PCs, and its newest Haswell Core processor aimed at the mobile-PC market. David (Dadi) Perlmutter, Intel chief product officer, led the keynote and shared his vision for a connected future—powered by Intel, of course.
Perlmutter wasted little time and outlined how Intel was "redefining the computing experience," officially announcing its Haswell processor. The chip is the most power-efficient processor Intel has built, Perlmutter said, and it will allow the creation of thinner, lighter notebooks with touchscreens, all-day battery life, and instant-on functionality. He claimed that the chip is 20 times more power efficient compared with its earlier Sandy Bridge laptop chip, yet at the same time it increases graphics performance twofold.
Intel's roadmap to "reinventing mobility," as Perlmutter put it, also includes speech, touch, and gesture interfaces for Ultrabooks, PCs, and a bevy of mobile devices. Perlmutter said Intel is working on delivering a "true interactive experience across all devices." The goal is to give computers humanlike senses, he said.
Journalists take photos of a board with a prototype Haswell chip during the Intel Developer Forum.
Perlmutter then demonstrated speech-recognition software maker Nuance's Dragon Assistant program running on a Dell Ultrabook. The demo was similar to Apple's Siri voice-assistance technology. Perlmutter said Ultrabooks equipped with Dragon Assistant Beta will be available later this year.
Perlmutter also showed off hand-gesture control of games and applications running on a PC equipped with a small Creative Technology camera and software developed by SoftKinectic, a company that makes gesture-recognition applications. Perlmutter said Intel would be releasing a software development kit to help PC and device makers incorporate speech, facial recognition, and hand gestures. To spur innovation, Intel is doling out $1 million in awards to developers who come up with the best ideas for its SDK.
A concept thin laptop that Intel exec Dadi Perlmutter wants to run on a Haswell chip.
Against a backdrop of sluggish PC sales and the rise of tablets and smartphones, Perlmutter also talked about Intel's "Medfield SoCo" Atom processor for smartphones and tablets. Currently Intel is noticeably absent from that market; but as desktop and laptop sales slump, Intel is pinning its hopes on Medfield. Perlmutter says its mobile chip will be an alternative to the competing ARM-architecture processors found in devices such as the iPhone, the iPad, and most Android smartphones and tablets.
On stage, Perlmutter showed off a number of Atom-based tablets and claimed several "design wins" based on Intel's Clover Trail Atom-based platform.
On the power front, Perlmutter discussed Intel's Xeon Phi coprocessor, which is designed for high-performance computing. The digitization of data, coupled with the boom of social media, has been a gold mine for the company, with Intel processors becoming the brains and brawn behind the necessary number crunching and data centers.
Although Intel may not dominate the market for the chips running inside smartphones and tablets, it does dominate the cloud that those devices connect to. Intel likes to point out that most of the high-end servers that power the Internet carry the company's high-end chips, such as Xeon Phi coprocessors.
Perlmutter closed his keynote with the oddest demo of the day: a Coke machine with an embedded Intel Core i7 CPU. The vending machine had a large multitouch screen, an integrated camera, and Wi-Fi. It served both as a demo and as Intel's attempt at illustrating the ubiquity of the Intel chip architecture and how much PC technology has become a commodity.


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D.C. Daily: President Trump on Twitter denies asking FBI to stop Flynn investigation
Posted: 11:27 AM, Dec 03, 2017
Reports compiled by Zac Self.
WASHINGTON D.C. -- President Trump Sunday denied asking former FBI Director James Comey to stop an investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, according to the Washington Post.
"I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie," Trump said in a Sunday morning tweet.
I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie!
The tweet comes a day after Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about interactions with a Russian official.
President Trump Saturday sent a tweet saying he had to fire General Flynn because he lied to both the Vice President and the FBI.
I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!
Special Counsel Mueller 'poses an existential threat' to Trump's presidency: Trump friend Chris Ruddy
(ABC) -- President Donald Trump's friend Chris Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax Media, said Special Counsel Robert Mueller "poses an existential threat to the Trump presidency."
