text:
\section{Introduction}

Document intelligence is a booming research topic and practical industrial demand in recent years. It mainly refers to the process of understanding, classification, extraction and information induction through artificial intelligence technology for the text and rich typography contained in web pages, digital documents or scanned documents. Due to the diversity of layouts and formats, low-quality scanned document images, and the complexity of template structures, document intelligence is a very challenging task and has received extensive attention in related fields. Layout Analysis, Table Recognition, and Key Information Extraction are three representative tasks in intelligent document analysis.

Document Layout Analysis can be regarded as an object detection task for document images in essence. The basic units such as titles, paragraphs, tables, and illustrations in the document are the objects needed to be detected and recognized. Layout-parser\cite{layoutparser} is a unified toolkit for Deep Learning Based Document Image Analysis. VSR\cite{vsr} is proposed for layout analysis, which comes to state-of-the-art on PubLayNet dataset\cite{publaynet}. In PP-Structure, we use PP-YOLOv2\cite{ppyolov2} to complete the layout analysis task, which is real-time on GPU devices. However, currently proposed models are not CPU-friendly and thus not conducive to deployment on CPUs or mobile devices.

Table Recognition is used to convert table images into editable Excel format files. The diversity of tables in document images, such as various rowspans and colspans and different text types, makes table recognition a hard task in document understanding. There are many table recognition methods, such as traditional algorithms based on heuristic rules and recently developed methods based on deep learning. Among them, the end-to-end method has received extensive attention due to the simplicity of the pipeline, which represent the table in HTML format and adopt Seq2Seq\cite{seq2seq} to predict the table structure, such as TableRec-RARE\cite{TableRec-RARE} in PP-Structure powered by PaddlePaddle\cite{paddlepaddle}. In TableMaster\cite{TableMaster}, transformer is used as the decoder, which achieves high accuracy, but brings huge computation cost.

Key Information Extraction (KIE) refers to extracting the specific information that users pay attention to. Semantic Entity Recognition (SER) and Relation Extraction (RE) are two main subtasks for KIE. LayoutLM\cite{layoutlm} is firstly proposed to jointly model interactions between text and layout information across scanned document images, which is beneficial to the downstream KIE process. LayoutLMv2\cite{layoutlmv2} integrates the image information in the pre-training stage by taking advantage of the transformer architecture to learn the cross-modality interaction between visual and textual information. LayoutXLM\cite{layoutxlm} is a multilingual extension of LayoutLMv2\cite{layoutlmv2} model. XY-LayoutLM \cite{xylayoutlm} proposed Augmented XY-CUT algorithm to sort the textlines in human reading order based on the observation that reading order is vital for KIE. However, these multi-modal approaches do not pay much attention to inference time.

PP-Structure is our first attempt for an intelligent document analysis system, which supports basic functions such as Layout Analysis and Table Recognition, but lacks consideration of efficiency, and there is still much room for performance improvement. In this work, we propose PP-StructureV2, a more robust and comprehensive document analysis system. Figure \ref{ppstructurev2_framework} shows the PP-StructureV2 framework. Firstly, the input document image direction is corrected by the Image Direction Correction module. For the Layout Information Extraction subsystem, as shown in the upper branch, the corrected image is firstly divided into different areas such as text, table and image through the layout analysis module, and then these areas are recognized respectively. For example, the table area is sent to the table recognition module for structural recognition, and the text area is sent to the OCR engine for text recognition. Finally, the layout recovery module is used to restore the image to an editable Word file consistent with the original image layout. For the Key Information Extraction subsystem, as shown in the lower branch, OCR engine is used to extract the text content, then the Semantic Entity Recognition module and Relation Extraction module are used to obtain the entities and their relationship in the image, respectively, so as to extract the required key information.

\begin{figure*}[ht]
\centering
\subfigure{
\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth]{ppstructurev2_eng.png}
}
\caption{Framework of the proposed PP-StructureV2. It contains two subsystems: layout information extraction and key information extraction.}
\label{ppstructurev2_framework}
\end{figure*}

The contributions of this paper are summarized as follows:

\begin{itemize}
    \item We upgrade the intelligent document analysis system PP-Structure and proposed PP-StructureV2 with better performance.
    \item We newly introduce two modules in PP-StructureV2: Image Direction Correction and Layout Recovery, which support processing rotated images and restore images to editable Word files based on analysis results.
    \item We optimize Layout Analysis, Table Recognition and Key Information Extraction models, significantly surpassing the previous version in terms of speed or accuracy.
\end{itemize}

The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In section 2, we present the details of the newly proposed improvement strategies. Experimental results are discussed in section 3 and conclusions are conducted in section 4.

\section{Improvement Strategies}

\subsection{Image Direction Correction Module}

Since the training set is generally dominated by 0-degree images, the information extraction effect of rotated images is often compromised. In PP-StructureV2, the input image direction is firstly corrected by the PULC text image direction model\cite{PULC_text_image_orientation} provided by PaddleClas \footnote{https://github.com/PaddlePaddle/PaddleClas}. Some demo images in the dataset are shown in Figure \ref{text_image_orientation_data_demo}. Different from the text line direction classifier, the text image direction classifier performs direction classification for the entire image. The text image direction classification model achieves 99\% accuracy on the validation set with 463 FPS on CPU device.

\begin{figure}[]
\centering
\subfigure{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{pulc.jpg}
}
\caption{Some images in the text image direction dataset.}
\label{text_image_orientation_data_demo}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Layout Analysis}

Layout Analysis refers to dividing document images into predefined areas such as text, title, table, and figure. In PP-Structure, we adopted the object detection algorithm PP-YOLOv2\cite{ppyolov2} as the layout detector. In PP-StructureV2, we use a more lightweight detector PP-PicoDet\cite{picodet}, which achieves superior performance on mobile devices. In addition, we adjust the image scale for the layout analysis scene, and use a knowledge distillation algorithm named FGD\cite{fgd} to further improve the model accuracy.

\subsubsection{PP-PicoDet: A better real-time object detector on mobile devices}

PaddleDetection \footnote{https://github.com/PaddlePaddle/PaddleDetection} proposed a new family of real-time object detectors, named PP-PicoDet, which achieves superior performance on mobile devices. PP-PicoDet adopts the CSP structure to constructure CSP-PAN as the neck, SimOTA as label assignment strategy, PP-LCNet as the backbone, and an improved detection One-shot Neural Architecture Search(NAS) is proposed to find the optimal architecture automatically for object detection. We replace PP-YOLOv2 adopted by PP-Structure with PP-PicoDet, and
adjust the input scale from 640*640 to 800*608, which is more suitable for document images. With 1.0x configuration, the accuracy is comparable to PP-YOLOv2, and the CPU inference speed is 11 times faster.

\subsubsection{FGD: Focal and Global Knowledge Distillation}

FGD\cite{fgd}, a knowledge distillation algorithm for object detection, takes into account local and global feature maps, combining focal distillation and global distillation. Focal distillation separates the foreground and background of the image, forcing the student to focus on the teacher's critical pixels and channels. Global distillation rebuilds the relation between different pixels and transfers it from teachers to students, compensating for missing global information in focal distillation. Based on the FGD distillation strategy, the student model (LCNet1.0x based PP-PicoDet) gets 0.5\% mAP improvement with the knowledge from the teacher model (LCNet2.5x based PP-PicoDet). Finally the student model is only 0.2\% lower than the teacher model on mAP, but 100\% faster.

\subsection{Table Recognition}

In recent years, many Table Recognition algorithms based on deep learning have been proposed. In PP-Structure, we proposed an end-to-end Table Recognition algorithm TableRec-RARE\cite{TableRec-RARE}, based on the text recognition algorithm RARE\cite{rare}. The model output is an HTML representation of a table structure, which can be easily converted into Excel files. In PP-StructureV2, we propose an efficient Table Recognition algorithm named SLANet (\textbf{S}tructure \textbf{L}ocation \textbf{A}lignment Network). Compared with TableRec-RARE, SLANet has been upgraded in terms of model structure and loss. Figure \ref{slanet_framework} shows the network structure of SLANet.

\begin{figure*}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=15cm]{slanet.jpg}
\caption{Architecture of our proposed SLANet, where C represent concat operation.}
\label{slanet_framework}
\end{figure*}

\subsubsection{PP-LCNet: CPU-friendly Lightweight Backbone}

PP-LCNet\cite{PP-LCNet} is a lightweight CPU network based on the MKLDNN acceleration strategy, which achieves better performance on multiple tasks than lightweight models such as ShuffleNetV2\cite{shufflenet}, MobileNetV3\cite{mobilenetv3}, and GhostNet\cite{ghostnet}. Additionally, pre-trained weights trained by SSLD\cite{SSLD} on ImageNet are used for Table Recognition model training process for higher accuracy.

\subsubsection{CSP-PAN: Lightweight Multi-level Feature Fusion Module}

Fusion of the features extracted by the backbone network can effectively alleviate problems brought by scale changes in complex scenes. In the early days, the FPN\cite{FPN} module was proposed and used for feature fusion, but its feature fusion process was one-way (from high-level to low-level), which was not sufficient. CSP-PAN\cite{PP-PicoDet} is improved based on PAN. While ensuring more sufficient feature fusion, strategies such as CSP block and depthwise separable convolution are used to reduce the computational cost. In SLANet, we reduce the output channels of CSP-PAN from 128 to 96 in order to reduce the model size.

\subsubsection{SLAHead: Structure and Location Alignment Module}

In the TableRec-RARE head, output of each step is concatenated and fed into SDM (Structure Decode Module) and CLDM (Cell Location Decode Module) to generate all cell tokens and coordinates, which ignores the one-to-one correspondence between cell token and coordinates. Therefore, we propose the SLAHead to align cell token and coordinates. In SLAHead, output of each step is fed into SDM and CLDM to get the token and coordinates of the current step, the token and coordinates of all steps are concatenated to get the HTML table representation and coordinates of all cells.

\subsubsection{Merge Token}

In TableRec-RARE, we use two separate tokens \textless td\textgreater \ and \textless/td\textgreater to represent a non-cross-row-column cell, which limits the network's ability to handle tables with a large number of cells. Inspired by TableMaster\cite{TableMaster}, we regard \textless td\textgreater \ and \textless/td\textgreater as one token - \textless td\textgreater\textless/td\textgreater in SLANet.

