text:
\section{Abstract}
Axions are hypothetical particles proposed to solve the strong CP problem in QCD and may constitute a significant fraction of the dark matter in the Universe.  Axions are expected to be produced in neutron stars and subsequently decay, producing gamma-rays detectable by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT).   Considering that light QCD axions, as opposed to axions $>1$eV, may travel a long range before they decay into gamma rays, neutron stars may appear as a spatially-extended source of gamma rays.  We extend our previous search for gamma rays from axions, based on a point source model,  to consider the  neutron star as an extended source of gamma rays.  The extended consideration of neutron stars' leads to higher sensitivity to searches for axions, as it will be shown.
	We investigate the spatial emission of gamma rays using phenomenological models of neutron star axion emission.    We present models including the fundamental astrophysics and relativistic, extended gamma-ray emission from axions around neutron stars.  A Monte Carlo simulation of the LAT gives us an expectation for the extended angular profile and spectrum.   For a source of $\simeq$ 100 pc, we predict a mean angular spread of $\simeq 2^\circ$ with gamma-ray energies in the range 10-200 MeV, due to the cutoff of the spin-structure function $S_{\sigma}(\omega)$.   We demonstrate the feasibility of setting more stringent limits for axions in this mass range, excluding a range not probed by observations before.  We consider projected sensitivities for mass limits on axions from J0108-1431, a neutron star at a distance of 130 pc.  Based on the extended angular profile of the source, the expected sensitivity of the 95\% CL upper limit on the axion mass from J0108-1431 is  $\lesssim$10 meV.    The limit based on 7.9 years of Fermi-LAT data is 0.76 meV for an inner temperature of the neutron star of 20 MeV.  In this work, we consider only QCD axions, but the results may of course be generalized to axion-like particles (ALPs).

\section{Introduction}

The QCD axion is being investigated for compelling theoretical reasons, and many promising methods have been investigated for its detection.   The axion was postulated to solve the strong $CP$ problem~\cite{PQ}, by the mechanism of spontaneously broken U(1) PQ symmetry,  and may constitute a significant fraction of the dark matter in the universe~\cite{Sikivie201122}.   Axions can be studied by means of neutron stars, from  which they are theorized to be produced by nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung.  The coupling of axions to the electromagnetic field can also generate axions by the Primakoff effect~\cite{Skobolev2000}.

According to our previous model of axion emission from neutron stars, gamma rays may be produced from axion decays from neutron stars, creating a point source of gamma rays~\cite{berenjiAxions}.   In this paper, we extend the model of emission of axions to consider the neutron star as an extended source of gamma rays.  Considering that light axions may travel a long range before they decay into gamma rays, neutron stars may in fact be a spatially-extended source of gamma rays.  The limits on the axion mass, which were placed from Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) analysis of the point source model on neutron star targets, might be improved with consideration of the spatial extension of the gamma rays, as it increases the solid angle the gamma-rays subtend around the neutron star.

Observations with the Fermi LAT are crucial to an axion search or setting limits on axion parameters.  Here, for the first time, we use Fermi-LAT observations of  neutron stars with an extended source model to search for signatures of axions. The Fermi LAT is an imaging, wide field-of-view, pair-conversion telescope which detects gamma rays with energies from 20 MeV to over 300 GeV~\cite{instrumentPaper}.  This energy range includes the energies of photons from decaying axions, roughly 30 to 200 MeV in our model.

	Extended gamma-ray sources have been extensively studied with the Fermi LAT, e.g., Ref.~\cite{lande2012search}, including pulsar wind nebulae and supernova remnants.   A search for extended sources in the galactic plane, detecting 46 sources, has also been performed with the Fermi LAT~\cite{ext2017}.  In addition, a search for extended high latitude sources has found 24 sources that demonstrate extension~\cite{extHiLat}. Further, dark matter in galaxies may be modeled as extended sources of gamma rays, e.g., Ref.~\cite{AbazajianDM}. In addition, Andromeda has recently been observed as an extended source~\cite{andromedaExtended}. We may note that spatially-extended emission from axions may occur in the vicinity of supernova remnants.  Decays that occur at a distance from supernova remnants have been considered in Ref.~\cite{giannotti}.   In addition, there have been many investigations of photon-axion and photon-ALP conversion in extragalactic magnetic fields, with large distance scales, e.g., Ref.~\cite{meyer2013first}.  We consider the decays, but do not consider the oscillations, because the distances are not large~\cite{raffeltConversion}. Here, we consider variation on the point-source neutron star model considered previously, and consider extended emission due to axions decaying at a certain distance away from the source.  As the distribution of gamma rays arising from axion decays falls off not as rapidly as a point source, according to this theory, we model the distribution of axions as a spatially extended source.  According to the theory of convolution, the convolution of a flux with a delta-function gives back the original flux function;  however, the convolution of a flux with a distribution with a width of 2-3$^\circ$ is noticeably different, even if the PSF is larger than the width.

There are theoretically and observationally justifiable reasons for investigating this model. The theoretical lower bound on axion decays from supernova energy-loss arguments has been placed at $\sim 10$ meV~\cite{raffelt}.  The 100 meV to 1 meV range has been mentioned as a promising region for future axion searches~\cite{raffelt2011meV, redondo2012journey}.  The possibility of diffuse emission from axions produced by $NN-$bremsstrahlung in supernova cores has been theorized to yield axion mass limits in the meV range~\cite{raffelt2011meV}.  We provide a model that leads to  more restrictive constraints on the axion mass from considering extended axion emission from neutron stars.  There are recent theoretical constraints from neutron star cooling which predict axion masses in a close mass range~\cite{sedrakian}.  It is possible to detect gamma-rays in the energy range 30-200 MeV with the Fermi LAT~\cite{pass8}. Furthermore, the model projects a flux from 10 meV axions that can be measured by Fermi LAT, as it will be shown.

The relation between $m_a$ and the axion coupling $f_a$ is given by
	\begin{equation} m_a = \frac{0.6 {\rm meV}}{f_a/(10^{10}\ {\rm GeV})}\label{mafa} \end{equation}

Our search for axions from neutron stars depends on the axion-coupling to quarks via $NN$-bremsstrahlung, where the derivative couples to the axion field in the Lagrangian as:
\begin{equation} \mathcal{L} \subset \frac{1}{f_a} g_{ann}\left(\partial_\mu a\right) \bar{N} \gamma^\mu \gamma_5 N. \end{equation}

The axion-nucleon coupling may be parametrized in terms of $m_a$:
\begin{equation} g_{ann} = 10^{-8}\left(\frac{m_a}{1\ {\rm eV}}\right). \end{equation}
	We consider KSVZ axions~\cite{ksvz1,ksvz2}, to be distinguished from the DFSZ axion model~\cite{dfsz1,dfsz2}.  According to the KSVZ ``hadronic'' axion model, the heavy quarks are electrically neutral and carry PQ charges.  On the other hand, in the DFSZ model, there are at least two Higgs doublets and ordinary quarks have PQ charges~\cite{RPP}.  The axion field should be a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC)~\cite{nambu}, and is expected to be responsible for the nucleon electron dipole moment(EDM).
In this article, we investigate the spatial emission of gamma rays using phenomenological models in order to determine the projected sensitivities of Fermi-LAT observations from photon fluxes of neutron stars.  We present the fundamental astrophysical model, the model for extended gamma-ray emission from axions around neutron stars, the Monte Carlo simulation model.  We demonstrate the feasibility of setting more stringent limits for QCD axions than previous literature values~\cite{sanchez2009hints}, which could potentially exclude a range not probed by observations before.

	In Section~\ref{sec:astroPhModel}, we present the underlying astrophysical model. In Section~\ref{sec:extended}, we discuss the extended emission of gamma rays due to axions from neutron stars. In Section~\ref{sec:proj}, we discuss projected limits from neutron star J0108-1431.   In Section~\ref{sec:obs}, we present the methods of and results for analysis of Fermi LAT observations of the neutron star J0108-1431.  In Section~\ref{sec:disc}, we discuss the relevance of the limits in the astrophysical context as well as to other astrophysical limits on the axion mass.

