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Archives for ethan
Review: Your Highness
April 9, 2011 | By: ethan | No Comments
To be straight-up, Your Highness, despite being about what i
s frequently referred to (and played for comedy) as a "quest" is aggressively-episodic and thus feels like a 102-minute sketch. A Saturday Night Live sketch? An In Living Colour sketch? A god forbid it, Cedric The Entertainer Presents sketch? No, the kind of short-form comedy a bunch of friends perform to crack each other up; even if they're the only ones actually laughing in the very-full high-school auditorium. Being that David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and James Franco are doing this with tens of millions of dollars that could be spent towards I dunno, cancer research or funding like ten Harmony Korine movies, it may seem a little upsetting and somewhat of a waste of time. Truth be told though, despite it not being overtly funny, Your Highness is purely able to float by through its utter eccentricity.
[youtube FplWxtPzWY8]
Review : Battle Los Angeles
March 12, 2011 | By: ethan | 1 Comment
Described ad nauseum as "BLACK HAWK DOWN WITH ALIENS" by bloggers and its own filmmakers, Battle Los Angeles arrives onscreen with a resounding lack of flair or passion. Being that the film's entire point seems only to evoke other pop-culture memories, it makes sense that what we get is a utterly limp action picture. Ridley Scott's aforementioned film (which was inspired by The Battle of Algiers itself) used semi-cinema-verite with plot and characters driven entirely by action to comment on the confusion and brotherhood of war. Being that those themes are hardly original, the subtle integration of them within an action-extravaganza made them feel actually powerful and not maudlin or cheesy. But of course since Battle Los Angeles has nothing actually on its mind other than entertainment, it feels almost offensively hollow.
[youtube 5IVIyP7bvlE]
Trailer for Kelly Reichardt's follow-up to Wendy & Lucy, Meek's Cutoff
February 26, 2011 | By: ethan
Those who've seen 2008's utterly excellent Wendy & Lucy found it either a) An apt depiction of America's economic and social turmoil anchored by a stunning performance by Michelle Williams or b) BORING. If your answer was the latter, let's not have lunch together anytime soon. Anyway, the trailer for her next film, a western reuniting her with her star looks quite promising. It hit the festival circuit last year to rave reviews and it's easily one of my m
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ost anticipated films of the year. The 1:33.1 aspect-ratio and psychological horror vibe (and it's PG!) fascinate me even more. Having a cast as strong as that doesn't hurt either. Since it's not based off a comic-book though I guess it won't be discussed very much; no costume bulge to analyze for 15 minutes.
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8 James Franco Career Ideas
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Actor, dreamboat, Oscar host, author, self-effacer, professor and now video artist. Is there anything James Franco can't do? Probably not, but here's a suggestion to what he at least should consider before becoming David Blaine's apprentice.
Charlie Sheen's replacement on Two and a Half Men
The past, I don't know…25 years have proven that Martin's son (not Emilio) has difficulty consuming things that don't contain alcohol, cocaine or venereal diseases. Of course, this has only postponed the production of his ever-popular CBS show. The Applebee's/John Mayer crowd are going to lose it! But Mr. Franco can certainly step in and bring his usual charm. The stoner uncle! Can't you just see it?
Republican Presidential Candidate
Bobby Jindal? Mitt Romney? Do I have to even mention the snowmobile lady? Yeesh! The party is going to have to hope for a country singer to run or something. If Franco threw has hat in the ring though they could have a shot. Of course, he'd have to be busy not doing poetry n' shit and focusing on the stimulus, but look at his sideways smile!
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Beats Obama any day of the week.
Street-Artist
He could assume an alternate identity known as Frankie James. His work would probably be more on the Mr. Brainwash side of things; all his "art" could be pictures of him with dicks drawn on various parts of his face. It's all of a piece!
Justin Bieber's Public Enemy
If the Bieb wants more street-cred, he's going to need to start a feud with someone in the music industry. Being that he would shit his pants at actually having beef with Ghostface Killah or T.I., it's best to do it with a movie star. Obviously the two of them need more media attention too.
With The King's Speech's inevitable Best Picture victory on Sunday, it's safe to say that overcoming a stutter is so hot right now. Every time you shout "I have a voice!" Franco could reaffirm you with his stoner-giggle rendition of "Yes you do."
Poli-Sci T.A.
Because the one in my class has waaaaaaaaay too thick of a French accent.
Pitchfork Music Critic
Because if the dreamy James Franco said that Mumford and Sons suck, my friends would finally agree.
Movie Blogger
And finally, the best one. Who better to offer his opinions on a Comic-Con video blog about how a B-List actor claims that the sequel to a reboot of a movie based on a board game is "really about the characters"? Sure, he's not 300 pounds, bearded, spectacled, smelly, socially-challenged or a fan of middle-of-the-road romantic comedies released Fox Searchlight, but we can make him. One of us! One of us!
Hack-extrodinare D.J. Caruso to direct "Preacher"
Straight from the mouth of Satan's Twitter account, we now know who will direct the development-hell friendly adaptation of Garth Ennis' Vertigo series, Preacher. In case you aren't familiar with it; I'll give you Wikipedia's (always the best source) description:
Preacher tells the story of Jesse Custer, a down-and-out preacher in the small Texas town of Annville. Custer was accidentally possessed by the supernatural creature named Genesis in an incident which killed his entire congregation and flattened his church.