\subsection{Layout Recovery}

Layout Recovery a newly added module which is responsible for restoring the image to an editable Word file according to the analysis results. Layout of the restored file is consistent with the original image. Figure \ref{pic:layout_recovery} shows a demo result of Layout Recovery.

\begin{figure}[H]
\centering
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{./layout_recovery.png}
\caption{Layout Recovery result in PP-StructureV2.}
\label{pic:layout_recovery}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Key Information Extraction}

Key Information Extraction (KIE) is usually used to extract the specific information such as name, address and other fields in the ID card or forms. Semantic Entity Recognition (SER) and Relationship Extraction (RE) are two subtasks in KIE, which have been supported in PP-Structure. In PP-StructureV2, we design a visual-feature independent LayoutXLM structure for less inference time cost. TB-YX sorting algorithm and U-DML knowledge distillation are utilized for higher accuracy. Figure \ref{kie_framework} shows the KIE framework.

\begin{figure*}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth]{kie_framework_eng.png}
\caption{Key Information Extraction framework in PP-StructureV2.}
\label{kie_framework}
\end{figure*}

\subsubsection{VI-LayoutXLM: Visual-feature Independent LayoutXLM}

Visual backbone network is introduced in LayoutLMv2\cite{layoutlmv2} and LayoutXLM\cite{layoutxlm} to extract visual features and combine with subsequent text embedding as multi-modal input embedding. Considering that the visual backbone is base on ResNet\_x101\_64x4d, which takes much time during the visual feature extraction process, we remove this submodule from LayoutXLM. Surprisingly, we found that Hmean of SER and RE tasks based on LayoutXLM is not decreased, and Hmean of SER task based on LayoutLMv2 is just reduced by 2.1\%, while the model size is reduced by about 340MB.

\subsubsection{TB-YX: Threshold-Based YX sorting algorithm}

Text reading order is important for KIE tasks. In traditional multi-modal KIE methods, incorrect reading order that may be generated by different OCR engines is not considered, which will directly affect the position embedding and final inference result. Generally, we sort the OCR results from top to bottom and then left to right according to the absolute coordinates of the detected text boxes (YX). The obtained order is usually unstable and not consistent with the reading order as shown in Figure \ref{kie_sorting_algo} (a). We introduce a position offset threshold $th$ to address this problem (TB-YX). The text boxes are still sorted from top to bottom first, but when the distance between the two text boxes in the Y direction is less than the threshold $th$, their order is determined by the order in the X direction, as shown in Figure \ref{kie_sorting_algo} (b). It can be found that the sorted order by TB-YX is more consistent with reading order.

\begin{figure}[H]
\centering
\subfigure{
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{./kie_sorting.png}
}
\caption{Results of different sorting algorithms.}
\label{kie_sorting_algo}
\end{figure}

\subsubsection{U-DML: Unified-Deep Mutual Learning}

U-DML is a distillation method proposed in PP-OCRv2\cite{ppocrv2} which can effectively improve the accuracy without increasing model size. In PP-StructureV2, we apply U-DML to the training process of SER and RE tasks, and Hmean is increased by 0.6\% and 5.1\%, repectively.

\section{Experiments}
\subsection{Experimental Setup}
\subsubsection{Datasets}

For Layout Analysis, experiments are carried out on PubLayNet dataset\cite{publaynet}. PubLayNet is a large-scale dataset of document images, which contains 335,703 training, 11,245 validation and 11,405 testing images. Document layout elements such as text, title, list, table and figure are covered. MAP(Mean Average Precision) is used to evaluate the model performance. To verify the strategy generalization, we also carry out experiments on CDLA dataset\cite{cdla}, which is a Chinese layout analysis dataset and covers document elements such ad text, title, figure, figure caption, table, table caption, header, footer, reference, equation. The dataset contains 6,000 annotated images (5,000 for training and 1,000 for validation).

For Table Recognition, we conduct experiments on PubTabNet\cite{PubTabNet} dataset to verify the effectiveness of the proposed SLANet. PubTabNet contains 500,777 training, 9,115 validation, and 9,138 testing images generated by matching the XML and PDF representations of scientific articles. Since the annotations of the testing set are not released, we only report results on the validation set. A new Tree-Edit-Distance-based Similarity (TEDS) metric for table recognition task is proposed in this work, which can identify both table structure recognition and OCR errors. However, taking OCR errors into account may cause unfair comparison because of different OCR models. Some recent works [\cite{TableStruct-Net}, \cite{Lgpma}, \cite{gte}] have proposed a modified TEDS metric named TEDS-Struct to evaluate table structure recognition accuracy only by ignoring OCR errors. We use accuracy, TEDS and this modified metric to evaluate our approach on this dataset.

For Key Information Extraction, experiments are carried out on XFUND dataset\cite{xfund_dataset}. XFUND\cite{xfund_dataset} is a multilingual form understanding benchmark dataset that includes human-labeled forms with key-value pairs in 7 languages (Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese). Here, we use Chinese dataset which contains 149 training images and 50 validation images. Hmean is used to evaluate the model performance on both SER and RE tasks. To verify the strategy generalization, we also carry out experiments on FUNSD dataset\cite{funsd_dataset}, which is used for form understanding in noisy scanned documents and contains 199 annotated images (149 for training and 50 for validation).

\subsubsection{Implementation Details}

For Layout Analysis model, we use Momentum with momentum of 0.9 and weight decay 4e-5. Cosine decay learning rate scheduling strategy is adopted with learning rate of 0.4. The batch size and epoch num are set as 24 and 70 on 8*32G V100 GPU devices.

For Table Recognition model, we use Adam optimizer, the initial learning rate is set to 0.001 and adjusted to 0.0001 and 0.00005 after 50 and 60 epochs. The batch size and epoch num are set as 48 and 100 on 4*32G V100 GPU devices.

For Key Information Extraction model, we adopt most of the strategies following \cite{xylayoutlm}. Learning rate, batch size and epoch num are set as $5e^{-5}$, 32 and 200 for SER task, respectively. It's noted that batch size is reduced to 16 for U-DML training process considering the GPU memory. For RE task, the batch size is 8 and the epoch num is set as 130. Constant learning rate strategy with warmup is utilized in RE task for higher accuracy. 4 GPU cards are used for the training process.

\subsection{Layout Analysis}

Ablation experiments on PubLayNet are shown in Table \ref{Ablation_PubLayNet}. PP-YOLOv2 is used for Layout Analysis in PP-Structure. PP-PicoDet-LCNet2.5x is much more efficient than PP-YOLOv2, but mAP is reduced by 1.1\%. By adjusting the input image scale, mAP can be improved by 1.7\%, which is higher than baseline. To get a more lightweight model, we train 1.0x model with FGD, using the previous 2.5x model as the teacher model. The final mAP exceeds the baseline by 0.4\% with the inference speed increasing by 11 times, and the model storage is reduced by 95\%.

To verify the generalization of these strategies, we also conduct ablation experiments on the Chinese Layout Analysis dataset CDLA, and the results are shown in Table \ref{Ablation_CDLA}. It can be found that the performance of layout analysis in both Chinese and English scenarios can be significantly improved.

\begin{table}[t]
\begin{center}
\resizebox{0.45\textwidth}{!}{
\begin{tabular}{l|c|c|c}
\hline
Strategy & \makecell{mAP \\ (\%)} & \makecell{Speed \\ (ms)} &  \makecell{Model \\ Size(M)}\\
\hline
PP-YOLOv2(640*640) &	93.6 &	512 &	221 \\
PP-PicoDet-LCNet2.5x(640*640)  &	92.5 &	53.2 &	29.7 \\
PP-PicoDet-LCNet2.5x(800*608)  &	94.2 &  83.1 & 29.7 \\
PP-PicoDet-LCNet1.0x(800*608)  &	93.5 &  41.2 & 9.7 \\
PP-PicoDet-LCNet1.0x(800*608) + FGD &	94.0 &  41.2 & 9.7 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}}
\end{center}
\caption{Ablation experiments on PubLayNet dataset. \textbf{LCNet} refers to the backbone used in PP-PicoDet. The inference speed is tested on CPU.}
\label{Ablation_PubLayNet}
\end{table}

\begin{table}[t]
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{c|c}
\hline
Strategy & \makecell{mAP \\ (\%)}\\
\hline
PP-YOLOv2 &	84.7 \\
PP-PicoDet-LCNet2.5x(800*608)  &	87.8 \\
PP-PicoDet-LCNet1.0x(800*608)  &	84.5 \\
PP-PicoDet-LCNet1.0x(800*608) + FGD &	86.8 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\caption{Ablation experiments on CDLA Dataset. LCNet refers to the backbone used in PP-PicoDet. The inference speed is tested on CPU.}
\label{Ablation_CDLA}
\end{table}

We also compare the optimized PP-PicoDet with open source method layout-parser \footnote{https://github.com/Layout-Parser/layout-parser}, which is based on Detectron2. As can be seen from Table \ref{SOTA_PubLayNet}, PP-PicoDet outperforms layout-parser by a large margin on both mAP and inference speed.

\begin{table}[t]
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{c|c|c}
\hline
Strategy & \makecell{mAP \\ (\%)} & \makecell{Speed \\ (ms)} \\
\hline

layoutparser(Detectron2) &	88.98 &	2900.0 \\
PP-StructureV2(PP-PicoDet) & 94.00 &  41.2 \\

\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\caption{Comparison with different methods on PubLayNet dataset.}
\label{SOTA_PubLayNet}
\end{table}

\subsection{Table Recognition}

\begin{table}[t]
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{c|c|c|c|c}
\hline
Strategy & \makecell{Acc \\ (\%)} & \makecell{TEDS \\ (\%)} & \makecell{Speed \\ (ms)} &  \makecell{Model \\ Size(M)}\\
\hline