\section{Astrophysical Model}\label{sec:astroPhModel}

Axions may be produced in neutron stars by the $NN$-bremsstrahlung reaction $n n \to n n a$, where $n$ is a neutron~\cite{SNbounds}. The axions produced in this manner would be relativistic (see below). For a physical description of this process, we follow the phenomenology of Hanhart, Philips, and Reddy~\cite{uw}, who model this process as a nucleon-nucleon scattering process.
We developed an astrophysical model to derive an energy flux from axions emitted from neutron stars, which subsequently decay to photons in Ref~\cite{berenjiAxions}.  In deriving the differential photon flux ($\Phi$), we consider the differential emissivity with respect to axion energy.  In the case of radiative decay of axions $a\to 2\gamma$, we determine the photon energy from the axion mass, the relativistic boost $\gamma$, and the angle of photon direction with respect to the axion direction, $\theta_a$.  In addition, we consider a neutron star of volume $V_{NS}$ as a uniform density sphere with a radius of 10 km, a timescale for axion emission $\Delta t$ as described below, a neutron star at a distance $d$, and the axion decay width $\Gamma_{a\gamma\gamma}$.   We consider $\Gamma_{a\gamma\gamma}$ as given by~\cite{axionBook}:

\begin{equation} \Gamma_{a\gamma\gamma}=1.1\times 10^{-24} \ {\rm s}^{-1} \left(\frac{m_a}{1 {\rm eV}}\right)^5. \end{equation}
 The energy flux is related to the axion emissivity from nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung, as well as the timescale of axion emission from the nuclear medium, which both depend on the axion mass:
\begin{equation} E\frac{d\Phi}{dE} = 2 \frac{d\epsilon_a}{d\omega} \delta(E-\omega/2) \frac{V_{NS} \Delta t \Gamma_{a\gamma\gamma} }{4\pi d^2}, \label{eq:energyFlux}\end{equation}
$\omega$ is the energy of emitted axions, $\epsilon_a$ is the axion emissivity of the neutron star matter. This phenomenologically accounts for the nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung process as a nucleon-nucleon scattering.   $V_{NS}$ is the volume of the neutron star, and $d$ is the distance to it.  We model the timescale of axion emission from a neutron star as the mean time $\Delta t$ between successive axion emissions in the nuclear medium.
It is shown in Ref.~\cite{berenjiAxions} that $\Delta t \simeq 23.2$ s.
\noindent Upon simplification of equation~\eqref{eq:energyFlux}, we obtain the following equation for the spectral energy distribution:
\begin{equation} E \frac{d\Phi}{dE} = 1.8 \times 10^{-2} \left(\frac{m_a}{\rm eV}\right)^5 \left(\frac{\Delta t}{23.2 \ {\rm s}}\right)\left(\frac{100 \ {\rm pc}}{d}\right)^2  \left(\frac{2E}{100 \ {\rm MeV}}\right)^4 \left(\frac{S_\sigma(2E)}{10^7 \ {\rm MeV}^2}\right) \ {\rm  cm}^{-2} {\rm s}^{-1}. \label{eq:sed}\end{equation}
 where $S_\sigma(\omega)$ is the spin-structure function, which accounts for the energy and momentum transfer and includes the spins of the nucleons.
The function $g(\omega)=\omega^4 S_\sigma(\omega)$, which we use in our extended analysis, is shown in Figure~\ref{fig:omegaFcn}.  For the purpose of this investigation, this function has been fit to an analytic functional form, according to a log-likelihood minimization using the MINUIT optimizer, given by

\begin{equation} g(\omega) = \left(\alpha+\beta\omega\right)\gamma\exp\left(-\frac{1}{2}\left( (\omega-\delta)/\epsilon \right)^2\right)\exp\left( \eta + \theta\omega\right)\label{eq:homega}
 \end{equation}
	In Table~\ref{tab:param}, we present the values of the parameters of $g(\omega)$.

\begin{figure}
\begin{centering}
\includegraphics[width=6in]{plot_omega_dist.png}
\caption{The function $g(\omega)=\omega^4 S_\sigma(\omega)$, whose parameters have been fit to an analytic functional form given by Equation~\ref{eq:homega}.  Dots refer to Monte Carlo simulated points, while the solid line refers to fitted model described by Equation~\ref{eq:homega}.\label{fig:omegaFcn}}
\end{centering}
\end{figure}

In the model of neutron stars that we are considering~\cite{ruster2005phase}, we may consider   $T=20$ MeV, and $\mu/T=10$~\cite{ruster2005phase}.  In the model, the neutron star matter has superfluidity, and its phase diagram is described by QCD.   Since the observed surface temperature of J0108-1431 is 0.28 keV~\cite{pavlov2009}, our assumption of the core temperature of $T=20$ MeV with a modest temperature gradient can be justified. The source J0108-1431 is an isolated neutron star which is detected in X-rays but not in $\gamma$-rays~\cite{garmire}.   Furthermore, superfluidity has been demonstrated to reduce the late time cooling of neutron stars, up to an age of $10^9$ yr., by the mechanism of frictional heating, as well as suppressing the neutrino emission energy loss mechanism~\cite{riper}.
We quantitatively consider the effect of variations in these parameters on the axion limits in Section~\ref{sec:obs}.

\section{Extended Emission of Axions from Neutron Stars}\label{sec:extended}

Axions decay with finite width $\Gamma_{a\gamma\gamma}=1.1\times 10^{-24} \ {\rm s}^{-1} \left(\frac{m_a}{1 {\rm eV}}\right)^5$; the probability that axions decay from the point of emission from the neutron star increases with distance from the source.  In other words, the survival probability decreases with angular distance from the neutron star.  Thus, the gamma rays arising from the axion decay would render the neutron star as an extended source in gamma rays.  The differential survival probability $dP$ is related to the probability $P$ as follows:

\begin{equation} dP = -P \frac{\Gamma_{a\gamma\gamma}}{\beta \gamma c} dr. \end{equation}

In the preceding equation, we divide $dr$ by $\beta c$, to obtain the time to traverse a radial distance $dr$.
We also divide the decay rate $\Gamma_{a\gamma\gamma}$ by $\gamma$ and $\beta$, the commonly-used relativistic parameters, to account for time dilation.

Integrating the above equation, we obtain:

\begin{equation} P_0 = \frac{\Gamma_{a\gamma\gamma}}{\beta\gamma c} \end{equation}

The energy conservation condition, that the sum of kinetic energy plus potential energy of a radiated axion be equal to the energy radiated by the axion from the neutron star, can be expressed as:
\begin{equation}  K + U = -E_{rad} \end{equation}
The preceding equation leads us to the following expression in terms of energy densities:
\begin{equation}  \frac{1}{2}\rho\beta^2 - \frac{G\rho M_{NS}}{c^2 r} = -\frac{\int \ dt \int d\Omega \int_0^{R_{NS}} dr \ r^2  \epsilon_a }{4/3 \pi r^3 c^2}, \end{equation}
where $\rho$ is the mass density of axions, $M_{NS}$ is the mass of the neutron star, and $G$ is the gravitational constant.
In the limit $G M_{NS}/(rc^2) \gg \beta^2$, we obtain a distribution of axions $\rho\sim 1/r^2$. This is assuming a sufficient emissivity of axions from the neutron stars.
Thus, we may convolve the function $P(r)$ with the function $1/r^2$, which describes the spatial density distribution of axions, to obtain $f(r;\gamma)$ .  This is justified because the probability of being found at a distance $r$ ($\sim 1/r^2$) is mutually exclusive of the probability of survival at a distance $r$, i.e., the joint probability distribution is the convolution of these two functions:

\begin{equation} f(r;\gamma) = P(r;\gamma) \star 1/r^2.  \label{eq:fr} \end{equation}