Ruddy, who spoke as part of a roundtable on ABC News' "This Week" Sunday, said he has talked to the president about the federal probe of Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion by Trump associates.
"I've spoken to the president quite a bit about it recently," Ruddy said. "He sees this as, you know, something that is going to go away pretty quickly. He says to me, 'Look, there was no collusion.'"
McMaster: Potential for war with North Korea 'increasing every day'
(CNN) -- White House national security adviser HR McMaster said Saturday that North Korea represents "the greatest immediate threat to the United States" and that the potential for war with the communist nation is growing each day.
"I think it's increasing every day, which means that we are in a race, really, we are in a race to be able to solve this problem," McMaster told an audience at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California when asked if North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile Tuesday had increased the chance of war.
President Donald Trump remains committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, McMaster said, adding that there are nonmilitary ways to deal with the issue, such as calling on China to impose greater economic sanctions against Pyongyang. McMaster noted that Beijing's "tremendous coercive economic power" over North Korea.


A band known to deep soul, funk and disco collectors for decades for theirsought after 7" 'Watching Out / Dazed', long thought to be the band's only recordings.
Now-Again issues this never-before-released album of devastatingly good disco and boogie from the unlikelycity of Des Moines, Iowa.
One of the member's collaborations with Prince's stable made him a Midwestern legend, but his band's music is more than an urban tall tale – this album finally proves to the world their merits!
Split Decision Band reissue is out now via Now-Again Records – buy from SOTU or Rappcats.


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Sweeping changes will be coming soon for consumers and businesses across the state of Kansas. New liquor laws will be put in place that will allow grocery stores and convenience stores to sell beer that contain up to 6 percent alcohol content. In addition to those changes, liquor stores will now be able to carry ice, mixers, glassware and other products not previously allowed by the law.


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University in East Asia Guards Against Reputational Risk of Security Breaches
Protecting students and educators against cyber threats with rapid detection, prioritization, and remediation of vulnerabilities across the IT network.
INDUSTRY: Education
BUSINESS: This leading higher education organization offers graduate and undergraduate programs across the arts and sciences.
SIZE: 3,000
BUSINESS CHALLENGE: To deliver high-quality learning experiences for students, this leading liberal arts university in East Asia aims to offer open access to digital resources. How could the organization achieve this goal while protecting its thousands of IT endpoints and web applications against cyberattack?
SOLUTION: Qualys VMDR® with integrated apps for asset identification and management, vulnerability management, threat detection and prioritization and response.
Empowering students with digital services
To offer high-quality learning experiences to its undergraduate and postgraduate students, this university in East Asia strives to provide easy access to a wide range of digital tools. From email and learning management systems to custom web applications, the organization aims to cultivate an open digital environment that helps students to achieve their full potential.
The Head of Information Security at the university comments: "The digital channel is becoming increasingly important to the way that we teach. While technology enables us to deliver content and engage with students in innovative ways, protecting a large and open IT environment creates some complex security challenges."
Guarding against cyber threats
To deliver its IT services, the university uses over 900 production servers, 1,000 web applications and around 1,600 other IT assets, including network devices, development servers, and research workstations. During term time, up to 10,000 IT endpoints are connected to the university network simultaneously, including laptops and mobile devices owned by students and teaching staff.
Why they chose Qualys VMDR:
Enables vulnerability scanning for over 2,500 IT assets and 1,000 web applications from a single point of control.
Cuts time required to remediate vulnerabilities by up to 60% by delivering timely information to system owners.
Facilitates management and prioritization of vulnerabilities, helping the university to address the most critical threats rapidly.
Offers network- and agent-based scanning capabilities to maximize coverage of IT endpoints while minimizing use of system resources.
"A successful cyberattack could interrupt not only teaching but also damage the university's reputation," continues the Head of Information Security. "A significant amount of sensitive data is stored digitally on our systems, which means it's important to ensure that our IT environment is secured against potential threats around the clock."
Targeting deeper insight
In the past, the university relied on two separate tools to scan its environment for vulnerabilities: network scanning and web application scanning. Because the two scanning tools were not integrated, it was difficult to gain a clear view of all the vulnerabilities affecting each system.