TableRec-RARE &	71.73 &	93.88 &	779 &	6.8 \\
+PP-LCNet  &	74.71 &	94.37 &	778 &	8.7 \\
+CSP-PAN  &	75.68 &	94.72 &	708 &	9.3 \\
+SLAHead  &	77.7 &	94.85 &	766 &	9.2 \\
+MergeToken & 76.31 &	\textbf{95.89} &	766 &	9.2 \\

\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\caption{Ablation experiments of SLANet on PubTabNet Dataset. The prediction speed is tested on CPU.}
\label{Ablation_SLANet}
\end{table}

\begin{table*}[h]
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{l|c|c|c|c|c}
\hline
Methods & \makecell{Acc \\ (\%)} & \makecell{TEDS \\ (\%)} & \makecell{TEDS-Struct \\ (\%)} & \makecell{Inference time \\ (ms)} &  \makecell{Model \\ Size(M)}\\
\hline

EDD & - &	88.3 &	-&	- &	- \\
TableMaster & 77.90 &	96.12 &	- &	2144 &	253 \\
LGPMA  & 65.74 & 94.70 &	96.70 &	- &	177 \\
TableRec-RARE &	71.73 &	93.88 &	- &	779 &	6.8 \\
\hline
SLANet & 76.31 &	95.89 &	\textbf{97.01} &	\textbf{766} &	9.2 \\

\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\caption{Compare with state-of-the-art methods on PubTabNet dataset.}
\label{SOTA_SLANet}
\end{table*}

Table \ref{Ablation_SLANet} shows the ablation experiments of optimization strategies for SLANet. The baseline model is TableRec-RARE which is proposed in PP-Structure. It can be found that the accuracy can be improved from 71.73\% to 74.71\% by replacing the MobileNetV3 based backbone with PP-LCNet, without increasing the inference time. Using CSP-PAN, the accuracy can be further improved to 75.68\%, and the inference time is reduced by 70ms due to the reduction of the number of feature maps entering the head. Subsequently, we use SLAHead to align the structure and location of cells, which improves the accuracy from 75.68\% to 77.7\%, but the model inference time cost increases from 708ms to 766ms due to the repeated execution of SDM and CLDM. During the previous training processes, the maximum number of tokens can be recognized is set to 500, so images with a token length greater than 500 will not participate in the calculation of the accuracy, but will participate in the calculation of TEDS. After merging tokens that appear in pairs, a HTML string of more tokens can be recognized. Almost all validation sets will participate in the calculation, so the accuracy is reduced slightly, but the TEDS is increased from 94.85\% to 95.89\%.

We compare our proposed SLANet with several state-of-the-art methods on PubTabNet dataset. Table \ref{SOTA_SLANet} shows the results of SLANet and some state-of-the-art methods on PubTabNet such as EDD\cite{EDD}, TableMaster\cite{TableMaster} and LGPMA\cite{Lgpma}. As can be seen from the table, SLANet is optimal for model size and inference time while maintaining competitive results.

\subsection{Key Information Extraction}

We firstly verify the VI-LayoutXLM's model performance, which can be shown in table \ref{ablation_kie_vi_layoutxlm}. It can be seen that When removing visual feature extraction module in LayoutXLM, the model Hmean is even 0.96\% higher.

\begin{table}[t]
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{l|c|c|c}
\hline
Model arch & \makecell{Model size \\ (G)}  & SER Hmean & Gain \\
\hline
LayoutLMv2 & 0.76 & 84.20\% & - \\
VI-LayoutLMv2 & 0.32 & 82.10\% & -2.10\% \\
LayoutXLM & 1.4 & 89.50\% & - \\
VI-LayoutXLM & 1.1 & 90.46\% & \textbf{+0.96\%} \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\caption{Ablation experiments of on FUNSD dataset.}
\label{ablation_kie_vi_layoutxlm}
\end{table}

The complete ablation experiments are shown in Table \ref{ablation_kie_xfund}. It can seen that reading order of the textlines is vital for the model accuracy, especially for RE task. VI-LayoutXLM is much faster than LayoutXLM under the same condition. Using U-DML knowledge distillation strategy, the model accuracy can be further improved.

\begin{table*}[h]
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{l|c|c|c|c|c}
\hline
Strategy & Model size (GB) & SER Hmean & RE Hmean & GPU Inference time (ms) & CPU inference time (ms) \\
\hline
LayoutXLM (baseline) & 1.4 & 89.50\% & 70.81\% & 59.35 & 766.16 \\
VI-LayoutXLM & 1.1 & 90.46\% & 71.87\% & 23.71 & 675.56 \\
+TB-YX & 1.1 & 92.50\% & 78.81\% & 23.71 & 675.56 \\
+U-DML & 1.1 & 93.19\% & 83.92\% & 23.71 & 675.56 \\
+U-DML* & \textbf{1.1} & \textbf{93.19\%} & \textbf{83.92\%} & \textbf{15.49} & \textbf{675.56} \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\caption{Ablation experiments of on XFUND-zh dataset. Here * means inference using TensorRT.}
\label{ablation_kie_xfund}
\end{table*}

To verify the generalization performance of KIE training strategy, we also carried out experiments on FUNSD dataset \cite{funsd_dataset}, the results are shown in table \ref{ablation_kie_funsd}. More accuracy benefits can be obtained for document images with unordered textlines and noise.

\begin{table}[H]
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{l|c|c}
\hline
Strategy & SER Hmean & RE Hmean \\
\hline
PP-Structure KIE & 82.28\% & 53.13\% \\
PP-StructureV2 KIE & \textbf{87.79\%} & \textbf{74.87\%} \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\caption{Ablation experiments of on FUNSD dataset.}
\label{ablation_kie_funsd}
\end{table}

What's more, we compare our VI-LayoutXLM with several state-of-the-art algorithms on XFUND-zh dataset, which are shown in table \ref{ablation_kie_xfund_sota}. It can be seen that VI-LayoutXLM outperforms most of the multi-modal based methods on XFUND-zh dataset.

\begin{table}[H]
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{l|c|c}
\hline
Strategy & SER Hmean & RE Hmean \\
\hline
LayoutLMv2-base KIE & 85.44\% & 67.77\% \\
LayoutXLM-base  & 89.24\% & 70.73\% \\
XYLayoutLM-base & 91.76\% & 74.45\% \\
StrucTexT-large & 92.29\% & \textbf{86.81\%} \\
VI-LayoutXLM-base (ours) & \textbf{93.19\%} & 83.92\% \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\caption{Comparison with different methods on the XFUND-zh dataset.}
\label{ablation_kie_xfund_sota}
\end{table}

\section{Conclusions}

In this paper, we propose a more robust and comprehensive structural transformation system, PP-StructureV2, which involves 8 improvements. Experiments demonstrate PP-StructureV2 outperforms PP-Structure on all subtasks (Layout Analysis, Table Recognition and Key Information Extraction) in terms of speed and accuracy. The corresponding ablation experiments are also provided.