The energy and spatial dependence of the flux may be factorized:

\begin{equation} \frac{d\Phi}{dEd\Omega} = \frac{1}{2\pi} \frac{dP_r(\theta;m_a,\omega)}{d\cos\theta} \frac{d\Phi_0}{dE}.   \end{equation}

\begin{figure}
\begin{centering}
\includegraphics[width=4in]{geometry_axionDecay_NS_extended_MC.png}
\caption{The geometry of the axion decay into photon. The NS-LAT line defines the focal plane.  The axion is emitted on a radial path with a colatitude of $\theta^\prime$.  The decay photon is emitted at an angle $\theta_a$, and the $\theta$ is a measure of the extension of the source.\label{fig:geom}}
\end{centering}
\end{figure}

The geometry of the decays with respect to the neutron star and the LAT is shown in Figure~\ref{fig:geom}.
The distribution of the opening angles of the photons, $\theta_a$, with respect to the axion momentum direction, is given by~\cite{pionDecay}:

\begin{equation} P(\theta_a) = \frac{1}{4\beta \gamma} \frac{\cos\frac{\theta_a}{2}}{\sin^2\frac{\theta_a}{2}} \frac{1}{\sqrt{\gamma^2\sin^2\frac{\theta_a}{2}-1}}. \end{equation}

This distribution is strongly peaked in the forward ($\theta_a=0$) direction, and has a characteristic width $~1/\gamma$.  We may determine the spatial distributions of $\gamma$-rays using the following procedure.   We sample a $\gamma$ parameter from the distribution $g(\omega) = \omega^4 S_\sigma(\omega^4)$.
The radial coordinate of decay is sampled randomly from $f(r;\gamma)$.  We can determine $\theta$ simply from geometrical considerations according to

\begin{equation} \theta = \arcsin\left(\frac{r}{d}\sin(\pi - \theta_a)\right). \end{equation}

Geometrically, the condition for acceptance of the photon event is:

\begin{equation} \left|\theta - (\pi/2 - \theta_a - \theta_p) \right| < 0.4 \ {\rm rad} \end{equation}
This corresponds to a condition on the polar angle $\theta_p \lesssim 23.0^\circ$, where $\theta_p$ is the angle between the normal vector $\hat{n}$ to the top of the LAT and the vector of the photon momentum $\hat{p}_\gamma$.  at any given instant,
This condition on the polar angle is derived as follows:
define a colatitude angle to $\theta^\prime$, $\theta_1$.
From Figure ~\ref{fig:geom}, it follows that
\begin{equation} \theta_1 = \theta_a - \theta, \end{equation}
	and
	\begin{equation} \theta^\prime = \pi/2 - \theta_a + \theta, \end{equation}

		Considering that the field of view (FOV:=$\Delta\Omega_{\rm LAT}$) of the LAT is 2.4 sr~\cite{instrumentPaper}, where
		\begin{equation} \Delta \Omega_{\rm LAT} = \int_{\rm LAT} d\phi \int_{\rm LAT} d(\cos\theta)  \end{equation}

			\begin{equation} \Delta \Omega_{\rm LAT} = 2.4 = 2\pi \int d(\cos\theta) \end{equation}
			Thus, we derive the condition of the angular acceptance of the photon events in the LAT as:

				\begin{equation} \Delta \cos\theta \simeq 0.4. \end{equation}

\begin{figure}
\begin{centering}
\subfloat[Angular profile of axions with $m_a=1$ meV\label{subfig:angular1]}]{\includegraphics[width=3.5in]{psf_convolve_theta_dist_1meV_new1.png}}
\subfloat[Angular profile of axions with $m_a=10$ meV\label{subfig:angular10}]{\includegraphics[width=3.5in]{psf_convolve_theta_dist_10meV_new2.png}}
	\caption{Angular profile of 1 meV and 10 meV axions: theoretical distribution (blue) and theoretical distribution convolved with the Pass8 LAT PSF at 60 MeV (green).}\label{fig:th}
\end{centering}
\end{figure}

The Monte Carlo simulation was carried out with $10^9$ events.  The theoretical distribution derived from Monte Carlo simulation can be convolved with the point spread function (PSF) of the LAT at 60 MeV, which is approximately 6$^\circ$ for events that convert in front of the tracker.  The angular spread of the theoretical and convolved probability distributions plotted in Figure~\ref{fig:th} may be parametrized by the following quantity:

\begin{equation}\sqrt{\left<\theta^2\right>} = \sqrt{\frac{\sum_i P_i \theta_i^2}{\sum_i P_i}}, \end{equation}
	where $P_i$ is the probability per $i^{th}$ bin, and $\theta_i^2$ is the squared value of $\theta$ in that bin.  We assume, of course, that the distribution is assumed symmetric about 0.

	From inspection of Fig.~\ref{fig:th}, for 1 meV axions, $\sqrt{\left< \theta^2\right>}=1.8^\circ$, and for 10 meV axions, $\sqrt{\left<\theta^2\right>}=2.46^\circ$. Observe that the distribution for the 1 meV axions is diminished, but non-negative, between 2$^\circ$ and 4$^\circ$, due in part to the convolution kernel of the LAT PSF.

We may determine the $\gamma-$ray energy from the following equation:
\begin{equation} E_\gamma = \frac{1}{2} m\gamma (1+\beta\cos(\theta_a)) \end{equation}

We determine the spectral energy distribution from modifying equation~\ref{eq:sed}, by considering instead of the distance $d$ of the neutron star, the distance $r^\prime$ from the LAT at which the decay vertex $a\to2\gamma$ occurred, which is given by:

\begin{equation} r^\prime = \sqrt{r^2 + d^2 - 2rd\sin\theta^\prime} \end{equation}

Thus, we obtain:

\begin{equation} E\frac{d\Phi}{dE} = 1.8 \times 10^{-2} \left(\frac{m_a}{\rm eV}\right)^5 \left(\frac{\Delta t}{23.2 \ {\rm s}}\right)\left(\frac{100 \ {\rm pc}}{r^\prime}\right)^2  \left(\frac{2E}{100 \ {\rm MeV}}\right)^4 \left(\frac{S_\sigma(2E)}{10^7 \ {\rm MeV}^2}\right) \ {\rm  cm}^{-2} {\rm s}^{-1}. \label{eq:sed1}\end{equation}

We may note the dependence on the fifth power of the axion, as was derived in Ref.~\cite{berenjiAxions}.  The angular probability distribution $P(\theta)$ falls off rapidly with increasing angle.  The smaller the axion mass $m_a$, the narrower the distribution $P(\theta)$ .  It may be observed that the larger the $\gamma$-ray energy, the narrower the angular distribution, as shown in Figure~\ref{fig:th}.  Our limits will provide larger  values of $f_a$ for smaller values of $m_a$ that we choose.

\section{Projected Limits from the Extended Model for J0108-1431}\label{sec:proj}

We chose a near galactic neutron star in order to consider the optimum sensitivity possible with this model.
The neutron star J0108-1431 was chosen because it is one of the nearest neutron stars at a distance of 130 pc~\cite{xmmJ0108}, and it lies greater than 15$^\circ$ degrees above the galactic plane with celestial coordinates of  ($\alpha,\delta$) = (17.035$^\circ$,-14.351$^\circ$).  This is justified on the grounds that the possible background contamination to the putative signal, the galactic diffuse emission, is greater near the galactic plane.   This neutron star has an age of 1.6$\cdot 10^8$ yr, e.g., Ref.~\cite{TaurisJ0108}.  From the point of view of future Fermi-LAT observations, nearby gamma-ray point sources are less than 1.5$^\circ$ degrees away from J0108-1431~\cite{3FGL} in celestial coordinates.  These features make it possible to consider J0108-1431 as a target for future Fermi constraints on axions.