Genesis, the product of the unauthorized, unnatural coupling of an angel and a demon, is an infant with no sense of individual will. However, as it is composed of both pure goodness and pure evil, it might have enough power to rival that of God Himself. In other words, Jesse Custer, bonded to Genesis, may have become the most powerful being in the whole of living existence.
Custer, driven by a strong sense of right and wrong, goes on a journey across the United States attempting to (literally) find God, who abandoned Heaven the moment Genesis was born. He also begins to discover the truth about his new powers. They allow him, when he wills it, to command the obedience of those who hear and comprehend his words. He is joined by his old girlfriend Tulip O'Hare, as well as a hard-drinking Irish vampire named Cassidy.
During the course of their journeys, the three encounter enemies
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and obstacles both sacred and profane, including: the Saint of Killers, an invincible, quick-drawing, perfect-aiming, come-lately Angel of Death answering only to "He who sits on the throne"; a serial-killer called the 'Reaver-Cleaver'; The Grail, a secret organization controlling the governments of the world and protecting the bloodline ofJesus; Herr Starr, ostensible Allfather of the Grail, a megalomaniac with a penchant for prostitutes, who wishes to use Custer for his own ends; several fallen angels; and Jesse's own redneck 'family' — particularly his nasty Cajun grandmother, her mighty bodyguard Jody, and the 'animal-loving' T.C.
I'll admit to having not read the entire series, so I'm no fanboy, but this irritates me. Most of my irritation comes from the fact that we're going to get another movie that proudly proclaims "FROM THE DIRECTOR OF DISTURBIA", because Shia LaBoof's XBOX Live account being disconnected = GREAT CINEMA. I do remember seeing portions of his film The Salton Sea on TV once, but all that I can remember was Vincent D'Onofrio's character who had no nose because of snorting too much coke. Oh D'Onofrio, I miss your "I AM HOLLYWOOD'S PREMIERE VILLAIN CHARACTER ACTOR" period. But uh, back to the point; Caruso boasts that he's going "back to the dark side" but once you've fetishized the Michael Bay-aesthetic of "cool" people walking in slow-motion there's really no hope for artistic salvation. Oh well, at this point we can at least hope for post-converted 3D.
We're through the looking glass here, people : Ethan's Pre-Film School Top 100
August 5, 2010 | By: ethan | No Comments
Studies have shown that years of film academia being rammed down your skull will make you think that the greatest films ever made are in fact only made by Carl Theoder Dryer, Stan Brakhage, Howard Hawks and Max Ophuls. Okay, I made up the studies part but either way don't expect to see any of those names on this list…even tough they're all great!!!! (don't stone me). But either way, read the list and love it…please…because I spent a lot of time on it.
ODDSAC (the Animal Collective movie) trailer hits the interwebs
January 26, 2010 | By: ethan | No Comments
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H48VtETngA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Being at least somewhat of a hipster, I was legally obligated to post this trailer. This is not really a film but a "visual album" from the best band in the world, Animal Collective. Just judging by this if you're one of the people who's only knowledge of the band is through "My Girls" you might be a little freaked out by what you're seeing. This looks far more "Hollinndagain" than "Merriweather Post Pavillion" and I guess I'm open to that.
ODDSAC is currently playing at Sundance and for all we know could become the next "The Wall"…but it's far more likely that it will just be some art project that a few weeks from now won't see more than the closet of Noah Lennox/Panda Bear.
Ten 2010 Movies that you *should* be looking forward to…because I really am
December 31, 2009 | By: ethan | No Comments
Before I get into this I should note that Shutter Island was on here for awhile but the whole delayed-to-February thing in combination with seeing the trailer so many times has given me a kind of blue balls effect. Still, I eagerly await anything from Eyebrows. Anyway, here…we…go.
Why Avatar is indeed awesome
December 20, 2009 | By: ethan | 1 Comment
The people who complain about Avatar's story being "Dances With Wolves meets Ferngully" are like people who claim they don't like John Goodman because he's overweight. Goodman's weight serves his persona as the lovable and funny guy who could very well be your zany Uncle. Ignoring his dominating screen presence and talent just because he doesn't look like a typical handsome leading man is flat-out dumb. Avatar's simplistic story serves it's themes and visual splendor. We don't need a twist ending where everyone is a robot for a movie to be good, it's fine to sometimes just have something standardly play out in front of you just so that you can further appreciate what extraordinarily is being done. I don't need John Goodman to lose 200 pounds and have a shirtless scene to appreciate what he's doing while watching an episode of Roseanne. (more…)
In which Ethan pimps his newly-formed Tumblr account
November 11, 2009 | By: ethan | No Comments
Yes, I decided to file this under cool stuff.