\bibstyle{aaai21}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Veterinary Professionals Vote on the Best Dogs for New Owners
by Kristen Seymour
We know which dog breeds (and mixes) are the most popular and even which ones are on the rise. But a variety of factors can contribute to a breed or mix's popularity, and just because a dog is hot, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a great choice for everyone.
We went to the veterinary community to get their take on which dogs, both breeds and designer mixes, are the best choices for first-time dog owners. The following constitutes answers from 218 veterinary professionals who were given a list of the most popular dog breeds and mixes. The list was based on information from the American Kennel Club and on data gathered by Vetstreet. [ See Also: 15 Challenging Dog Breeds for New Pet Owners ]
No. 18: Pomeranian
The Pomeranian often seems to think he's the cutest thing around, and most of the time he's right. Tiny, fluffy, curious and clever, he's a happy and adaptable breed that can be equally content hanging out at home or performing on the agility course. Although his size is suitable for a purse, he doesn't seem to know it; his personality is all big dog, all the time. His thick coat needs regular brushing but isn't terribly high-maintenance.
No. 17: Shetland Sheepdog
Don't call him a little Collie! The Shetland Sheepdog is his own breed and has long been a family favorite for his happy face and loyal, smart and quirky personality. He learns tricks with ease and loves to show off, which, paired with his speed, makes him a great agility dog. Beware, though: The Sheltie is a barker, and don't be surprised to find him herding other members of the family — both animal and human.
No. 15 (tie): Yorkshire Terrier
Yorkies are considered a toy breed, but this easily portable dog is a total Terrier. He's intelligent and playful with a big enough attitude to handle cats and larger family dogs. His high-maintenance coat may be a challenge for some, but his alert, curious personality more than makes up for it as far as Yorkie lovers are concerned. Bet you won't want to put him down! It's hard to have just one of them. This dog is best for adults or families with older children.
No. 15 (tie): Havanese
The Havanese is a bright, lively pup who enjoys playing games with you, particularly if he's the one who created the game. But just because he has his own ideas, don't think for a moment he'll be content entertaining himself. This dog craves company and plenty of it. His coat requires daily brushing and occasional professional grooming, but he doesn't shed as much as many breeds.
No. 14: Maltese
At less than 7 pounds, the Maltese is a tiny toy dog, but his bold personality means he's no shrinking violet. Spunky and puppy-like even into his golden years, this smart little lap dog was specifically bred to love and be loved, which explains why vets agree he's a great pick for first-time dog owners. Remind the kids to be gentle with this in-your-face guy who's always in the thick of things.
No. 13: Pug
The Pug is an absolute charmer. His wrinkly face and fun-loving personality make him a hit with dogs, cats, adults and children. He's no athlete, and he's happiest when he's included as part of the family, which makes sense since the breed was bred as a companion dog for ancient Chinese nobility.
No. 12: Puggle
The fourth and final designer mix on our list, the Puggle is a cross between a Pug and a Beagle. Beagles are great family dogs who can hang with the most active of companions, yet they are also ruled by their nose and can be hard to lure back if someone accidentally leaves a door open. Oh, and then there's the howling. Pugs, on the other hand, are little homebodies whose short nose can make them less exercise-tolerant than other breeds their size. The Puggle can be a robust little dog with the adventurous yet quieter spirit of a Beagle and the clever antics of a Pug. The best Puggles love to please and have a sense of humor, but, as with all designer mixes, his traits are not fixed, so he has been known to be a bit stubborn, distractible and not overtly affectionate.
No. 11: Shih Tzu
This sweetheart of a dog lives to love and be loved, and he is happiest when snuggling in your lap. The Shih Tzu, originally bred for royalty in China, is compact, playful and mischievous enough to steal your shoes. He might believe the world revolves around him, but it's not out of arrogance; rather, it's because it tends to be pretty close to the truth. Not surprisingly, his coat requires regular grooming to keep it beautiful.
No. 10: Papillon
He might look dainty, but don't be fooled. The Papillon is definitely a "big dog in a small body," and his energy and intelligence abound, which makes him a perfect choice for active owners but a challenge for the more sedentary. He's clever and active enough to hang with the big dogs in organized sports and at the dog park but small enough to be content in an apartment setting. In order to keep him safe, you may have to remind your kids how small he really is. He'll never believe it himself.
No. 9: Boston Terrier
Friendly, portable and enthusiastic, the Boston Terrier gets along with just about everyone he meets. He was bred to be a buddy, after all, so he's happy so long as he's with his human family. And depending on that family's activity level, he can be a competitive canine athlete or a cuddly couch potato, making him another great choice for those new to dog ownership.
No. 8: Bichon Frise
The Bichon Frise was bred specifically to be a companion, so it's little surprise veterinarians deem him such a great choice for new dog owners. Wonderfully affectionate and endlessly entertaining, he has long been a popular circus performer, but he'll be perfectly happy performing his tricks for his family at home.
No. 7: Labradoodle
Like our No. 5 and 6 dogs, the Labradoodle is a popular crossbreed, this time mixing the exuberant, hardy Labrador with the stable, even-tempered Poodle. At his best, this is a smart, affable and moderately active dog who can excel in obedience, agility and being your best buddy. His size can vary depending on whether his Poodle genes are toy, miniature or standard. As with the other designer mixes, it's important to keep in mind that his traits are not fixed.
No. 6: Goldendoodle
The Goldendoodle combines the No. 1 and No. 2 breeds on this list, so it's no surprise he ranks well within the Top 10. A cross between the Golden Retriever and the Poodle, an ideal Goldendoodle is intelligent, friendly and hopefully more active than rowdy. Because traits of crossbreeds are not fixed, there's no guarantee that your Goldendoodle will be hypoallergenic or even a particular size, but he's likely to be a loving family dog.
No. 5: Cockapoo
The first of several designer mixed breeds on this list, the bright-eyed and scruffy-coated Cockapoo is a happy-go-lucky charmer. Ideally, this dog will combine the best traits of the Cocker Spaniel and Poodle, creating a jovial and affectionate, low- to no-shed pup who requires professional grooming. However, because he is a crossbreed, there's no guarantee as to what you'll end up with, and both breeds are susceptible to ear infections.
No. 4: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
This popular toy breed loves people, whether that involves sitting on laps or going for long walks. The Cavalier is happy, trusting and easygoing, making friends everywhere he goes. Although he can be stubborn, he generally responds well to positive reinforcement and tends to be adaptable enough to sit quietly with an older person, then turn around and play with an active child.
No. 3: Labrador Retriever
The lovable Lab has been a favorite breed in the U.S. for more than 20 years, and it would appear that vets agree with this choice, naming him the No. 3 best breed for new dog owners. This friendly breed is a popular choice for service and therapy dogs, and his athleticism makes him an excellent hunting dog and canine athlete. Labs can be challenging and rambunctious as puppies and young dogs, and they have the reputation of eating just about anything. These beauties are best suited to active families who enjoy taking the dog along on their adventures.
No. 2: Poodle
Smart, energetic, sensible and entertaining, the Poodle is another breed that's great for the beginner dog owner. Poodles have a reputation for being a bit aloof with people they don't know, but we just think they're less "needy." He's available in three sizes, but whatever size you choose, be aware that if you want his curly coat in anything but a basic cut, you're going to spend a lot of time going to the groomer.
No. 1: Golden Retriever
The Golden Retriever is the No. 1 choice of veterinarians for new dog owners, and it's no wonder. His sweet, gentle, people-pleasing personality makes him a delightful addition to most families. He loves to play, displays loyalty and affection — and, if that weren't enough, this guy is a real looker. Those good looks come at a price, though: His gorgeous coat needs regular brushing and bathing.
One note: The reasons a particular breed or crossbreed might be considered the "best" choice can vary, and while we did not ask specifically within the survey why a dog might be considered best for a new owner, we can speculate that considerations include behavior, temperament, health and intelligence.
We noticed some interesting trends within these answers. For one, the number of smaller, less work- or sport-related dogs is certainly noteworthy. Additionally, many dogs on this list require grooming rather than home brushing. It would appear that, along with the rise of takeout food, lawn care and cleaning services, our society is leaning toward more compact dogs with lower exercise and daily grooming needs. Does this mean we're spending less time with our dogs or that we're changing the ways in which we're spending time together? Not necessarily; it might simply mean that we are opting to maximize the quality of the time shared while minimizing hair cleanup in the house.
For more information on these and any other dog breeds, be sure to visit our Breed Hub. And if you think the vets missed the boat by leaving out your favorite breed, tell us about it in the comments!
More on Vetstreet.com:
5 Up-and-Coming Dog Breeds You Don't Know (But Soon Will)
5 Best Dog Breeds for Your Golden Years
Top 10 Questions to Ask Before Adopting a Dog
Why Does My Dog… Stare at Me?
Bad Weather Blues: How to Keep You and Your Dog from Going Stir Crazy
Dr. Marty Becker's Top 30 Pet Products of 2011
5 Small Dog Breeds This Vet Would Like to See More Of
Meet the 4 Cat Burglar Breeds Who Like to Swipe Your Stuff
Top 10 Holiday Pet Pics
Intestinal Parasites: The Squirm-Worthy Side of Living With Dogs
Teach Your Dog to Sit When You Stop
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The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is among the top 301 national universities cited in U.S. News and World Report's 2019 edition of "Best Colleges." B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration undergraduate programs were ranked 274 in the nation.
Other University graduate programs and schools cited are: business; part-time MBA; computer science; engineering; English; mathematics; and nursing doctorate. Several of its online programs are recognized: nursing (tied for No. 84); online bachelor's programs (tied for No. 94); and online graduate education programs (tied for No. 180). At UL Lafayette, our students can explore opportunities in research and hands-on learning in a vibrant and diverse educational environment.
U.S. News & World Report's best national universities include 190 public, 114 private and seven for-profit institutions, based on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. UL Lafayette is classified as a doctorate-granting institution with the second-highest level of research activity.
The rankings are compiled based on a range of factors, including graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, social mobility and alumni giving. The 2019 edition of "Best Colleges" includes information on more than 1,800 colleges and universities in the United States. School profiles provide specifics on academic life, financial aid, and student body makeup. The guide also has rankings for almost 1,400 schools in a range of categories.
Learn more about undergraduate business programs.


Blue Orange Games - Double Shutter - Shut The Super Box!
Roll and shut the box!
Double Shutter - Shut The Super Box!
Whether you're after solo entertainment, exciting competition, or a cooperative challenge, look no further than Double Shutter. This high quality game rewards tactical choices and tests your luck. Roll the dice and knock down a combination of numbered tiles that add up to the rolled number. The round ends when no tiles remain to equal the dice, and the player with the lowest total wins. Very few can flip all the tiles and "shut the super box." Even less can play just one game!
Learn more about this portable game here!


Troock (Oliver) Upholstery Ltd is Edmonton's place for comprehensive furniture upholstery work. We have experience recovering all types of furniture from chairs, couches, stools, and ottomans to divans, settees, parson chairs, and wingbacks. Our shop is home to a wide selection of fabrics. We work with you to find the right colour, style, and texture to fit your upholstery restoration needs.
Keep traditions alive with our antique upholstery services. We know that some pieces of furniture have been in your family for generations. But they've also seen their share of wear and tear, some more than others. Don't throw out that old chair or sofa. Allow us to carefully restore the upholstery to new. Troock (Oliver) Upholstery Ltd has four decades of experience handling antique upholstery work. Contact us today to request your free estimate.


The floss action toothbrush heads provide a floss-like clean. The unique floss action bristles loosen plague in between teeth. The round toothbrush heads are inspired by dental professional tools for a tooth-by-tooth clean, with specially engineered bristles for optimal tooth coverage. Works with Oral-B Triumph, Oral-B Smart Series, Oral-B Pro, Oral-B Vitality (except vitality sonic) and Oral-B Pro Health Power. *This does not replace flossing.