The spectral model corresponding to equation~\ref{eq:sed1} is plotted in Figure~\ref{fig:spectrum}.  Gamma-rays with energy 60-200 MeV are produced from this model.  The spectral model peaks around 75 MeV.

\begin{figure}
\begin{centering}
\includegraphics[width=10cm]{plot_spec_10meV_axion.png}
	\caption{Spectrum for extended emission of 10 meV axions from neutron star J0108-1431, see text for details.}\label{fig:spectrum}
\end{centering}
\end{figure}

We generate a spatial template spatial map at the following 7 log-spaced gamma ray energies in units of MeV: 24.81, 36.27, 53.00, 77.46, 113.20, 165.44, 241.78.  We generate a spatial template of 100 pixels x 100 pixels, with a bin size of 0.4$^\circ$/pixel.  The map-cube function corresponding to neutron star J0108-1431 is shown in Figure~\ref{fig:mapcube}.

\begin{figure}
\begin{centering}
	\includegraphics[width=6in]{angularProfileExtMapcube.png}
	\caption{Spatial distribution maps of gamma-rays around neutron star J0108-1431.    The units of the colorbar are density (normalized to 1) over the entire spatial region, where the pixels are 0.4$^\circ\times0.4^\circ$.}\label{fig:mapcube}
\end{centering}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}
\begin{centering}
\includegraphics[width=4in]{sed_sensitivity_10meV_P8_axion2.png}
\caption{The expected spectral energy distribution of 10 meV axions from the spatially-extended model compared to the point source sensitivity of the LAT.  The LAT curve is the 10-year sensitivity using Fermi-LAT Pass 8 instrument response functions, with a region corresponding to 95\% CL.}\label{fig:sens_10meV}
\end{centering}
\end{figure}

Henceforth in this article, all analyses performed with Fermi LAT data was done with the ScienceTools-v10r0p5-fssc-20150518A-source, Ubuntu version, as downloaded from NASA's FSSC website~\cite{ScienceTools}.
In Figure~\ref{fig:sens_10meV} we plot the expected sensitivity of the model.  With the projected 10-year sensitivity of Fermi LAT using Pass 8 instrument response functions, it may be possible in principle to observe or set upper limits on the axion mass below 10 meV.

\section{Observations\label{sec:obs}}
\subsection{Methods}
We use a sample of events spanning the interval 239557417-489220014 MET, for a duration of 150 Ms or 7.9 yr, using $\gamma$-rays with energies between 30 MeV and 292 MeV. We use the ScienceTools~\cite{ScienceTools} in the analysis of the ROI.   We select front-converting events, which have an improved PSF profile over back-converting events.  We perform a binned analysis, with 6 bins in the selected energy range.  We choose a spatial binning of 0.8$^\circ$/pixel for the analysis.  We use the Pass8 instrument response function \emph{P8R2\_SOURCE\_V6}.  We found that using PSF event class types did not prove to optimize the analysis,  since front-converting events are predominant in this energy range, and therefore we chose the \emph{P8R2\_SOURCE\_V6} with front events.  We consider energy dispersion in the fit for the putative extended source modeled according to the model presented in Section~\ref{sec:extended}.  We include in the analysis the point-like sources included in the Third Fermi LAT catalog (3FGL)~\cite{3FGL}.  The 3FGL point sources were modeled with energy dispersion.  The 3FGL model was derived in a fit above 100 MeV~\cite{3FGL}.   We do not consider energy dispersion for the galactic diffuse and isotropic diffuse models (when using the fitted parameters), since they already have energy dispersion factored in.   All of the 3FGL point sources have fixed spectral indices.   Those 3FGL sources within 15$^\circ$ of J0108-1431 have free normalizations, otherwise the normalizations are fixed.

We use the galactic diffuse model \emph{gll\_iem\_v06.fits} and the isotropic diffuse model \\ {\itshape iso\_p8r2\_source\_v6\_front\_v06.txt}, described in Ref.~\cite{diffuseModels}. The former extends down to energies of 58 MeV, and the latter extends down to 36 MeV.  These diffuse models have been extrapolated as a Heaviside function down to 30.0 MeV in order to enable this analysis.  Al though a power-law extrapolation might be more accurate, the spectral index was very small in any case, and thus no significant error was introduced by the Heaviside approximation for the diffuse.

We iteratively fit the spectral parameters for the ROI in three steps.   In the first step, all 3FGL point sources within 15$^\circ$ of the ROI center are fit, with only normalizations varying, along with the diffuse models and the extended axion model, using the DRMNFB minimizer~\cite{DRMNFB}.  In the second step, 3FGL point sources further than 15$^\circ$ from the ROI center are fit, with only normalizations varying, in addition to the diffuse models and the extended axion model, using the DRMNFB minimizer. In the third step, the 3FGL point sources within 10$^\circ$ of the ROI center are fit, with free spectral indices as well as normalizations, in addition to the diffuse and extended models, using the MINUIT minimizer~\cite{MINUIT}.  The statistical uncertainties are below 10\% within the fit energy range, as shown in Figure~\ref{fig:spectralResiduals}.
\subsection{Results}\label{sec:results}
A search is made for the axion signal in gamma-rays in the specified energy range in a ROI corresponding to J0108-1431.  Within statistical and systematic uncertainties, no signal is detected for this ROI, therefore, we proceed to set limits on the axion mass.
The spectral residuals, as shown in Figure~\ref{fig:spectralResiduals}, are within 5\% over the energy range 43.4 MeV to 200 MeV.  The spatial residuals (residual map), as shown in Figure~\ref{fig:spatialResiduals}, has values in each pixel which are within $\pm$ 15\% of 0, the latter representing perfect agreement between spatial model counts and measured count distributions.  The analysis-derived upper limits on the flux and the mass are given in Table~\ref{tab:limits}.

\subsection{Simulation Experiment}

We attempt a simulation experiment in order to test the feasibility of determining a signal from a given simulated flux.  One simulation model was considered: the extended model presented earlier.  This simulated model was generated using \emph{gtobssim} from the \emph{ScienceTools}, which was developed using the energy-dependent spatial templates described earlier in this paper in~\ref{sec:extended}, while the spectral model was generated using the function in equation~\ref{eq:sed1}.  The same instrument response functions were used for the data analysis from the experimental observations; In the second case, the extended model for axions was considered.
   For various injected values of the axion mass $m_a$ into a Monte Carlo simulation, the test statistic ($TS$) and the test statistic for extension ($TS_{ext}$) has been tabulated. The experimental values, for $m_a\simeq 1$ meV, the TS for a point source is 13.56, and the TS$_{ext}=27.11$.   From simulations of the ROI, for a 1 meV axion, the TS=$0.015$, and TS$_{ext}$=0.031.  These values are computed from the likelihood function $\mathcal{L}$, where $\mathcal{L}$ of the likelihood function.   Thus, we establish that the source may be extended .  However, the full simulation of the ROI corresponding to J0108 using $gtobssim$ doesn't match, probably because the fluxes of the point sources are not optimized for this ROI.

\begin{figure}

	\begin{centering}
	\includegraphics[width=7.5cm]{plot_resid_J0108_new2b23.png}
	\caption{Spectral residuals in the $40^\circ\times40^\circ$ ROI centered in J0108-1431.  Error bars include statistical and systematic sources of error.  }\label{fig:spectralResiduals}
	\end{centering}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}
	\begin{centering}
		\includegraphics[width=7.5cm]{plot_residMap_Src_2b20_4bin_3.png}
		\caption{Spatial residuals over the energy range $E=53.0-165.4$, in the 20$^\circ$ $\times$ 20$^\circ$ ROI centered at the position of J0108-1421, convolved with a Gaussian smoothing kernel of $\sigma=3.2^\circ$.  The $z-$axis scale is the fraction (counts-model)/model}\label{fig:spatialResiduals}
	\end{centering}
\end{figure}

\begin{comment}
\begin{table}
	\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|l}
		\hline
		\\$m_a$ & 10 meV & 1 meV & 0.1 meV \\ & 10 meV simulated & 1 meV simulated & 0.1 meV simulated  \\
		\hline
		\hline
		\\TS & 19.42 & 13.56 \\   & & 34.94 & \\
		\hline
		\\TS_{ext} & 38.85 & 27.12 \\  & & 34.92 & \\
		\hline
	\end{tabular}
	\caption{For neutron star J0108-1431, the test statistic ($TS$) and the test statistic for extension ($TS_{ext}$).}\label{tab:TS}