Anywho, me and Dave had previously discussed the idea of me starting a Screen Geeks-sponsored blog that would contain my incoherent ramblings about movies. He had the idea of hosting a blogspot thing-y, but I wanted Tumblr seeing as how that's what all the cool kids use these days. Dave could not use his technical wizardry though to have SG host it though. So we kind of both lost our enthusiasm on the idea and didn't discuss it again. But on a whim (the whim being browsing the Tumblr of the illustrious Hunter Stephenson) I buckled down and finally started my own Tumblr account.
Before I link to it I should prepare you for what exactly it contain. It will obviously center on pop-culture, but it was also probably range into bizarre personal stuff that are only hinted on my Twitter account. But here's the damn thing in all it's infantile glory : http://ethanves.tumblr.com/
ScreenGeeks Twitter
Review: Cloak & Dagger
Premiering on June 7th, the Freeform network is launching yet another superhero show to what some wo...
Film Review: Wonder Woman
by David Minkus Score: 3.5/4 The DC Extended Universe has been widely criticized as a trainwreck sin...
by Mike Smith Score: 3.5/4 The year: 2017. The superhero film genre has dominated Hollywood for the...
Swiss Army Man Review: Yes, Farts Can Be Emotional
by David Minkus Score: 3.5/4 It seems like there's a never ending amount of complaining that Hollywo...
Film Review: Pain & Gain
by Mark Smith Score: 3/4 I used to be a fan of Michael Bay's. I knew that his films weren't bri...


BIJAC is leading the local effort to preserve personal stories of Japanese immigration and the WWII exclusion and return. A recent project that involved recording oral histories began in 2005, supported by the Bainbridge Community Foundation (BCF), Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Fund (BIAHC), Humanities Washington, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). We are working closely with Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project, Seattle's extraordinary online repository of oral histories and images, as well as curricula materials related to the Nikkei experience.
We have recorded and transcribed over forty oral history interviews, created with the professional help of two talented local film–makers, Lucy Ostrander and Don Sellers of Stourwater Pictures. Fifteen of these can be seen on the Densho website in their entirety, and more will be added as funding allows. This website contains over ninety 1–6 minute film clips from our oral history collection. See the History section for a list of these short film clips covering topics from life on Bainbridge Island before WWII, to exclusion and internment.
BIJAC's archives include these recent interviews and others recorded over the past several decades, including audio tapes of many Island Issei. Other interviews were recorded during the creation of the photo exhibit Kodomo No Tame Ni–For the Sake of the Children (1989), and the PBS documentary Visible Target (1985).
(RIGHT) Behind the Scenes of a BIJAC Oral History Interview — Don Sellers, Videographer, and Lucy Ostrander, Producer. Filming Frank Kitamoto being interviewed by John deChadenedes.


Harris Corp.Has been awarded a contract from Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems to build Ka-band antennas for three Inmarsat-5 satellites. The Harris antennas will direct 95 Earth-based Ka-band beams, enabling the constellation of the three satellites to cover the entire globe. The constellation also will be able to adapt to changing usage patterns over the projected 15-year operation of the satellites. In addition, Harris Corp. has received a $6.1-million order to supply Falcon II AN/VRC-103 multiband, multimission vehicular radio systems to the US Department of Defense for use in mine-resistant ambush-protected all-terrain vehicles (M-ATVs). The Harris AN/VRC-103 is an integrated communications system that includes the Falcon II AN/PRC-117F software-defined manpack radio.
Sensis Corp.Has announced the acceptance of its modernization program for the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) Terminal Radar and Control System (TRACS) area surveillance radar (ASR-3). The fully redundant ASR-3 radar-modernization solution features a signal/data processor and solid-state L-band transmitter replacement. Six-level National Weather Service (NWS) weather data-processing capability is embedded in the software.
Spirent CommunicationsPCTEST Engineering Laboratory will use the Spirent 8100 Location Technology Solution for over-the-air (OTA) testing of GPS in LTE and multimode devices. PCTEST is a CTIA Authorized Testing Laboratory (CATL) for certification. In addition, the laboratory is authorized to carry out third-party certification testing for leading wireless operators, among them Verizon Wireless.
CETECOMHas selected Anite's LTE conformance toolset and SAS test solutions for Verizon Wireless device certification testing. The toolset offers coverage of LTE signaling protocol test cases encompassing both GCF and PTCRB certification requirements.
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L)Has been awarded a contract to manufacture a spacecraft for Australian telecommunications service provider SingTel Optus. The satellite, Optus 10, is slated for launch in 2013. It will be the tenth satellite in the SingTel Optus fleet to be launched for Australia and the second built by SS/L.
Jampro Antennas, Inc.Has received a contract from Jordan Radio & TV (JRTV), the Mideastern country's state broadcaster, to supply broadcast antenna systems and related transmission equipment to upgrade four systems. JRTV's order includes Jampro model JUHD UHF broadband panel antennas and combiners, JCPD FM panel antennas, combiners, and associated RF components.


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Evolution Happens
Interesting stuff about evolution, and sometimes other sciences
Category Archives: science communication
Which came first, the rattle or the rattling?