My heart sank when I opened up my bag of fish and I saw these huge eyes staring at me reproachfullly. This was not what I was expecting!
You see, we had been in Kadıköy on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, where we enjoyed a simple fish lunch at one of those bustling little places there – not at all fancy but really nice. You choose your fish from the stall outside, they cook it and then you sit down and eat it. You can even have a glass of wine.
We also ordered two çipura or sea bream, to take home with us and asked for fileto/fillets. I wanted to cook them the next day in paper/kağıtta. But no, prepared like this, heads on and all, paper would not do! I must say, living in Turkey teaches you to be flexible if nothing else.
The following recipe is a good one to have up your sleeve: the lemon juice, garlic and melted butter combine to make the fish really tasty and succulent. Garlic is always good! You can use this with any firm white fish, again, fillets would be best but it worked just fine with these two beauties. With a few boiled potatoes and a green salad, a healthy and satisfying dinner was on the table in no time flat.
· Line an ovenproof baking dish with cooking foil and brush with a little of the melted butter.
· Place the fish fillets on the tray and rub them with a little of the salt and pepper. Mix the lemon juice, crushed garlic, the rest of the melted butter, the remaining seasoned salt and black pepper, and pour over the fish.
· Cook for 25 mins or so till done.
Again sea bream/çipura but this time I bought it from my local supermarket, a 3M Migros. I have to admit that the fishmongers there do a better job of cleaning the fish than they do in the markets, and they did make beautiful fillets out of it.
I marinated it yesterday morning along the lines of Trout with Clout ie with oyster sauce (yes, we can get it here!), soy sauce, and sesame oil. Covered with clingfilm, it stayed in the fridge until I baked it in the oven in the evening.
Very simple as fish usually is yet absolutely delicious.
Both of these fish recipes look fantastic! I have the opposite problem…where I always try telling the fish mongers NOT to cut off the heads and keep it whole. When I go to the same guy in Besiktas, he finally understands what I want. =) But yes, it's always helps to be flexible here.
Your little fish restaurant place in Kadıköy sounds very similar to Fethiye fish market. we love going there to have our fish cooked for us.
Thanks for these recipe. We eat a lot of fish and I'm always looking for new ways to cook it. I love the simple lemon garlic butter rub. I don't think I could have coped with those heads, though!
Lütfen temizleyin ve fileto yapın! This is Claudia BTW!!!!!
Oh I made the courgette and walnut muffins for some friends last week and they loved it, thanks for posting that recipe.
Garlic, butter and lemon – perfect! I can almost taste it. I just read a very similar recipe where a sprinkle of raki and some dill is added – just back from Turkey I think I will try that one with some dorades soon.
BTW: Like the new design of your blog, Claudia!
Hi Barbara! Were you with your friend near Izmir? It's been extremely cold – you haven't been very lucky with the weather during your visits here!!
I think I would like your fish restaurant. You can tell from the eyes that those are very fresh fish. Your recipe for the fish sounds wonderful. Have a good day.
Hi Michel! I do love your comments! Are you in Sablet now? I envy you!! Yes, the eyes are the test, aren't they?
Yummy cipura, Claudia! I know what you mean with getting the whole package with fish – tails, eyes and head! in Turkey! Mind you, mum always says the head is tastier:) Enjoy the cipura for me – loved the garlicy sauce!
Hi Özlem! Nice to hear from you! I know they say that about the head but frankly fillets are just easier to eat …and garlic: yum!


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Sister Wives to address Meri and Kody Brown's divorce in next week's episode?
Asa Hawks February 9, 2015 divorce, Meri Brown, Robyn Sullivan Brown, Sister Wives, Weddings
The Brown family of TLC's hit polygamist reality series Sister Wives made headlines last week when it was revealed that family patriarch Kody Brown had legally divorced his first wife Meri in September, 2014 and then, in December, he legally married his fourth wife, Robyn. "We have chosen to legally restructure our family," the family later confirmed in a statement.
There has been much speculation over what the motivation might have been for the Brown family to "legally restructure," with most believing it had to do with the fact that Robyn has three children from a previous marriage and being legally married to Kody would help with any sort of issues such as custody, insurance, taxes, etc. Otherwise, fans have essentially been left in the dark without any further word on the matter coming from the Brown family.
However, it appears as though the divorce and marriage will be addressed on the show next week! TLC is currently doing two-hour blocks of original Sister Wives programming every Sunday night now, with the first hour being a new episode and the second being an hour-long behind-the-scenes look at the show with a focus on a particular wife. Last night's behind-the-scenes feature focused on Robyn — her introduction to the family, the birth of her son Solomon, her and Kody's wedding, etc. Next week's second hour of behind-the-scenes footage will focus on Meri Brown, and it appears as though the divorce and remarriage will be addressed in one, if not both of the new episodes.
The cast members of the show were live tweeting last night's back-to-back episodes, and that is where it was revealed (or at least strongly hinted at) that fans will get to see the real reason Kody divorced Meri and married Robyn over the course of the next three weeks.
"So many have been asking," Meri tweeted, "be sure to watch next week as we begin telling our real story regarding current news in our family."
Kody iterated Meri's message. "Careful!" he tweeted. "Many may judge what they don't understand. If you want to know, watch #SisterWives and most will be revealed over nxt3weeks!"
One fan asked Meri, "what are the chances next week's show will be 'the real story?'" Meri's response was, "Very high. Keep watching."
Another fan tweeted, "If they have a show on living a polygamous life and omit a truth that has a direct impact on it, That's dishonest." Meri responded to that comment by writing, "Truths are not omitted. Be sure to watch the next few weeks to get the real story."
And another interaction:
@debbdotblonde Don't be disgusted by what you don't understand. Give it a few more weeks. For me.
— Meri Brown (@MeriBrown1) February 9, 2015
Although Robyn didn't seem to address the divorce and remarriage controversy specifically, she did remind her Twitter followers that regardless of who is the one wife legally tied to Kody, they are all married to him:
You expose how see our family & marriages when you refer to us as not married just committed. We are ALL married to Kody! #BlockingSpree
— Robyn Sullivan Brown (@LuvgvsUwngs) February 9, 2015
So be sure to tune in to TLC next week for new episodes of Sister Wives starting at 9/8c to find out the real reason Kody divorce Meri and married Robyn!
SISTER WIVES Aspyn Brown and Mitch Thompson wedding photos and details
Beefcake for breakfast: Brad Pitt says 'time is nigh' for wedding
Tamra Barney and Eddie Judge tie the knot


A power meter is a piece of equipment that attaches to your bike and has the ability to measure your power output in watts produced as you pedal. While this data can be helpful in improving performance, not all cyclists are sold on whether a power meter is worth the investment.
To help you decide, let's take a look at a few of the ways a power meter can help you during training and racing to become a better cyclist and improve your performance.
Heart rate monitors and GPS cycling computers can be important pieces of equipment to own as a cyclist to measure performance. To get a better picture of your individual fitness, a power meter can provide additional information such as the number of watts you are producing as you pedal, the total amount of work performed during a workout (kilojoules) and the overall intensity of a given ride.
In addition to other basic data like distance, speed and cadence, a power meter also helps you determine your power-based training zones, allowing you to fine-tune your workouts and set goals for each of your weekly workouts more easily. The data you receive is also extremely accurate and isn't skewed by external factors like wind or terrain.
Pacing yourself accurately during a workout or race can be a challenge, especially during high-intensity efforts or on long, difficult rides. While a heart rate monitor can help you determine how your body is responding to an effort, it isn't always the best option for pacing because it is affected by variables such as stress, hydration and temperature.
Ideally, a heart rate monitor is used in conjunction with a power meter to help you maintain a consistent effort or work rate during your ride. When the number of watts you are producing goes up or down from your intended pace, a power meter makes it easy to respond by increasing or decreasing your effort.
Investing in a power meter can be a good way to help you understand what your weaknesses are as a cyclist. For instance, maybe your power numbers are high for a 30-minute time trial, but fade during longer efforts such as a 60-minute time trial. Maybe your power fades on long climbs, but is high on short, punchy climbs. Knowing your weak spots by analyzing data can help you develop a plan to improve on these areas and develop workouts accordingly.
A power meter can also help you determine your strengths, such as whether or not you are able to produce more power at certain cadences. Making these determinations strictly by looking at miles per hour isn't accurate since these numbers can be influenced by external factors. But if your wattage is significantly higher when you ride at 80 rpm as opposed to when you try to ride at a 100 rpm, it can help you recognize you are better suited to riding at a lower rpm. This can also help you tailor your training program, create better racing tactics, and choose events that allow you to better showcase your strengths as a cyclist.
Whether you want to increase your endurance or improve your lactate threshold, determining your training zones and designing your workouts to have specific goals improves your overall performance as a cyclist.
To do so, you can perform a 20-minute field test to determine your functional threshold power (FTP). Based on these results, you'll be able to train or race in power-based zones. This helps to maximize training time and allows you to easily adapt your workouts to changes in your fitness level as your training plan progresses.
Altering your position on the bike can improve your aerodynamics and overall comfort on the bike. Using a power meter is one way you can measure whether seat height, seat fore/aft position, stem length or other changes to your position have a direct effect on your speed and overall efficiency.
This can be determined by completing a field test. For example, after riding for 15 minutes at 18 miles per hour and noting your average wattage, make the needed adjustments to your bike. Re-ride the same route for an additional 15 minutes at 18 miles per hour. If your wattage is lower on the second ride, the changes you've made may have helped your overall efficiency on the road. If not, it may be an indication additional changes need to be made.