\end{table}
\end{comment}

\begin{table}
	\begin{centering}
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|}
\hline
upper limit (at 95\% CL) & value \\
\hline
$\Phi$ & 3.5$\times 10^{-12}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$\\
\hline
$m_a$ & 0.76 meV \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\caption{For neutron star J0108-1431, the flux upper limit and the upper limit on the axion mass.}\label{tab:limits}
\end{centering}
\end{table}

\section{Discussion}\label{sec:disc}

The model-dependent observational limits derived here of $m_a<0.76$ meV are a substantial improvement upon the previous Fermi-LAT point-source limit with neutron stars~\cite{berenjiAxions}.  The point-source limits for this source under the same data analysis conditions as for the extended source model would not be changed much from the previous point-source limits, as the energies where the spectrum has a considerable contribution (i.e., above 60 MeV) were considered in the previous analysis.  Furthermore, the data-dependent limits also fall below the projected limits derived here.    From a consideration of Figure~\ref{fig:limits}, the limits from the Fermi LAT using 7.9 years of observations are improved by a factor of nearly 100 with respect to the point source limits.  Also, these limits fall in a range that has not yet been excluded by previous observations, and represent a substantial improvement over the SN 1987A-derived upper limit of $m_a<16$ meV~\cite{SNbounds}.  If the hypothesis of extension is valid, however low the flux may be, then we report a highly significant detection.  This should be explored in a possible followup study.  The signal for J0108 could be contaminated with known nearby point sources according to the 3FGL Fermi-LAT catalog.  It should be noted that the possible detection of a signal depends on the extended model energy-dependent spatial templates shown and derived earlier in this study, and that the point source study of a putative signal are probably to na\"ive  for searching for axions.  Needless to say, future studies should focus on neutron stars with farther distances and that are also younger in age.

	It deserves to be mentioned that assuming somewhat higher or lower temperatures could alter this limit somewhat.  The simulation-derived limit of 10 meV is not at the minimum range possible, according to this model, but suggests an upper bound on values that could be derived in principle.  According to our calculations, if the temperature $T<1$ MeV, then we should not expect to set limits using the model described here.

Interestingly, the limit constrains the allowed parameter space for axions as cold dark matter.  These projected limits are better than the bounds of $m_a<20$ meV reported by CAST~\cite{CAST2015}.  While the ADMX projection excludes a smaller range of masses, it is probing DFSZ axions not KSVZ axions.
This model sets more restrictive limits than this and other neutron star cooling observations~\cite{sedrakian}.   Neutron star cooling by axions is a quite distinct process than the process of emitted axions decaying outside the neutron star, for which current limits have been reported as $m_a<60$ meV.
In future observations, the projected limits could potentially be improved by statistically combining limits from multiple neutron stars, as shown in Ref.~\cite{berenjiAxions}.
	Although there may be some uncertainty over the precise temperature of the neutron star, which we assume as $T=20$ MeV, this applies generally to neutron stars with hadronic physics.  In extended models of neutron stars, which contain free quarks in a QCD phase~\cite{Alford2009}, it is generally accepted that there is a range of temperatures which are higher, generally between 10 MeV to 60 MeV~\cite{ruster2005phase}
	In this article, we set limits on $f_a\sim 10^{10}$ GeV.  Axions with masses $\sim1$meV may be a source of dark matter, although it cannot comprise the majority of the dark matter because the abundance is too low~\cite{graham2013}.  This bound is much stronger than the weak upper bound of $f_a\lesssim 10^{12}$ GeV from cosmological arguments~\cite{dine}.
	In future work, a consideration of the possible background signal from the pulsar in addition to the axion signal could result in a better limit on the axion mass.  In addition, simulation studies could enhance the selection of neutron star targets that would yield the best limits.  If equation~\ref{mafa} is relaxed, so that both $m_a$ and $f_a$ are free parameters, then ALPs may also be considered in a generalization of the model presented here.

	Similar limits have been achieved by other recent axion searches. Supernova constraints for SN 1987A yield a limit of $m_a \lesssim 16$ meV ~\cite{Raffelt1987A}.   From vacuum  magnetic birefringence, a limit of $m_a<5\times 10^{-4}$ eV has been reached~\cite{birefringence}.  From magnetically induced dichroism, $m_a=1-1.5$ meV has been reached~\cite{zavattini}.  From globular cluster studies, a limit of  $m_a \sin^2\beta < 15$ meV has been attained~\cite{viaux}.  From the white dwarf luminosity function, an inclusion range of $2.5\lesssim m_a \sin^2 \beta \lesssim 7.5$ meV has been achieved~\cite{WD}\cite{WDisern}.   From the supernova remnant Cas A, the axion mass was set at $m_a = 2.3\pm 0.4$ meV$/C_n$~\cite{CasA}. These limits are complementary to the result shown in our work, and we hope that better limits could be obtained in future work.

\begin{figure}
\begin{centering}
\includegraphics[width=4in]{limitsPlot_fa1_rev_extended_pdg2016_obsLim.png}
\caption{Comparison of exclusion ranges compared with the possible range of masses presented in this article. Exclusion regions for axions: the Fermi-LAT point source limits (light red) from neutron stars, projected limits from the Fermi LAT using the spatially-extended model (dark red) of the neutron star J0108-1431, compared with previous astrophysical limits.}\label{fig:limits}
\end{centering}
\end{figure}

\section{Acknowledgments}
The \textit{Fermi}-LAT Collaboration acknowledges support for LAT development, operation and data analysis from NASA and DOE (United States), CEA/Irfu and IN2P3/CNRS (France), ASI and INFN (Italy), MEXT, KEK, and JAXA (Japan), and the K.A.~Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Research Council and the National Space Board (Sweden). Science analysis support in the operations phase from INAF (Italy) and CNES (France) is also gratefully acknowledged. This work performed in part under DOE Contract DE-AC02-76SF00515.

	 BB is thankful for constructive comments from Seth Digel and Eric Charles of SLAC National Acclerator Laboratory.  I acknowledge the conveners at CERN for an invited talk during May 2017. BB acknowledges the support to fiziSim LLC in a generous grant from Orthopedic and Arthritic Center, Oxnard, California.  BB acknowledges support from California State University, Los Angeles Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Natural and Social Sciences.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Discussion in 'Lawn Mowing' started by MOW ED, Jul 18, 2000.
I got a call from an older customer of mine with a complaint. He said my mower is tearing up his lawn in 3 places. Naturally concerned I called him back. We talked over the phone for a few minutes and as our schedules conflicted so he told me to look at the damage when I mow on Tuesday.
I have been mowing here for 5 years. The lawn is quite shaded and thin in spots from pine trees and shade. The customer only wants a spring and fall fertilization and the lawn is in fair shape. There are two tire track marks where there is natural drainage downhill. These have been here for 5 years. Today when I mowed he wasn't home but I could find nothing new that I recently did.
He stated that he wanted it resodded when I talked to him over the phone. I stated that I will look at it and use a push mower to do those spots.
I went from using a rider and mowing in 30 minutes to riding and using a 21" walkbehind resulting in 1 hour total time.
This is for the same $30.00. What would you do?
Drop him?
Finish the season after fixing the tracks?
Raise the price of mowing immediately?
He has been alright as a customer except for a complaint here and there but I don't understand what this is about..
What would you do?
I have had customers want me to raise my mowing height and some want me to lower my mowing height. I have my height set at 3 1/2 inches and that is where I leave it. I have been told this is the best overall setting. I had to let a customer go that wanted a very low cut. I tried to explain that this is not good for the lawn, and that I can't lower my blades just for them and then raise them for the next customer. They then wanted me to use my 21" mower on a LOW setting for the same price. I politely said no. I hate to lose any customer, but you have got to be realistic. I hopes this helps.
I would try to keep it, mowing with the large mower. If that is not an option with the customer, tell them you think you can no longer please him and maybe he should try to find someone who can take care of his needs.
It happens, some customers grow tired of you, (and you might grow tired of them) it may be that simple. No need jumping through hoops to please a customer that you may be unable to please.
In response to Keiths reply, I think he is exactly right. I believe customers do grow tired of the same person mowing their yard after a few years. I've experienced the same thing, you mow their yard week in week out year in year out and than at some point they start getting testy, picky whatever. I think it's kinda of like shopping at wal-mart all the time, every once in awhile you like to go over to k-mart.
I have a customer whose yard has some bare spots. When my mower went over it,and left a tire track , she though that I tore up. I wound up re-seeding them anyway.
Raise your price by $10 then give him a $5 discount.