Posted on August 17, 2016 by Ryan Ellingson
Whether or not you've seen one in person, you're probably familiar with the way a rattlesnake uses its rattle. When cornered, a rattler takes a ready-to-strike posture, stiffens its muscles, and quickly vibrates its tail. Of course on the end of that tail is a rattle, or as the authors describe it in a recent paper published in The American Naturalist, "interlocking segments of keratin that fit loosely within one another." (Keratin is a protein that also makes up your hair, nails, outer layer of skin…and a snake's scales.) The distinctive rattling sound that's made when these segments rapidly vibrate against one another causes many animals (including humans) to instinctively freeze and slowly back away hoping to avoid a nasty bite. It's a very effective warning signal.
A western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) in Arizona, rattling its tail to scare away a perceived threat – presumably the photographer.
Photo from Allf et al. (2016)
Warning Signals
It turns out the behavior of tail rattling is much more common than the rattle itself. Rattlesnakes belong to the Viparidae family of snakes, all of which have long hollow fangs that inject proteolytic (protein-degrading) venom into their prey victims or some other animal stupid enough to mess with a rattlesnake. The rattle on the tip of a rattler's tail helps it send a clear warning to stay away to avoid those fangs. A second family of snakes called Colubridae contains about two-thirds of all snake species, and they're generally harmless to anything that's too big to strangle. This is why you'll find many kinds of small colubrids—kingsnakes, corn snakes, garter snakes, etc.—in any pet store that happens to be into the whole reptilian thing.
I owned a California Kingsnake (for 21 years, she passed away this past April) and I had seen her rapidly vibrate her tail a few times when she seemed to feel threatened. As someone who studies marine invertebrates, I'm not much of an expert on the biology of snakes. But I did know that kingsnakes don't have rattles on their tails like rattlesnakes*, so I was a bit puzzled when I saw my kingsnake "rattle" her tail. It made me wonder whether the behavior had evolved before rattles themselves, but my wondering pretty much stopped there and I went on with my own non-snake research.
The late Irma (1995–2016), my California kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae).
Now researchers at University of North Carolina have done much more than just wonder about tail-vibrating behavior in non-venomous snakes. They subjected the idea to some hypothesis testing, showing that the action of a snake "rattling" its tail did indeed evolve before the rattle itself.
Reconstructing the Past
To figure this out, they took a phylogenetic tree (like a family tree, but representing the evolution of a bunch of different species) of snakes from a previous study and mapped the behavioral trait onto the tree. This statistical method, also known as ancestral character state reconstruction, uses some fancy math to calculate the likelihood that a given trait existed in the common ancestors of living species.
So let's take a look at the phylogenetic tree in Figure 2 of Allf et al. (2016)1. First of all, each name on the right represents a different species of snake, and the circle next to the name shows whether that species vibrates its tail (white) or does not (black). Notice that all but three species included in the tree exhibit the behavior of tail vibration; even vipers that don't have rattles and the non-venomous colubrids. Only the group of rattlesnakes has a rattle on its tail. At first glance it seems obvious that the behavior is older than the morphology, but it's important to test these things statistically…
Figure 2. Phylogenetic tree of snakes species in the families Colubridae and Viperidae, showing how tail-rattling behavior has evolved.
As shown in Allf et al. (2016)
Now follow the lines (branches) next to each species, from right to left. Every time two branches come together you've reached a node, which represents the common ancestor of those two species. A pie chart on each node shows the probability of that ancestor possessing the trait of tail vibration. You should quickly notice that almost every ancestor has a completely white pie (a single black line in it as opposed to a black wedge) indicating a nearly 100% chance that that ancestor vibrated its tail. These likelihood values provide statistical support for what already seemed obvious, that the behavior of tail vibration evolved long before the physical rattle of rattlesnakes.
But there's more to this study than simply confirming that rattling evolved before rattles. Seeing how a particular morphological trait functions often makes perfect sense at first glance: wings are great for flying, eyes great for seeing, teeth great for biting, etc. But how do these highly specialized structures arise in the first place? In other words, how does evolutionary novelty come about?
Evolution is NOT Random
There is a common misconception that evolution is completely random, causing many people to be skeptical of how such a wide variety of well-functioning organisms could have evolved on Earth without some sort of divine intervention. You wouldn't expect to build a computer by randomly throwing circuit boards and wires at each other, right? So how could evolution produce such a huge variety of organisms so perfectly suited to their environments, with no predetermined design or direction? It's because the view that evolution is 100% random is wrong, there's more to it than that.
It's difficult for some people to imagine how such a variety of plant, animal, and microbial forms of life have evolved. Behavior-facilitated adaptation is just one way that evolutionary novelty can come about.
Illustration by Ainsley Seago (www.trufflebeetles.com)
We do know that genetic variation—a crucial component of evolution—arises completely at random (for the most part) by the process of mutation. Most mutations are random mistakes made by cells as they make copies of their DNA before dividing, and the vast majority of mutations have effects that are usually either negative or neutral. It's very rare for a random mutation to actually improve the survival or reproductive abilities of the organism who gets it.