"As well as limiting our insight into our vulnerability exposure, it took us a significant amount of time to extract useful data from the scanning tools," adds the Head of Information Security. "We depend on our IT system owners to apply patches and update security configurations, but most of them are not security specialists. As a result, we were keen to find a way to deliver actionable vulnerability insights to them faster."
Moving to a proven platform
To enhance its approach to cyber security, the university selected Qualys VMDR® with integrated apps for asset identification and management, vulnerability management, threat detection and prioritization and response. VMDR empowers the university to scan its on-premises systems and web applications from a single point of control, eliminating the need for multiple separate scanning tools.
"When we were searching for a new solution, one of our key criteria was the ability to gain a more complete picture of all the vulnerabilities across our estate," says the Head of Information Security. "Crucially, we also wanted detailed reports that were easy to understand, because we rely on systems owners without specialist security knowledge to carry out the remediation work. One of the things we really appreciate about Qualys VMDR is that it combines comprehensive visibility of vulnerabilities with actionable reports, helping our stakeholders see exactly what they need to do to remediate their assets."
Looking to the future, the university plans to transform its IT environment by increasing its footprint in the cloud. As a result, the organization was impressed with the ability to use Qualys APIs to gain real-time visibility into the vulnerability status of cloud-based systems.
Building a 360-degree view of vulnerabilities
By replacing its legacy tools with a cloud-based solution, the university gains advanced vulnerability management capabilities without the cost and complexity of managing its own on-premises infrastructure. And thanks to the combination of network-based scanning and Qualys Cloud Agents, the organization ensures that it can capture detailed data from all parts of its IT environment.
"Qualys Cloud Agents are extremely lightweight, which means we never have to worry about system performance issues, even when we're deploying them to a critical server in our environment," adds the Head of Information Security.
Today, the university uses Qualys VMDR to scan its IT environment every six months, prioritize the most critical vulnerabilities, and generate detailed reports to help its teams rapidly close down threats.
"The progressive scanning function of Qualys Web Application Scanning allows us to thoroughly test our web applications, no matter how many URLs or pages they include," explains the Head of Information Security. "Without a doubt, the Qualys solution is contributing to higher visibility and easier management of vulnerabilities."
Saving costs, boosting security
Since transitioning to VMDR, the university is realizing its goal of maintaining an open and inclusive digital space while at the same time protecting its students and teaching staff against cyber threats.
"Although information security initiatives like ours don't set out to achieve cost-savings, we're confident that the Qualys Cloud Platform offers a significantly lower total cost of ownership, especially when taking into account the software and hardware infrastructure previously needed to run our previous on-premises tools," comments the Head of Information Security.
"Most importantly, we are now offering our system owners clear, actionable insight into which patches they need to deploy much faster than we could in the past. In fact, we estimate that Qualys VMDR has helped us to reduce the average time between detection and remediation by up to 60%, which is contributing to better protection for our stakeholders across the university."
Ready for what's next
Today, Qualys VMDR is tightly integrated into the university's information security process. The organization's server team has been given access to the scanning capabilities and uses VMDR to verify that new system implementations and patching initiatives are appropriately hardened against vulnerabilities.
Building on its success with the Qualys solution, the university is now exploring additional ways to harness the capabilities of VMDR to further strengthen its security posture. For example, the organization aims to use Qualys APIs to integrate VMDR with ServiceNow Configuration Management Database, dramatically reducing the manual effort required to keep its inventory of IT assets up to date.
"Our students and teachers rely more than ever on digital systems as it's vital to ensure that they're always available and protected," concludes the Head of Information Security. "Qualys VMDR empowers our lean team to protect over 2,500 IT assets and 1,000 web applications 24/7—and we look forward to working with Qualys to continue to enhance our protection in the future."
"We are now offering our system owners clear, actionable insight into which patches they need to deploy much faster than we could in the past. In fact, we estimate that Qualys VMDR has helped us to reduce the average time between detection and remediation by up to 60%, which is contributing to better protection for our stakeholders across the university."
Head of Information Security
University in East Asia