text:
SUMMARY anxiety when it doesn't get what it
SUMMARY Personality is the enduring and unique cluster of characteristics that may change in response to different situations.
It can be asses via different approaches such as Self-report or objective inventories, projective techniques, clinical interviews, behavioural assessment procedures and thought and experience-sampling procedures. In the study of personality ideographic research and nomothetic research are used and the major methods that the clinical method, the experimental method and the correlational method.Psychoanalysis was the first formal theory of personality influenced by Sigmund Freud. Freud divided personality into three levels: the conscious, the preconscious and the unconscious. He later revised this notion and introduced the id, the ego and the superego.
The id is the pleasure principle and has no awareness of reality. It is the aspect of personality allied with the instincts. The ego is the rational aspect of the personality which is responsible for directing and controlling the instincts according to the reality principle. The superego is the moral aspect of personality.
One's personality experiences anxiety when it doesn't get what it wants and Freud described this as a feeling of fear and dread without an obvious cause. He proposed three types of anxiety: Reality anxiety, Neurotic anxiety and Moral Anxiety. He also derived the defense mechanisms which are the strategies the ego uses to defend itself against the anxiety provoked by conflicts of everyday life. Due to Freud's experiences he was a man of high sexual interests and he sense strong sexual conflicts in the infant and child that revolved around regions in the body.
He called this theory the theory of psychosexual stages of development. These stages are: 1. Oral – the mouth is the bodily region and pleasure is derived from sucking 2.
Anal – the anus is the bodily region and pleasure is derived from toilet training 3. Phallic – the genital is the bodily region and pleasure is derived from incestuous fantasies. 4. Latency – the sex instinct is dominant 5. Genital – development of the sex role identity In the phallic stage Freud derived his best known complex, the Oedipus complex in males and the Electra complex in females.
The Oedipus complex is when the boy is in love with his mother and fears castration if his father finds out about his fantasies. In the Electra complex the girl is in love with her father and desires to have a penis as a genital organ. Freud believed that dreams represent repressed desires, dears and conflicts. He distinguished two aspects of dreams: the manifest content (Actual event) and the latent content (symbolic meaning of the event). In Freud's latent content all of the symbolic meanings had a sexual background.
He viewed dreams as revealing conflicts in a condensed and intensified form. Freud violated his rules by analyzing his daughter and this was kept a secret for many years and this was viewed as an Oedipal acting at both ends of the couch. CRITICAL REVIEW Sigmund Freud's theory of personality and the stages of consciousness and its constant battle paint a very negative picture of human life. The ego constantly has to battle the id and its selfish demands and the superego flying in trying hard to aid the id in calming down and strengthening the ego.As such our mind is constantly in war, our ego constantly battling off the evil id and losing every battle. Freud's theory was initially based on his own person and experiences and memories, hence, lacking experimental and scientific justification therefore being unreliable and invalid. Freud analysed his own dreams and developed an insight into the dynamics of his personality development.
He also explored the memories of his childhood and formulated the stages of psychosexual development which are limited because they are based only on his childhood.He recalled his own sexual feelings for his mother and the hostility towards his father which shows that he himself was not a balanced individual. He confirmed his experiences with further clinical observations and case histories of his patients of which who were mainly women of a certain class. In my opinion he was overly enthusiastic about sex and sexual relations and as such most of his theories won't stand the test of time and real life situations.
RECOMMENDATIONSFreud's theory should not be taken for what it poses itself to be. One can analyse Freud's theory and use certain aspects of it however, not everything in Freud's theory is real. In the case of the Oedipus and Electra complex, boys and girls generally cling to mother and father respectively.
If this relationship isn't built at the childhood stage there may be conflict in one's personality or even in future relationships due to the lack of a relationship built with mother or father for the boy and girl respectively.However, the aspect of the boy fearing castration by the father and the girl desiring to have a penis is not real. Another example is that of the dreams and the symbolic meaning.
Dreams do have symbolic meanings however it is crazy to think that when one dreams a smooth-fronted house it symbolizes a male body or playing with children symbolizes masturbation. Freud's theory needs to be studied against real life situations and it must be observed in order to be aligned fully with each aspect of his theory.
ITMP coercion to enforce compliance – societal values.
Hume's character trait or action (see Section
Name organize and summarize research data. b. allow
Analyzing average (Lundbeck Institute, 2009. The causal factors
Week has | |100 | |Motivation Evaluation |made.
There To start with, most children have
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When I lived and practiced law in Washington, DC, I hardly knew what the word, "networking" even meant. Looking back though, I was constantly networking. I was showing up 3-4 nights a week at various events and parties on and off The Hill. We used to do so much networking that by the time the weekends rolled around, I was exhausted. However, it never felt like networking. It doesn't matter the industry, in my expertise, the rules of networking are all the same. Let's discuss the do's and don'ts of networking in the music industry.
People hear the word "networking" and the same thing always happens. Most people cringe at the thought of making small talk and having to walk around and meet new people. The rest wonder what's the best way to "sell themselves" and kiss up to the right people in order to climb the ranks.
It's the same problem in the music industry. My artist clients are always wondering what they are supposed to do and not do to network in the music industry.
Let me make it really simple- it's all about human psychology combined with what your mother and/or Miss Manners taught you.
Figure out WHY you are an artist- know your personal story cold so you can share your uniqueness with those you are networking with. Otherwise, you are forgettable and show up like the zillions of other artists.
Be patient- everything takes time and developing meaningful connections with people, who will remember and love you as an artist and human, takes time and patience.
Be kind- be kind to everyone you meet. Assume everyone is that "one" special person who can be your raving fan and launch your career or catapult you even further. Truly, I'm asking you to just be nice, but if it takes you fearing screwing up with the wrong person, then so be it.
Pretend like you are someone you are not just to impress. The music industry is full of people pretending. No one will like you more if you are not authentic and real. The truth will surface at some point. When it does your lack of self-confidence will really be obvious. Be yourself. Be an artist. Be real.
Overlook the subtle cues that move mountains. In music, as in life, the magic is in the subtleties. Watch for details in peoples' mannerisms and body language to help you establish rapport when you network. I liken it to the subtleties when you are singing a note or writing a song.
Sit it out. Show up, show up, show up. No one will ever know your greatness as an artist if you play small and hide behind your guitar or lyrics. We have to see you to love you, and your brand as an artist. So be courageous and show up as your authentic self. The right people will always notice and love you.
Want more tips and support? Check out my podcast and video series, or download my branding guide below.


text:
Q: Nested Menu Performance - Considering Technologies Long stay made short, marketing wnats our entire sitemap (5000 pages) in one menu. After 1 year of fighting them on this, there is no winning and we must implement.
We are currently evaluating technologies that will help us make this decision.
Some menu items will have recursive nested levels 5 items deep(insane I know).
The data is driven from JSON because our sitemap is stored in XML in an archaic CMS (Ektron).
I am considering React but there may be no answer. We are looking for a JavaScript library that will help us achieve this and improve performance. Currently our menu alone takes 4 seconds to load for a desktop computer with a half decent Internet connection.
Question; Is using React for this a good idea? If not, are there any other options for us to consider.
Many thanks.