But another critical piece of the evolutionary process is natural selection, which is anything but random. Natural selection is extremely effective at teasing out even the most subtle advantages among individuals. This means that if a trait has any influence (no matter how small) on increasing the survival and reproductive chances of some individuals relative to others, then natural selection is said to favor that trait. This causes a beneficial mutation to become more and more common each generation, until it belongs to every member of the species. Natural selection is so good at doing this that it can favor changes that are imperceptible to even the most observant scientists with the most expensive instruments.
Can Environment Induce New Adaptations?
Despite the extreme non-randomness of natural selection, it can still only work with what it's given. In other words, while the environment is incredibly effective at causing species to adapt over time by favoring individuals with the best traits, it can do nothing to make those traits appear in the first place. Or can it?
Well, the rattlesnake study says…sorta maybe. This is not to say the environment directly induces beneficial DNA mutations in an organism (except epigenetics now tells us that it sort of can), but it does appear that tail-rattling behavior provided the perfect backdrop for evolution of the rattle itself. The authors suggest that this might have happened in one of two ways.
The first hypothesis is that tail-rattling behavior as a warning signal simply provided a situation that allowed a rattle to evolve. Let's say genetic variation among individuals who all rattled their tail meant that some snakes produced a little more keratin on the tips of their tails than others. This could cause these individuals to make a bit more noise when they vibrated their tails, making them a bit better at startling predators. These individuals would survive longer and leave more offspring, some of which would produce even a bit more keratin tissue on the tail than their parents. Continued selection for increased keratin could eventually lead to the fully formed rattle as it exists today. If tail vibration hadn't existed first, then selection never would have favored individuals who happened to grow a bit more tail keratin.
Alternatively (and more remarkably IMO), rattling behavior may have actively facilitated rapid evolution of the rattle. Like, actually caused the rattle to form. In this scenario, tail vibrations is hypothesized to have caused a sort of callus to form on the tip of the tail. Snakes that vibrated their tails more rapidly and for a longer duration would have developed larger calluses. If certain mutations made some snakes more susceptible to callus formation than others, and if these individuals were also better at deterring predators, then selection would favor callus formation associated with tail vibration.
This would mean that the environment helped cause the formation of the rattle as opposed to simply favoring random mutations that gradually made the rattle bigger. It may sound like a subtle distinction, but in evolutionary biology it's huge.
While the researchers are not yet able to say which scenario is more likely, more results are consistent with the latter hypothesis. When they mapped two aspects of tail vibration onto the snake phylogeny, they found that duration was longest and intensity was highest in rattlesnakes and their close ancestors:
From Allf et al. (2016)
But if tail calluses only developed when snakes behaved a certain way (i.e. rattled their tails), then we wouldn't expect them to pass those calluses on to their offspring. That would be similar to your kids inheriting the big muscles you earn by hitting the gym every day. This type of evolution where an individual acquires a trait during its lifetime and passes it to offspring is called Lamarckian inheritance, and it's something evolutionary biologists disproved decades ago (although read more on epigenetic Lamarckism if you really want to fall down a rabbit hole).
A classic example of Lamarckism is the giraffe acquiring a longer neck during its lifetime and passing on that trait to its offspring. We now know evolution doesn't work this way (mostly).
Of course reality is rarely as simple as we'd like it to be. While natural selection may not have directly induced mutations that grow rattles, it could have provided a strong advantage to snakes that rattled their way to callused tails. And if this selection pressure remained strong for a long period of time, the stage was set to favor any mutation that may have caused even a tiny bit of extra tail keratin formation, independent of the behavior itself. We'd call this genetic assimilation, where a trait that originally forms in response to environmental stimulus eventually becomes hard-wired by the genome. In other words, formation of rattles (the noun) became programmed into the development of rattlesnakes even though their ancestors had to work hard for it, by rattling (the verb).
It may seem counterintuitive that the use of a tool could evolve before the tool itself, but future studies may show that's it far more common in nature than we now realize. While a resurgence in neo-Lamarckism isn't likely, it is possible that behavior can be an effective precursor, and even facilitator, of the evolution of novel structures.
*The "king" in kingsnake references the fact they often eat other snakes, including rattlesnakes – they're resistant to rattlesnake venom (which is obviously badass).
1Bradley C. Allf, Paul A. P. Durst, and David W. Pfennig,"Behavioral Plasticity and the Origins of Novelty: The Evolution of the Rattlesnake Rattle," The American Naturalist (Volume & page numbers not yet available) DOI: 10.1086/688017
Posted in evolution, predator-prey interaction, science communication, science education	| Leave a reply
Ants can medicate themselves when they're sick
Posted on November 17, 2015 by Ryan Ellingson
Whether swallowing Excedrin® for a headache or sipping a cocktail to take the edge off, you've likely self-medicated more than once in your life. Similar to written language and advanced tool use, ingesting an otherwise harmful substance for the purposes of curing what ails you is a behavior usually considered to be uniquely human. But it turns out ants can self-medicate, too. A recent study showed that common black ants changed their diets when they were sick—eating more food supplemented with a medicinal substance—as compared to ants with no infection.
The common European black ant, Formica fusca, can alter its behavior to self-medicate when it's sick.
Photo by Mathias Krumbholz via Wikimedia Commons
Do animals get high?