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MDxHealth Reports First Half 2015 Results
Revenues up 64% to $7.9 million
ConfirmMDx revenue up 77% to $6.9 million
Cash position strengthened with $31.0 million private placement enabling greater expansion of sales force and pipeline expansion in H2
IRVINE, CA, and HERSTAL, BELGIUM – August 20, 2015 – MDxHealth SA (Euronext: MDXH.BR), today announced the results of the first-half year ended June 30, 2015.
Revenues increased 64% to $7.9 million in H1 2015, from $4.8 million in H1 2014
Net losses decreased 32% compared to the same period in 2014
H1 2015 ConfirmMDx revenue increased 77% to $6.9 million from $3.9 million in H1 2014, reflecting:
Greater investment in managed care, generating three positive healthcare insurance coverage decisions with major payors in the US for ConfirmMDx
Expansion of the Company's billing department, significantly improving cash collections
H1 2015 ConfirmMDx case volume was flat (~5,500 cases) compared to H1 2014, reflecting industry-wide impact from severe winter weather conditions in the northeastern US and the Company's decision to allocate significant resources toward enhancing reimbursement of ConfirmMDx
Cash position of $40.4 million compared to $12.7 million on June 30 2014 reflecting $31.0 million equity placement in June to further support scale up of U.S. managed care and reimbursement for ConfirmMDx and clinical affairs and sales and marketing efforts
Exact Sciences reported strong sales volume for Cologuard® of 32,000 cases in the first half, increasing royalty amounts and triggering an undisclosed milestone payment under our license agreement
Research & Development Highlights
Data presented at ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium 2015 and American Urology Association (AUA) 2015 Annual Meetings demonstrating that ConfirmMDx genes detect clinically significant prostate cancer, further enhancing the product's clinical utility by aiding in the identification of patients who may benefit from early detection and treatment
Completed patient enrollment into prospective, randomized PASCUAL clinical utility study with ConfirmMDx for Prostate Cancer
Signed world-wide methylation specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) out-licensing agreement with oncgnostics GmbH, Jena, Germany for the identification of cervical cancer, demonstrating again the broad appeal of our epigenetic approach
Awarded Euronext's 2014 Best BEL Small Company Award
Post-Period Events
Positive top-line data announced for the Company's urine-based 'liquid biopsy' test for bladder cancer
Signed worldwide exclusive license agreement with University Erasmus MC for DNA methylation markers for the Company's bladder cancer test
Signed insurance contract with UPMC Health Plan for ConfirmMDx in Pennsylvania, providing access to one of the largest healthcare providers in the State
Appointed Philip J. Ginsburg, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Ginsburg joins MDxHealth with over 20 years of commercial medical laboratory and urology experience. In this new role, Dr. Ginsburg will have overall responsibility for clinical strategy, including scientific and clinical affairs
In March 2015, the Company appointed Mr. Brett Swansiger as Vice President of Managed Care and Strategic Accounts. Mr. Swansiger has over 17 years of experience with the life science industry, 10 of which focused on establishing reimbursement and positive medical policies with managed care organizations
Dr. Jan Groen, CEO of MDxHealth, commented: "We are pleased to see that our strong focus on securing favorable reimbursement from US commercial payers and expanding our billing department is paying off with increased revenues this half. While this focus, as well as the adverse weather conditions in northeastern US, has also impacted our ConfirmMDx volume growth in H1, we are now better positioned to grow test volumes in line with revenues. Following our successful equity placement in June, we have already expanded our direct sales team by 50% with the goal to spur case volume growth for the second half of this year.
"In line with our strategy to expand the clinical utility of our current cancer identification solutions and expand the Company's test portfolio to address a broader segment of the urology market, we have been delighted to present strong data on ConfirmMDx Prostate Cancer at two prestigious conferences, demonstrating the potential of ConfirmMDx to identify clinically significant prostate cancer. The development of non-invasive "liquid biopsy" testing solutions is also a key focus for the Company's future test portfolio and we look forward to presenting the positive data from the Company's trial for early non-invasive identification of bladder cancer at the World Congress on Urological Research in September."
Key Figures for the first half (thousands of U.S. dollars, except number of shares and per share data):
As of June 30, 2015 First half year 2015 First half year 2014 % Change
Total revenues 7,860 4,804 63.6%
Total operating expenses 10,499 10,434 0.6%
EBITDA (Loss) -5,277 -7,932 -33.5%
Operating profit (EBIT) -5,475 -8,086 -32.3%
Net loss -5,484 -8,043 -31.8%
Earnings per share, basic ($) -0.12 -0.23 -47.8%
Number of outstanding shares 43,998,490 34,251,303 28.4%
Cash and cash equivalents 40,444 12,709 218.2%
Total revenues rose 64% to $7.9 million in H1 2015, compared to $4.8 million in H1 2014. Revenue from ConfirmMDx sales increased 77%, to $6.9 million in H1 2015 compared to $3.9 million in H1 2014. ConfirmMDx represented 87% of the overall revenue mix in H1 2015, as compared to 81% in the same period last year. Revenue recognition of ConfirmMDx sales continue to improve as positive coverage decisions from commercial payors are obtained, Medicare and Medicare Advantage reimbursements have increased, and overall 3rd party and patient collections have improved. Continued investments in sales and revenue cycle infrastructure have been important to revenue growth.
Operating expenses for H1 2015 were $10.4 million, the same as H1 2014. This was attributable to balanced spending with continued build-up of the U.S. commercial operations in support of the ConfirmMDx for Prostate Cancer test, offset by lower expensed R&D costs resulting from the capitalization of allowed development costs.
Consistent with the trend of lowering losses since 2014 H1 2015 loss narrowed over the same period in 2014 due to higher revenues, helped by stable expenses. The Company's operating loss (EBIT) decreased by 32% in H1 2015.
Cash Position: MDxHealth ended the first half of 2015 with cash and cash equivalents of $40.4 million compared to $12.7 million on June 30, 2014. The increase is primarily a result of the June 2015 capital increase.
Q3 and FY2015 Outlook
The Company maintains its guidance for the full year 2015, with projected revenues expected to be between $16 and $20 million and ConfirmMDx case volumes between 15,000 and 17,000. We anticipate continued growth in case volume, cash collections and revenue will be supported by the Company's expanded managed care, billing and sales departments. At the date of this release, daily average case volumes have already strengthened from H1 levels, reflecting early efforts from our recent and continuing sales force expansion. Additionally, our newly hired CMO Dr. Philip Ginsburg will be important in supporting the managed care team, sales force and the Company's strategy to gain entry into clinical guidelines.
Completing enrollment of 600 patients in the PASCUAL trial ahead of schedule was a significant accomplishment in H1 and demonstrates the support for the assay among the urology community. The study is on track for completion in early 2017 as originally planned. It is important to note that data from the PASCUAL interim analysis is shared only with Palmetto GBA on a confidential basis under its MolDX program, and will not be published as this would bias the long-term outcome of this pivotal trial. We continue to work collaboratively with Palmetto GBA to help establish the groundbreaking pathway to Coverage with Data Development (CDD). In parallel with the PASCUAL trial, our ConfirmMDx Certification and Training Registry is fully implemented and accepting Medicare patients not enrolled in PASCUAL.
MDxHealth is a multinational healthcare company that provides actionable epigenetic information to personalize the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The company's tests are based on proprietary gene methylation (epigenetic) technology and assist physicians with the diagnosis of cancer, prognosis of recurrence risk, and prediction of response to a specific therapy. For more information visit mdxhealth.com and follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/mdxhealth.
Statutory Auditor's Limited Review Report: We have reviewed the accompanying interim consolidated statement of financial position of MDxHealth SA as of 30 June 2015 and the related interim consolidated statements of comprehensive income, cash flows and changes in equity for the six-month period then ended, as well as the explanatory notes. The Board of Directors is responsible for the preparation and presentation of this consolidated interim financial information in accordance with IAS 34 "Interim Financial Reporting", as adopted by the European Union. Our responsibility is to express a conclusion on this consolidated interim financial information based on our review.
We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements 2410, "Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity". A review of interim financial information consists of making inquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion.
Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the accompanying consolidated interim financial information is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with IAS 34 "Interim Financial Reporting", as adopted by the European Union.
Zaventem, August 19, 2015
BDO Bedrijfsrevisoren Burg. Ven. CBVA / BDO Réviseurs d'Entreprises Soc. Civ. SCRL- Statutory auditor – Represented by Gert Claes
Complete Financial Statements: To download the 2015 interim report, go to: http://www.mdxhealth.com/investors/financials
Mike Sinclair (PR)
Halsin Partners
Cell: +44 7968 022075
msinclair@halsin.com
Amber Fennell (IR)
fennell@consilium-comms.com


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College students, come be part of our worship experience as we seek to connect with God and each other. Our goal is to be a Word-centric, authentic community that engages the world. Contact College Pastor Adam French for more information.


text:
Harrison Goldman
Independent Stone Consultant & Design Engineer
January 5, 2022 January 5, 2022 Sarah Goldman
Harrison Goldman are making a voluntary simple statement in line with supporting the Modern Slavery Act 2015. We are a privately owned company in England, our only HQ: Airport House Purley Way Croydon CR0 0XZ. Our company's turnover is less than the £36m; the figure the UK Government has set for companies to comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Harrison Goldman will try to ensure as far as is practical, that Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking are not taking place in our company or with any businesses we do business with, by making sure appropriate anti-slavery and human trafficking procedures are in place, as befits the size of the company. Our staff will be made aware of the subject and how to report any concerns to the Directors of Harrison Goldman or The Salvation Army 0300 303 8151 or The UK Government 24-hour modern slavery helpline for victims, employers and members of the public, who may encounter modern slavery, can call for expert support and advice.0800 0121 700.
HG 2022
Statement	MSA 2015
UKCA marking – British Standards Post Brexit
December 15, 2021 December 15, 2021 Sarah Goldman
The Stone Federation GB, give the following information:
British Standards Secured Post-Brexit. On 23 November, the General Assemblies of the European Standards Organizations CEN and CENELEC approved a plan that secures British Standards Institutions' full membership post-Brexit. BSI welcomed the outcome as a pragmatic solution that provides stability for the European standards system while meeting the needs of their stakeholders, which includes the natural stone industry. This means that all Eurocodes, EN product standards and EN test methods will still apply. The decisions, taken separately in both organizations, will also enable the UK industry and other stakeholders to continue their important work shaping and maintaining best practice standards used across Europe and internationally. It also means that UK experts will continue as chairs, convenors, committee members and policy experts to work on maintaining and developing the 20,000 European standards that are managed by CEN and CENELEC.
On 17th December 2020 BS 8298, the Standard that covers the Installation of Natural Stone Cladding and Lining was updated. It replaces the previous BS 8298 originally published in 2010. The 2010 Standard consisted of four parts. This has now been reduced to three parts, parts 2, 3 & 4 which cover hand setting, stone precast and rainscreens. The main aim of the revision was to provide more consistency with other material design Standards with values derived from industry experience and a historical precedent of conformity and not a reliability‑based analysis. It is the long‑term goal for partial safety factors to be derived from a reliability‑based analysis in accordance with the principles of BS EN 1990:2002+A1, Annex D. This revised and significantly updated suite of standards provides guidance for all those involved in the selection, design and installation of natural stone cladding and is a must-have British Standard.
This is a full revision of the Standard and introduces the following principal changes:
• the incorporation of the recommendations for production control testing from BS 8298‑1:2010;
• the addition of several figures to illustrate key details; and
• the structural design of the stone has been updated to follow the principles of limit state design.
Harrison Goldman is associated with Stone Federation GB and as a company we have been involved with the production of British and European Standards and industry codes of practice, please contact us on 020 8689 4777 for further information on BS, UKCA, CE or industry codes of practice, we are here to help.
Statement	Brexit, CE Marking
Airport House
Purley Way
Surrey, CR0 0XZ
Four Courts, Dublin Ireland
HG Covid opening information
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All content Copyright © 2021 Harrison Goldman : Statements