A: Take a look at React Infinite

When a long list of DOM elements are placed in a scrollable container,
  all of them are kept in the DOM even when they are out the user's
  view. This is highly inefficient, especially in cases when scrolling
  lists can be tens or hundreds of thousands of items long. React
  Infinite solves this by rendering only DOM nodes that the user is able
  to see or might soon see. Other DOM nodes are clustered and rendered
  as a single blank node.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Bashkatib: Helping Egyptian Teens to Publish Their Own Newspapers
Teens and organizers at the Bashkatib magazines have been working hard to put out a bilingual (Arab/English) publication, Our Streets, featuring news and stories written by teenagers in Cairo's Dar El Salam neighborhood, Aswan, and Mansoura. They'll be launching the magazine with a benefit and concert on March 18 at Rawabet Theater, at an event featuring Nubian singer Sayed Rikabi:
Bashkatib, which is headed up by Ahmed Elhawary and ran its first training workshop in 2013, mentors Egyptian teen writers and helps them create their own newspapers and literary supplements.
Bashkatib Development Officer Amira Hanafi answered a few questions about where Bashkatib is at now.
ArabLit: How did Bashkatib come about? How were the communities chosen?
Amira Hanafi: Bashkatib grew from a pilot workshop held by Egyptian journalist Ahmed Elhawary on a skeletal budget in Ard El Lewa, Cairo, in 2012. The workshop took place at artellewa art space, where neighborhood teenagers aged 12-17 were trained in basic journalism, creative writing, comics, photography, and newspaper design. The budget was enough to cover only one issue of a printed publication that the youth decided to call "Ahl El Lewa."
The workshop was really successful in that the kids wanted to continue writing and publishing, even after the training finished. Some of them even changed their occupation on Facebook to "journalist." They went out and sold advertisements to local shops in order to print their second issue. But on their own, they weren't able to continue.
That was the impetus for founding Bashkatib, which now works in long-term projects in select marginalized communities throughout Egypt. The idea is to initiate media outlets that are run by youth in their communities. They publish news and stories in printed publications, which they then distribute for free in their neighborhoods. We also upload this content and more to www.bashkatibnews.com.
We want to fill a huge gap we see in Egyptian news coverage. Media outlets are really concentrated in Cairo. In general, Egyptian media doesn't see a priority in covering local news, and when stories are reported, journalists often make mistakes. With community media, you have inhabitants of the local area reporting on news and issues from within the community, in their own voices.
AL: Yes, the local-local aspect of the coverage is great. I hardly ever read about anything that happens outside Cairo/Alex. Are you thinking of expanding to any other communities?
AH: Absolutely. Our vision is to build a nation-wide network of community media outlets run by teenagers in marginalized areas of Egypt. We aim to start three media outlets each year: one in a poor or informal neighborhood in Cairo, and two in areas outside of Cairo. The magazine launch and benefit in Cairo next week is aimed at helping us to keep working towards that vision.
AL: Who are the mentors? Are there cartoonist-mentors for kids interested in cartoons, short-story mentors for kids interested in short stories, journalism-mentors for kids interested in news? What sort of training is involved? Are you looking for more mentors and trainers? AH: Over a two-year period, we give one basic and another advanced training to each of our youth groups, as well as smaller workshops and ongoing mentoring by Bashkatib staff, trainers, and local coordinators. The whole project starts with a basic workshop for about six weeks, and in another year our trainers return for advanced training in video-journalism, management, and investigative journalism. Our trainers are professionals in their fields: for instance, we've had fiction-writer and journalist Omneya Talaat teach creative writing, cartoonist Anwar teach comics, and photojournalist Alaa Elkamhawi teach photography.
The workshops give participants basic skills, but it's in the field where they do a lot more of their learning. This kind of education is really different from the way they learn in Egyptian schools, focused on rote memorization and regurgitation. So, when a participant is writing a report and comes across an obstacle, they turn first to their peers, and then to their trainers and mentors for help in solving the problem. It's a very active and hands-on process, and we encourage as much independence as possible from the kids who participate.
If you're interested in working as a trainer for Bashkatib or volunteering as a mentor, you can send us an email introducing yourself to info@bashkatibnews.com. We're growing constantly and would love to build up our team.
AL: How do you find the kids & the kids find you?
AH: Bashkatib works with partner organizations in local areas to find participants. We've worked with Khatwa Library in Dar el Salam, Future Association in Aswan, and Books and Beans in Mansoura. We also go into local schools to present the project and community spaces to pass out flyers. Our selection policy is very open; kids only have to be able to read and write to participate. Our projects have been well-received in the areas where we've worked, since there generally aren't a lot of activities for teenagers outside of school. We've found these kids are really hungry for something interesting to do with their time.
AL: How many copies are being printed?
AH: Each of the community media outlets prints 5,000 copies of their publication, nearly every month, and distributes it for free in the local area. The magazine, Our Streets, which is meant to reach a different audience and help to raise funds to sustain the youth media network, was printed this first time in an edition of 1,000 copies.
AL: When did the website launch? The kids are given a password and upload content themselves, or is there an editor and editorial oversight?
AH: The website has been in its beta phase since mid-2014, but we're hoping to launch the final, error-free version very soon! If you'd like to hear about the launch as it happens, sign up to receive Bashkatib's newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/NeG3r
Each youth group has access to the website and a local, adult coordinator they work with to help upload content to the website. It gets reviewed by Bashkatib staff, who may make corrections on the level of language. The only time we'll ever intervene on the level of content is for legality. Other than that, the kids themselves make all editorial decisions.
AL: Do you worry at all about the kids potentially getting in trouble for what they write?
AH: It's quite possible to worry about anything and everything these days in Egypt! Joking aside, we do make sure that the kids aren't writing anything that is obviously illegal. Our staff and trainers have quite a bit of experience working in Egyptian media, and we have a good community around us that provides legal advice when we need it. The more unpredictable environment for the kids is actually the public. We work closely with the kids, their families, and their communities to make sure we're providing as much protection as we can when the kids go down to work in the street.
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This is a cool project! I was sad, at first, to see that the site (http://www.bashkatibnews.com) is in Arabic only, since I can't read Arabic, but Google Translate does a decent job with it: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bashkatibnews.com
annette.c.boehm
I'd like to read the publications … as mentioned in another comment, the website is in Arabic & I too don't read Arabic. Will they be posting English online? It was going to be Arabic & English, right?
The "Our Streets" is going to be bilingual, but I don't know about Bashkatib. Of course it would be a significant amount of work to translate everything.
mlynxqualey
And "Our Streets" is only in print, right? 🙁 Yeah, it is a lot of work to go bilingual especially on a project like that. I totally understand, just would've been kewl to be able to read the publication. Keep up the great posts!
Essays and Articles | FSPC


A bug in the drawing engine bothered both hmCal and hmDraw. That's a thing of the past now, the bug was hunted.
With version 2.4 of hmReports we improve the hmReports graphic engine and stability and integrity in 4D. Version 2.4 fixes a memory leak in the drawing engine. The bug only appeared on Windows.
hmReports is full compatible with 4D v12, 4D v13 and 4D Server v13 x64!
As usual, downlod the plugin here.
Published by PeterS, in 4D Reporter, English, German, Plugins. Tagged with heubach media, hmreport.


text:
Q: can any body please tell me how to increase my website loading speed? Hello every one please tell me ho can i increase my website loading speed or how can i decrease number of http request on my web page
Here is my website Alpha Click

A: *

*Bundle your javascript in one file, and bundle and minimize your css in one file to make less requests

*Use image sprites

A:  Consider avoiding viewport values that prevent users from resizing documents.
Section lacks heading. Consider using h2-h6 elements to add identifying headings to all sections.
From line 12, column 2814; to line 12, column 2851