You may have heard stories of elephants getting drunk by eating fermented fruit or of dolphins getting high off pufferfish toxin – but as much as people might like these stories to be true, they're actually driven more by myth than by the reality of evolution.
It shouldn't be surprising that natural selection would not favor a tendency to get high. Being successful in a predator-prey interaction, for example, requires being substantially more alert than a stoner on their couch eating pizza rolls and watching Netflix.
Intentional inebriation may enhance the movie-watching experience for Harold and Kumar in their living room, but it's not a particularly good evolutionary strategy.
Image copyright of Warner Bros.
But what about legitimate medicine? Disease is pervasive in the natural world. If a creature could cure itself of infection by ingesting a substance naturally available to them—and if this behavior was genetically inherited—then we could easily expect the trait to spread through a population over time (in other words, we'd expect the species to evolve the ability to self-medicate).
A study by researchers at University of Helsinki in Finland (published online for an upcoming issue of the journal Evolution) has demonstrated this sort of therapuetic self-medication in the common European black ant, Formica fusca. They found that the ants will intentionally ingest hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the presence of a fungal pathogen, and that the otherwise toxic substance helps them recover from the infection.
Specific criteria for self-medication
To show that this behavior is genuinely medicinal, some specific criteria needed to be met. If the ants ate a non-toxic substance that just happened to prevent infection, for example, this could potentially be eaten by all ants as part of their diet—regardless of pathogen exposure—and would not qualify as medicine. In order to be considered self-medication, the ingested substance must: (1) increase the fitness of infected ants (i.e., make it healthier), (2) have a negative effect on uninfected ants, (3) have a negative effect on one or more pathogens, and (4) be deliberately consumed by the ants.
Two metal ants holding a bottle of wine and looking happily medicated.
Image from http://www.frbiz.com, a website that sells things.
In a cleverly designed study, researchers found that their study subjects fulfilled all four of these criteria. First, they divided ants into two colonies, one of which was fed a standard honey-based food while the other colony was fed the same food, but supplemented with hydrogen peroxide (they use the more general term reactive oxygen species, or ROS, in the paper). Each of these groups was then divided into two, one exposed to the common fungal pathogen, Beauveria bassiana, and the other kept as a fungus-free control group. They tracked daily mortality rates of all four groups for 12 days and found that medicated ants survived at a higher rate than non-medicated when exposed to the fungus, but the opposite was true for the pathogen-free control groups. This satisfied criteria 1 and 2.
Graph showing that ingesting H2O2 (dotted lines) increased the survival of fungal-infected ants (black arrow) while decreasing survival in healthy ants (gray arrow).
Figure 1 from Bos et al. (2015)
To demonstrate that these differential survival rates were the direct result of H2O2 killing the fungal infection, they cultured the fungus in petri dishes with six different concentrations of H2O2, including 0%. This part of the experiment showed a steep decline in the survival of the fungus as the concentration of H2O2 increased, satisfying criterion 3.
Graph showing the rapid decline in the survival of the fungal pathogen BB in the presence of increasing concentration of H2O2.
Finally, for the most interesting part, the authors tested whether ants would deliberately put themselves into contact with H2O2 after being infected with the fungus. If they did, this would demonstrate that the ants are able to distinguish between medicinal and non-medicinal food, and that they only eat the medicine when they're sick. You probably know where this is going: when given a choice, infected ants indeed increased their consumption of H2O2-supplemented food, while non-infected ants largely avoided it.
Graph showing that, when given a choice, up to 50% of fungal-infected ants deliberately consumed food supplemented with H2O2, while no more than ~20% of non-infected ants were ever observed doing the same. The results also suggest ants adjust the amount of medicine they take – consuming more of it at 4% than at 6% concentration.
It was a very simple and straightforward experiment, but one that carefully demonstrated all the criterion necessary to say that these ants successfully self-medicate based on the presence of infection. While this work was done in the lab, the authors are careful to point out that ants are also likely to encounter reactive oxygen species such as H2O2 in nature, as they can be present in many ant food sources such as nectar and cadavers.
Free meds
The authors even speculate that the phenomenon may be part of a mutualistic association between aphids and ants. Aphids secrete a substance called honey dew as they feed on plants, and ants are known to feed on the honey dew. Because plants also produce H2O2 as a defense against aphid predation, infected ants could potentially use the honey dew food source as a way to adjust their intake of H2O2.
Also posted at: http://www.planetexperts.com/self-medicating-ants/
Nick Bos, Liselotte Sundström, Siiri Fuchs, and Dalial Freitak. 2015. Ants medicate to fight disease. Evolution. DOI: 10.1111/evo.12752
Posted in evolution, science communication	| 3 Replies
5 (more) Misconceptions about Evolution
Posted on February 11, 2014 by Ryan Ellingson
I recently came across this excellent post debunking 5 common misconceptions about evolution (hat tip to Joe Hansen at It's Okay to be Smart). It's a great infographic, and in light of the recent debate about whether creationism is compatible with science, between young-Earth creationist Ken Ham and Bill Nye the Science Guy, I thought I'd take this opportunity to add five more.