In the last 2-3 years, there has been a massive development when it comes to the production and release of innovative monitors that are perfect for gaming. The market has welcomed the arrival of high-end gaming monitors that boast higher resolutions that even reach 4K. ASUS, for instance, is not a stranger when it comes to releasing impressive monitors such as their latest curved gaming monitors as well as the long anticipated 144Hz 4K model.
However, for those out there who aren't willing to pay a lot of money for the high-end gaming machines, there is also good news as the older models drop in price yet still deliver an amazing gaming experience. The 27" WQHD ASUS MG279Q prides itself for being equipped with impressive 144Hz refresh rate, 1440p resolution, and AMD FreeSync technology that gives every game the power to embark on a smooth experience and seamless visuals.
The 27-inch display of ASUS MG279Q PC monitor comes with the In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology. Said technology gives gamers and users superior images and color saturation of 100% sRGB Gamut. The panel is capable of producing a whopping 16.78 million colors that can truly bring any game or visuals to life. You will also enjoy playing games thanks to the ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio that gives an astounding 1,000,000,000:1 contrast.
The 178-degree viewing angles is also an advantage as it minimizes distortion as well as controls color shifts. This also boosts pleasurable viewing experience of those around you. Another reason that makes the ASUS MG279Q a true winner when it comes to the competition for the best gaming monitor. This ASUS model offers a whole new generation of display that is equipped with an impressive resolution of WQHD 2560×1440 panel. The pixel density of 109 per inch results in a vibrant image quality with expressive details.
As compared to the standard FHD 1920 x 1080 displays that are common with most gaming monitors, gamers and users of the ASUS MG279Q 1440p display enjoy a greater detailed imaging. They also get to benefit from 77% more desktop space. While many may not pay attention to small details such as these, they can actually provide gamers with a massive in-game advantage due to the sharper overall picture.
You would instantly find in this ASUS MG279Q monitor review that the most important and interesting feature of this gaming monitor is the AMD FreeSync technology. It zaps the visual tears as well as the stutters that typically happens when the refresh rate and the frame rate of the graphics card become out of sync. This technology basically matches the refresh rate and the frame rate so as to ensure smoother gaming. However, it is only usable with the FreeSync compatible AMD graphics cards.
The presence of the AMD FreeSync technology in the ASUS MG279Q 144Hz display is a colossal advantage for gamers as the technology itself resolves the communication issues that can occur between the processor and the monitor. This technology is built to ensure that gamers would no longer experience broken frames and choppy gameplay. On top of the AMD FreeSync technology, this monitor has other ASUS-exclusive technologies and features like GamePlus, Game Visual, Ultra-Low Blue Light, and Flicker-Free, which are all designed to give comfortable gaming experience.
On the right side, you can access the Power Button. Next to it is a 5-way OSD control buttons. This is quite tricky as you may first see the marking on the front bezel. However, the actual buttons are actually on the back side. Navigating the setting menu is also a breeze with the ASUS MG279Q. One thing I appreciate about the GameVisual settings is that they come in the form of optimized picture pre-sets The settings include options for the Racing, Scenery, Real-Time Strategy/Role-Playing Game, sRGB, and First Person Shooter modes.
In addition, when it comes to the Brightness and Contrast, there are added features that turn the Blue Light Filter option on and off. This filter is designed to alleviate the common eye strains that many gamers experience from playing long sessions. You can also optimize the Skin Tone Settings and choose among Natural, Yellowish, and Reddish. Aside from brightest, contrast, and skin tone settings, gamers can also choose from four different Color Temperature modes which are Normal, Warm, Cool, and User.
One of the concerns for some consumers is the consumption. As per the manufacturer's specifications, this monitor consumes around 38.7 W when in use and about 0.5W when on standby mode. Upon testing, this monitor consumes about 39.W at the default brightness setting. True enough, it also consumes about 0.5W when on standby mode. The good news is, when it was recalibrated, the consumption was drastically reduced to 29W. Furthermore, to ensure that you are not consuming too much energy when playing for hours, you may opt for the ECO mode.
There is no doubt that in this ASUS MG279Q IPS monitor review, the monitor has been made synonymous with game-centric features and technology that are designed to give all gamers the upper hand in gameplay as well as overall superb tanning experience. One of the features that pump up gamers is the ASUS-exclusive GamePlus Technology. The ASUS GamePlus hotkey offers four different crosshair overlays to suit every gaming preference and environment. The crosshairs also help games keep track of their spawns as well as operate the timer functions. The on-screen timer can be placed anywhere on the edge of the display.
The ASUS-exclusive GameVisual technology is also a big plus for gamers as it already gives six different pre-set display modes. The models are all designed to suit every type of gaming scenarios and can be accessed through the On Screen Display (OSD) menu. The FPS feature of the GameVisual Technology also helps in enhancing visibility, especially in dark scenes. This would make your opponents visible, thus, giving you an upper hand.
Another feature that every amateur and professional gamer needs is the Flick-Free technology. This basically reduces the instances of eye strains so as to ensure comfortable and pain-free gaming experience. When you happen to be entangled in long sessions of gaming, it is an absolute must that you make an effort to protect your eyes from damaging effects. This also contributes to the pleasurable viewing experience of those who are watching around you. Another reason that makes the ASUS MG279Q a true winner when it comes to the competition for the best gaming monitor is the enhanced visibility that is brought about by different game-centric features. This comes in the form of filters in four different levels and they can also be activated via the OSD menu.
The first thing that caught my attention is the writing right on the base of the stand. It says, "Supreme Gaming Experience". This alone made me extra excited to give this ASUS MG279Q screen a test drive. The monitor comes in an all-black design. Although the base and the bezel are made from matte plastics, they look chic and sturdy. The bezel itself is only around 13mm thick. You could notice the small and subtle power LED on the bottom right corner of the motor. It is rich white in color when the screen is in normal operation and amber when in standby mode.
If you are a gaming enthusiast or if you do gaming professionally, you would find that the ASUS MG279Q monitor is engineered specifically for long sessions of marathon gaming. The ultra-slim profile of the monitor and the slim bezel is ideal for multi-display setup. If you were a gamer who has the habit of moving or changing your sitting positions, this one is for you as well. As it is ergonomically-designed, you can swivel, pivot, and tilt it any way you like. You can also adjust the height to make it more comfortable for you while you play or while you do any of your computing duties. If you are keen on mounting it on your wall, you can simply detach the monitor from its stand via a quick-release mechanism.
The ASUS MG279Q display is also designed to offer advanced connectivity. Each model has MiniDisplayPort 1.2 that is specifically for WQHD output. In addition, you can also find two HDMI/MHL ports. For efficient pass-through connectivity, you can use the dual USB 3.0 ports. There is no need to use any special adapter to connect your other device and gaming consoles. On top of these, there is no need to worry about messy and entangled cables as the monitor itself is equipped with smart cable management system at the back of it. This is to keep all your cables tidy and organized, and gaming station clutter-free.
You can never go wrong with the ASUS MG279Q FreeSync monitor. At first glance, the overall appearance and the size are certainly a plus for any gamer. More importantly, the technology and the features included in this monitor practically offers a gaming arena on its own. The AMD FreeSync technology on its own can resolve several issues that gamers typically encounter. Not only do they offer huge advantages during gameplay, but also provides added comfort for the gaming enthusiasts. The ergonomic design also offers flexibility for gamers as they can use the monitor on the desktop or have it mounted on the wall. Overall, if you are serious about gaming, you will want to give the ASUS MG279Q display a try.
Built with powerful game-centric technology and features, and designed with ergonomics and eco-efficiency in mind, the ASUS MG279Q is a gaming monitor for every novice or experienced gaming enthusiasts. The overall look and the smooth gaming experience it offers make it one of the top monitors available on the market that you can check.
Isn't this old? This is the monitor that has the Freesync limitation bug of 30-90hz no? Need more details like release date….