Also Bundle your javascript in one file as answer 1
JohnC


text:
January 6, 2012 November 28, 2018 by bijansabet
thekeysofalicia:
I so wish I was in that room…
LIFE.com: Ali and X
Cassius Clay laughs with Malcolm X shortly after gaining the heavyweight boxing championship in 1964. He had recently announced his conversion to the Nation of Islam, and assumed the name Cassius X. "It's a great look into the incredible charisma of both men, which just pops off the photo." — Jason Fox
Photo: Mike Smith / Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images


In the final judging of the 188 works submitted for the 14th Japan Playwrights Association New Playwright Prize, Kazuko Nakayama's Shibire Monogatari was selected the winner.
Shibire Monogatari is a play set in a remote town in the near future depicting events involving numerous people in the town in a theater-of-the-absurd style. Kazuko Nakayama, a native of Gumma Pref., is the leader of the theater company Shizukumachi. She is active as a playwright, director and actress and also writes scenarios for video works, children's theater and music theater.
Nakayama's award winning plays and runner-up works are listed in the Collection of Leading New Playwright Works 2009 (Yushu Shinjin Gikyoku-shu 2009, Bronze Publishers).


text:
Industry Taking Action on Pollinators
by Jim Timlick | Feb 8, 2018 | News
Pollinator protection has been a hot-button issue in Canada for the last five years. We look at some of the efforts in this country to protect pollinators and what the implications of them could be for the seed sector.
Recent headlines regarding overwintering of honeybees in Canada and the rest of North America over the past decade have often not been good. Annual honeybee colony losses have averaged 25.03 per cent in Canada since 2007, while the rate in the U.S. was slightly higher at 28.4 per cent.
That's why a recent report out of the U.S. was welcomed as good news by members of the agricultural sectors and scientific communities on both sides of the border. In May 2017, the Bee Informed Partnership (BIP), in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced 21.1 per cent of managed colonies in the U.S. were lost over the winter of 2016-17. That number represents an improvement of 5.8 per cent over the previous winter and is well below the nation's average during the past decade.
There is reason for optimism north of the border. According to the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA), the number of overwintering colony losses in Canada the past two years was well below the national average for the past decade (16.8 per cent in 2015-16 and 16.4 per cent in 2014-15).
"I think the fact the overwintering losses continue to decline shows that the cooperative working practices that have been emphasized the last few years are working, that beekeepers are stepping up their management on managing health-related issues with bees and growers are starting to modify their practices, understanding they have to use agronomic practices that help ensure a healthy environment for pollinators as well," says Calgary-based Paul Thiel, vice-president of product development and regulatory science for the Crop Science Division of Bayer in Canada.
"Here in Canada, we're very reliant on honeybees for our InVigor hybrid canola seed production. It's essential for our business and for our customers — this hybrid canola could not be grown without the pollination service they provide."
Several efforts are currently underway in this country to help protect honeybees and other pollinators such as bumblebees, and butterflies.
From Emotion to Science
Stephen Denys is director of business management for Maizex Seeds and a long-time member of the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA). He's been following the issue of pollinator health closely since the debate over honeybee losses and their connection to the use of neonicotinoids flared up five years ago.
Denys says he's been encouraged by the efforts made by the ag industry, government and other groups to promote pollinator health and protect natural habitats. Even more encouraging, he says, is the fact that the debate over treatment methods appears to be shifting away from being emotion-driven to science-based.
"The concern from the seed industry is that we've been successful at agriculture on this continent and in Western civilization because we've always taken a scientific approach to things," says Denys, a former president of the CSTA.
"We don't make decisions emotionally — we look at the science and then [use that] to make a decision. If the science showed you've got a real issue and you've got to make a change, farmers here have always adapted to that change and industry has adapted to that change."
Denys says one of the things the seed industry needs to do is work together to better educate the public about what it has accomplished to date and "walk them through the evolution of why we're doing the things we're doing today."
New Products in the Pipeline
Bayer has teamed up with several industry partners and organizations as part of the Bees Matter initiative. The outreach program aims to share information on honeybee health in Canada with the Canadian public and raise awareness with everyone from agricultural producers to backyard gardeners about practices they can adopt to ensure pollinator health. Bayer is also part of a bee health roundtable group spearheaded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada that has been tasked with identifying and addressing risks and opportunities related to bee health.
One of the projects the company is involved with that will be of interest to the seed sector is the creation of a new fluency agent for negative pressure air seeders. In the past, a mixture of talc and graphite was used to expedite the movement of corn and other seed as it was vacuumed through the seeder. The wax-based fluency agent means there is far less dust created when treated seed exits the seeder.
"There's been a significant reduction in the creation of any dust that might contain the seed treatment compound," Thiel says. "It's been effective and the growers have adopted it. They're very interested in maintaining the biodiversity and the natural surroundings of their farms."
Bayer is also working on a new miticide designed to help beekeepers control the Varroa mite, which has been referred to as the vampire of the honeybee industry. There are currently few ways to control the deadly parasite, which originated in Asia. Research has indicated the strips can control as much as 95 per cent of mites.
"It will give a rotational option to beekeepers so they are not as reliant on too few compounds and help to reduce the potential for resistance development in the Varroa mite population," Thiel says.
First-of-its-Kind Study
While pollinators have been making plenty of news, knowledge of their habits and habitats here in Canada remains lacking.
Nigel Raine, a pollinator expert at the University of Guelph and Rebanks family chair in pollinator conservation, is seeking to change that. Raine is leading a team of researchers that will be monitoring pollinator activity at 50 different locations throughout the province of Ontario as part of a multi-year study that began in 2016. It's believed to be the first time a study of this kind has been conducted on such a large scale anywhere in Canada.
"What we're hoping to get is a broader picture of the distribution of wild pollinator species and how they're related to different habitat types and different land use categories. We're trying to include everything from provincial parks and conservation areas through to intensive agriculture and even some urban sites," Raine says.
"The main aim the first few years is to get a baseline to see which species are where. If we can see areas where they have very healthy populations, we can look at the types of habitats in that area and we can say this is the sort of matrix that we want to look at [being part of the landscape] on a scale that pollinators need."
One of the biggest challenges with the study, according to Raine, is the large number of different pollinators that call Canada home. There are more than 850 species of bees in this country, with most of them being solitary ground-dwellers.
Raine says the study has potential implications for the agriculture industry in not only Ontario but the rest of the country, since three-quarters of the leading food crops are pollinated by some form of animal. The data from the study could eventually help determine where pollinator habitats need to be located and how widely they should be distributed.
As for the seed sector, Raine says the study could lead to more integration with industry in terms of how plants, particularly native plants, are sourced to create the mixes for habitats that will support pollinators and wildlife in general. It could also increase demand for seed required to produce pollinator-friendly habitats in some cases, he adds.
Raising Public Awareness
Pollinator Partnership Canada (PPC) is a registered non-profit that does mission-based work across the country aimed at promoting and protecting pollinators and their ecosystems. It's comprised of more than 140 stakeholder organizations including university faculty and researchers, farmers, corporate agriculture, seed producers and corporations with an environmental ethics platform.
It's one of the partners behind the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, a campaign to register one million public and private spaces as pollinator habitats. It's also created a series of 15 regional guides designed to help gardeners, farmers and land managers select plants for pollinator-friendly habitats.
The partnership has also been one of the driving forces behind the creation of a series of so-called bee hotels across the country. The project was started in 2014 in conjunction with the Fairmont hotel chain to build sustainable resting places, or 'hotels', for solitary bees.
PPC research director Vicki Wojcik says it's difficult to qualify the impact the hotels are having on bee populations. However, she says the project has had a huge impact in terms of raising awareness regarding the importance of pollinator health.
"We often have more of an opportunity to get people interested in the concept within a more urbanized context. Eventually, over time, the idea does take hold," she says.
The partnership has also teamed with Bayer and the University of Guelph to look at how cover crops can be used to enhance pollinator nutrition. "What this research study is trying to see is what kind of plant-pollinator interaction we see with cover crops so that we can give farmers more tools," Wojcik says.