Full disclosure, the five misconceptions I'm writing about here are indeed common, but the inspiration was not all mine. This list is actually presented in The Tangled Bank, by the prolific science writer Carl Zimmer. It's a great book for a non-biology major evolution course (I happen to be using it for just that right now), or for anyone outside the field who would like to learn more about evolution. No paid promo here, it's just my opinion.
One thing that clearly unites every argument denying evolution: they are nearly always some form of a straw man argument. With ever-growing mountains of overwhelming evidence to support the theories behind evolution, this is really the only type of argument available to creationists. They must make false claims about evolution that they then easily take down to give their arguments the appearance of credibility.
Any time a creationist makes an argument to discredit evolution that seems on its surface to be scientifically compelling, this is probably how they did it. (Cartoon by history professor Dr. James MacLeod)
So in addition to the 5 misconceptions listed by Molecular Life Sciences, I figured it would be useful to add 5 more to the list (with no claims about whether these fit at the top, bottom, or middle of such a list). It turns out that most denials are so weak, they can be refuted in short order. So let's get started…
Posted in creationism, evolution, intelligent design, science communication, science education	| 11 Replies
Reef creatures at night in Mo'orea, French Polynesia
Posted on December 11, 2013 by Ryan Ellingson
While I was grad student at UCLA, I twice had the opportunity to TA a field course in Mo'orea, a small island next to Tahiti in French Polynesia. These are some photos I snapped on a night dive last time I was there, in the spring 2012. Enjoy!
An anemone hermit crab at night.
From Wikipedia: Dardanus pedunculatus usually lives on coral reefs and in the intertidal zone, at depths of 1–27 metres (3–89 ft). It usually carries sea anemones on its shell, which it uses to protect itself from its main predator, cephalopods of the genus Octopus. The anemones are collected at night, and comprises the crab stroking and tapping the anemone until it loosens its grip on the substrate, at which point it is moved onto the gastropod shell that the hermit crab inhabits.
A parrotfish in its mucus "sleeping bag."
Many species of parrotfish surround themselves with a mucus bubble at night. It is thought to protect them from predators by keeping their scent out of the water and possibly provide an early warning system if the mucus is broken by an approaching predator. I wasn't able to identify this particular species, suggestions are welcome.
The chocolate tang Acanthurus pyroferus.
Tang and surgeonfish (family Acanthuridae) have a sharp scalpel-like blade on their caudal peduncle (the part right in front of the tail) that they can whip around to slice a predator.
The banded cleaner shrimp Stenopus hispidus.
Again, from Wikipedia: "Stenopus hispidus lives below the intertidal zone, at depth of up to 210 metres (690 ft),on coral reefs. It is a cleaner shrimp, and advertises to passing fish by slowly waving its long, white antennae. S. hispidus uses its three pairs of claws to remove parasites, fungi and damaged tissue from the fish."
The urchin Diadema savignyi.
No much to say about this guy, just don't step on one. The spines are every bit as sharp as they look.
A moray eel. I think the undulated moray Gymnothorax undulatus?
The ass end of one of the most beautiful fishes I've ever seen. Some kind of gurnard?
The spotfin lionfish Pterois antennata, I think.
Also viewed from the posterior. This species has other common names, but who cares?
Posted in coral reefs, science communication, SCUBA	| Leave a reply
A Jellyfish's Offense is a Sea Slug's Defense
Arms races between predators and their prey have been common in the evolution of life. Gazelles run a little faster to help them escape cheetahs, then of course the cheetahs speed up to keep catching their meals. Bivalves (clams, scallops, etc.) and snails have evolved some tough and elaborate shells to protect themselves, and in response the crabs, octopuses, and fishes that eat them have developed incredibly strong claws, drills, or teeth to crush, open, or bore into the shells. And of course toxins can be synthesized to ward off all sorts of enemies looking to take a bite out of you (the slow loris is by no means the only animal to do this, but it may be the cutest).
A cephalaspidean sea slug of the genus Navanax devours an aeolid nudibranch slug. Aeolids can sometimes steal stinging cells from their prey, jellyfish and their relatives, as a defense against predators, but that doesn't seem to have worked in this case.
Image taken from http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/california-marine-life
But what if you're just slow and squishy? In the case of nudibranch sea slugs, some of them make up for this vulnerability by eating cnidarians (jellyfishes, coral, sea anemones), stealing their stinging cells, and planting them in their own tissues, ready to fire at an unsuspecting predator. The process is called kleptocnidae, and even though it was discovered almost 100 years ago, it's been the subject of very little study since then.
A while back, I wrote about kleptoplasty. It's the process whereby sacoglossan sea slugs steal chloroplasts from their algal prey and use them for photosynthesis, essentially turning themselves into solar-powered animals. However, see a recent study calling into question the extent to which the slugs use photosynthesis for survival.
Regardless of exactly how important solar power may or may not be for the survival of sacoglossans, nudibranchs have arguably taken the art of stealing from their prey to a different level. Nudibranchia is the best known group of sea slugs, largely because their patterns are so colorful that they often look more like cartoon characters or art projects than real animals. But we all know beauty doesn't necessarily make you nice, and nudibranchs could be considered masters of deception in that regard. In contrast to the herbivorous (i.e. vegan) sacoglossans, nudibranchs are voracious predators, devouring sponges, corals, bryozoans, or other sea slugs – some will even cannibalize members of their own species!