text:
In LFHS
In Our Opinion
Commons Knowledge
The Forest Scout
TFS Speaks: In Defense of DACA
In light of the week's events surrounding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act, multiple journalists at The Forest Scout have asked to weigh in on the issue to provide a firm stance for our publication.
Elizabeth Porter, Senior Editor–Author of "The Final Word":
"From a president willing to pardon Joe Arpaio, ban immigration from six Muslim majority countries, and "build a wall," the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) comes as no great surprise. Now, the American people collectively turn to Congress in hopes that they can replace this legislation within six months and avoid the consequences that ending DACA would have on hundreds of thousands of American lives.
I don't know if there are any Dreamers here at LFHS, but I do know that there are many living near here. Working the same jobs, attending the same schools, reading the same newspapers, cheering for the same sports teams, eating at the same restaurants, and shopping at the same stores that we all do. I know that they are as American as I am.
If there are Dreamers at LFHS I want to say first that I'm sorry. I'm sorry you have to deal with this uncertainty and unfairness. Second, you belong here, just like anyone else. Regardless of what anyone in Washington D.C. says, you have a place in this country, this town and this society. Lake Forest, like any community, is strengthened by diversity. By good, hardworking, people embracing the ideals of the American dream and living their lives without fear or shame.
And to any members of the Lake Forest community who believe that Dreamers do not have a place here, I say unequivocally and without apology: you're wrong. While we wait with bated breath to see what will happen next, please know that The Forest Scout wholeheartedly supports you and that we are optimistic about a favorable outcome to all of this."
Kyle Wix, Senior–Voice of the Daily Dose:
"The news has been quite busy in the last couple weeks. We have seen relentless hurricanes, uncertainty over North Korea, and now the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). While all these stories are important in influential on our lives, the end of the DACA program happens to be the only one that is fully in our control as an American society.
DACA is, or now I guess was, a program created by the Obama Administration in 2012 by executive order to help protect minors that were brought into the United States illegally by their parents. The program gives these young adults the opportunity to avoid deportation and receive work permits as long as they meet certain standards, such as a clean criminal record, high school diploma, etc. Nearly 800,000 undocumented young adults have been beneficiaries of the program since its inception. The program is intended to prevent these kids, otherwise known as Dreamers, from being deported from the United States. For many Dreamers, the U.S. is the only place many of them know as they have grown up here and lived here for most of their lives. DACA is a program that embraces the core American values. It is a program that supports the ideas of inclusion and hard work in which our country was built upon. However, the Trump Administration felt the need to terminate this valuable government program, and possibly foster even more hatred and discrimination during a time when those dangerous feelings are blossoming in our society.
This decision from President Trump was not at all surprising. All along his campaign trail, the president had taken a clear stance against illegal immigration and amnesty of these so called Dreamer kids who have turned into successful American young men and women. His administration bashed illegal immigrants for hurting Americans by taking away their jobs, lowering wages, and being a burden on society. These accusations could not have been further from the truth of what the dreamers actually do. According to The Atlantic, one of the most trusted current event magazines in America, the average Dreamer makes $17 an hour, far above the minimum wage and above the average American income. Thus, these dreamers are not driving down wages for other citizens of the U.S. Additionally, these dreamers pay taxes on their wages without receiving any government benefits from those taxes. In fact, the Dreamers paid an estimated 11.64 billion dollars in taxes last year which was basically just a large donation to the U.S. government. The majority of Dreamers have or are pursuing a bachelor's degree which will allow them to contribute to society with their skills and knowledge. Not only do they contribute financially and intellectually, but all the Dreamers under the DACA program have clean criminal records or else they wouldn't be eligible for inclusion within the program. The fact of the matter is that these young adults are immensely beneficial to America in a time when the country needs all the help it can get. To deport these undocumented immigrants would not only be economically insensible, but morally wrong.
Prior to terminating DACA, President Trump praised the young adults protected by the program and called them "incredible kids." In fact, he said that he loved them. Following those statements, he effectively hung those kids out to dry with immense anxiety and uncertainty over their futures.
The fact that our president would act this way is quite discouraging, but unfortunately this pattern is nothing new. On the surface, Trump may look like he is caring for the Dreamers by praising them and calling on Congress to form a solution for them. The truth is President Trump does not care if these kids are saved, and, based on his actions, he most likely wants them deported. If Trump meant what he said there would be absolutely no reason to end DACA in the first place. Instead of taking responsibility for his hate and discrimination, Trump deferred the responsibility to Congress in order to save the kids, which is a losing battle.
Former President Barack Obama created DACA due to Congress' inactivity on the issue, and the present day Congress will most likely not have the cooperation to formulate a solution. Trump gave Congress six months to protect the dreamers, but I think most of us already know that is not enough time for a bill or action to be created with a very stagnant and unproductive Congress. Sadly, the Dreamers got little to no support from the president of the country in which they have lived their lives. These young adults have done so much to make themselves and the country better off and got nothing from their president in return. Trump took the burden and the blame off of his own shoulders and sent it elsewhere so he could feel comfortable with his beliefs and call himself the nice guy. If he really wanted to be the nice guy and the decent, forward-thinking leader of the free world, he would have stood up to protect the Dreamers himself, but instead he was, per usual, all bark and no bite. So with the President Trump's actions complete for now, it is time to ask if this is the United States we want to live in and, if not, what are we as the people of America going to do about it?
The Trump Administration stabbed the backs of the Dreamers and the American values with its actions this week.
The United States is supposed to be a country that welcomes in people from all walks of life. We are a country built upon diversity and a pillar of freedom and democracy in the world. Yet at times like these we have a leader and a society that has been filled with hatred and discrimination toward others. I find it hard to fathom that people would think it is acceptable to deport hundreds of thousands of people who contribute to their society. Why in the world would we get rid of valuable assets? It is time for everyone to reflect and think about what it means to be an American.
Like the undocumented young adults, we as citizens did not all choose to live here. We were brought or born into this country without any say or choice and America became our home. The Dreamers are no different. They came here and took the initiative to make themselves and this country better; there is nothing more American than that.
For those people that think it is acceptable to get rid of people that deserve to be here, then they should think about whether or not they belong in this country. Do those people really possess the values necessary to be a true American? I am always one for cooperation and compromise during difficult times, but it is clear now that is no longer an option that can be effective with the new administration and rehashed beliefs in America. The responsibility is on us now–as loving and compassionate Americans–to stand up and protect those that deserve to live in a country like this.
Through all the devastating decisions, discrimination, and hate, there shines a glimmer of hope in our democratic system. The president has put Congress in charge of formulating a plan to save these dreamers. As the people of the free world we can influence our legislators to step up and save these kids from deportation. In the process, we can remind the world and our own people of our values and what it means to be an American. It is time to step up and fight to preserve the American values before cruel people strip them down in a hasty effort to benefit themselves.
In America, we are still in control of the society we want to see. One question remains: will we step up and protect the American values that we know deep down are right?"
Grace Scheidler, Senior Editor-in-Chief–Author of "TFS Person of the Year"
At the present moment, parts of California, Oregon, and Canada are on fire. Swaths of Texas are still underwater from a hurricane that passed a little over a week ago. Harvey would have been bad enough, excepting the unprecedented hurricane Irma that superseded it and is now wreaking havoc on Florida and the southeastern coast. The strongest earthquake in over a hundred years rocked Mexico just this past night.
In the past, Americans have been strongest in times of crises. Think 9/11, Katrina, and Hurricane Sandy. One would think, with all of this added on top of the regular presidential workload, that President Trump would have more than enough to keep himself occupied. But now, with an inept leadership that seems to have its sights set on dividing our country in two, we are more vulnerable than ever especially with the natural disasters razing the world around us.
It is going to take all of us, every single American with a free hand, to pick ourselves out of this mess. Not every legally-documented American, not every natural-born American, but anyone who loves this country and doesn't want to see it crumble. Getting rid of DACA is the wrong decision. DACA is in place to help young adults who, through no fault of their own, were brought here as children and consider the United States the only home they've ever known. It's not a green card or a pathway to citizenship, but a means of prolonging deportation in two-year chunks so that they can continue their education, or legally get a job, or do whatever else they can to make themselves proud, productive members of this country–even paying income taxes.
As I said before, we need this kind of American especially now, the one who's not afraid to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get to work. Should Trump's plan of abolishing the program go through Congress, we would be losing a possible 800,000 Americans. If Congress doesn't pass any further measure to protect those under DACA, by August 2019 an additional 320,000 could be at risk for deportation. Among that group could be the next great innovators of our time, and we cannot afford to lose them. It is not fair to us as a country, and it's not fair to them as individuals to take away their chance at being a part of this place that's capable of so much greatness. If you'd like to learn more about DACA, CNN has a great article on the program here.
Brett Chody, Senior Editor–Author of "An Open Letter to the Anti-Hoco Establishment"
You hear your parents discussing politics at dinner, or peers chatting about it in the halls. Maybe you downloaded the CNN app to get breaking news on your home screen, or solely rely on passive-aggressive Facebook posts to learn what's going on in our country. One way or another, you're most likely up to date on President Trump and the decisions he's made thus far. The travel ban, withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, "the wall", to name a few, are colossal political rulings that have shaken countless lives across America and around the world. But Tuesday's announcement from the White House that President Trump was repealing DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, is different. It is directly impacting Americans our age, even in our own Lake Forest High School.
DACA, a program institutionalized by the Obama Administration in June 2012, gives illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as minors a two year window to get a job and not worry about being deported. The majority of the 800,000 young people, otherwise known as Dreamers, who are enrolled in the program do not know any other life other than the one in the United States; they may not even know the language of the country their parents are from.
What is the reasoning for the repeal? Well, the Trump Administration believes that DACA has deprived natural-born Americans from jobs, encouraged more illegal immigration, and is simply unconstitutional. However, research has shown that there are no major negative effects that have come with the implementation of DACA. In fact, even if there were negatives, the positives would outweigh them tremendously. A study by the National Immigration Law Center in which 1,308 Dreamers–randomly selected–were surveyed, 61.2% of Dreamers have been able to earn more money to support their families, 60% have pursued educational opportunities that they previously could not have, 86.9% are currently employed, and they have seen a 42% increase in wages since enrolling in DACA. Furthermore, there is no direct evidence that Dreamers have taken jobs from legal Americans… DACA has actually improved the United States' economy.
By repealing DACA, President Trump is robbing prosperous, successful lives from thousands of young adults who he has stereotyped into being uneducated, crime-committing immigrants. Dreamers are just as American as any naturally born citizens, and should be treated as so.
When I was younger, one of the first "big" words I learned was objectify. When I asked what it meant, I was simply told that it meant, "when you treat a person like a thing." To classify these hardworking people as simply "immigrants" and nothing more is wholly objectifying their existence as people and their contributions to American society. When I think about DACA I, like many of you, initially think about my own distance from the issue. What I can guarantee each student of LFHS is that, whether or not you know them by name or by face, you know someone affected by DACA directly. Don't kid yourself into thinking the issue doesn't affect you because LFHS isn't as diverse as Evanston, Waukegan, or Stevenson. Don't kid yourself into thinking that any singular life negatively altered by a nearsighted, selfish decision isn't a big deal because it "doesn't affect you."
One thing about Lake Forest High School–and The Forest Scout specifically–is that we care. We care about issues. We care about decisions. We care about people. Stand up for what you believe in. Fight for the young men and women whose lives have been put into question, regardless of whether they're in your friend group. They're in your school–trust me–that should be enough."
Ghost, Author
Ghost is a section of The Forest Scout that chooses to publish material anonymously in order to increase the depth of their investigative reporting. Ghost...
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Wow! It has really been 15 weeks since my last relaxer! Don't get me wrong, this is not my first rodeo when it comes to relaxer stretching but this time around it seems like my hair is growing like crazy, making my new growth become just downright disrespectful! For a split second I considered stopping this stretch at 16 weeks and calling it a day but then I remembered that I CAN DO THIS! I said that to say, trust me, I know it can get hard when you are trying to stretch your relaxer out but your hair will thank you in the end. Also, nothing in life that is actually worth it comes easy. Good things take time and if you are committed to having your hair grow longer and become healthier then it is going to take some time. So with that being said, this healthy hair journey is not for the weak! It definitely takes some dedication but you can do it.
This week's hairstyle was really a fluke that turned out to be cute. I told myself that I was going to curl it but after doing so I thought it was a bit too curly so I tried to wrap it. Even after unwrapping it I thought it was STILL too curly so instead of putting more heat on it, I got creative and did a bun at the top and down in the back. This made the curls tolerable for me and also the style was surprisingly easy to maintain. The curls lasted the whole week!