Posted in animal weaponry, nudibranchs, predator-prey interaction, science communication, science education, sea slugs	| 9 Replies
Dear PBS and Joe Hanson, it's okay to not be sexist
Part of what I enjoy about being in science academia is the fact that I'm generally surrounded by like-minded people. For the most part, my peers and colleagues hold progressive views about politics and society. They are environmentalists, they are proponents of social justice, they support gay rights, and they generally strive for improving diversity in the sciences. This is a generalization, of course, and there will always be individuals who are at least ignorant to one or more of these issues or at worst detrimental to the cause. Not to mention that the system itself still harbors a high degree of its sexist and racist history – the vast majority of professorships are still given to white men and we've got a long way to go to move beyond that. But generally speaking, especially among the younger scientists of my generation, there is at least an overall desire to promote both equality and diversity among scientists while also making attempts to bring science to a widely diverse audience.
Einstein and Marie Curie at Thanksgiving dinner before the bobblehead father of relativity decides to sexually assault the likeness of the one of the greatest chemists of all time.
Posted in academia, science communication, sexism	| 1 Reply
Solar-powered sea slugs are energy-efficient thieves
Posted on November 8, 2013 by Ryan Ellingson
Every animal needs energy to live, and they usually get it by ingesting other living things. We've all seen videos of predators hunting down and killing their favorite prey, or docile herbivores munching on grass, leaves, or berries. But one group of animals has evolved a strategy to harness energy that's a bit more complex and far more clever than simply finding something and eating it. Sacoglossan sea slugs are close relatives of the more colorful and better-known group of slugs called nudibranchs.
Nudibranchs are carnivorous – they prey on sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans, and even cannibalize other members of their own species. Sacoglossans, on the other hand, are more like their hippie vegan cousins. They feed on green algae using a specialized tooth-like feeding structure common to all snails and slugs called a radula. A sacoglossan sea slug uses its radula to pierce cell walls, allowing it to suck out all those sweet, sweet algal juices.
Close up view of functional chloroplasts in the tissues of Elysia crispata.
Photo courtesy of Patrick J. Krug.
Okay, so some sea slugs are vegan, but what's so clever about that? Continue reading →
Posted in evolution, kleptoplasty, science communication, science education, sea slugs	| 4 Replies

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
You are here: Home » Blog » Tech News » Hackers tried to steal €13 million from Malta's Bank of Valletta
Hackers tried to steal €13 million from Malta's Bank of Valletta
Hackers tried to steal €13 million from Malta's Bank of Valletta. Hackers tried to send funds to banks in the UK, the US, the Czech Republic, and Honk Kong. Transactions are being reverted.
Malta's oldest bank resumed operations today after it shut down all IT systems yesterday when hackers tried to steal roughly €13 million ($14.7 million) from its reserves.
Bank of Valletta (BOV) employees discovered the hackers' intrusion during daily reconciliation operations of international transfers.
Roughly 30 minutes after finding the unauthorized operations, the bank closed all its branches, shut down its ATM and point-of-sale systems, along with its website and e-banking servers.
According to local press [1, 2], the hackers tried to transfer €13 million to different bank accounts in the UK, the US, the Czech Republic, and Hong Kong.
In an address to the Maltese Parliament, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said BOV officials notified all foreign banks and were working to revert the transactions and regain access of their funds.
In a statement on its website, BOV said it was working with local and international police authorities to track down the attackers. The bank's operations returned to normal today, according to a subsequent statement.
Bank of Valletta is Malta's oldest bank and one of its largest. Maltese government officials paid close attention to the bank's operations on Wednesday because the hack crippled the small island's economy, forcing a large number of citizens and tourists to cash transactions only. The government is also one of BOV's clients, whose services it uses to make social security payments.
On the North American continent, CI Banco, a Mexico-based bank also reported a cyber-attack on Wednesday. The bank shut down all operations after its IT staff detected a virus in the equipment of one of its employees, according to local press [1, 2], with one report claiming it was ransomware. The bank has resumed operations today.
Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
My little pony learning game in VB.NET
Computer Programming Business Requirements Analysis
Where automotive cyber security is headed
Social engineering is the new method of choice for hackers. Here's how it works.
Facebook faces investigation by privacy commissioner over RBC access
About the Author: Bernard Aybout
I am a loving father, & husband. I am a computer enthusiast. I have used and enjoyed computers since I was young and I enjoy teaching young minds how to code, because it teaches them how to think. Today with YouTube, and social media garbage our youth are losing the ability to think on their own and solve problems. I believe this is a serious epidemic as kids today dont understand that technology is a tool. This tool is being abused, and its underlying effects are taking its toll on kids behaviour, and learning.


Oxitec dont nous avons suivi le démarrage ( http://www.sauvonsnospalmiers.fr/spip.php?article209) change de dimension en entrant le groupe INTREXON capitalisation boursière New York Stock Exchange $6,301,309,280. Nul doute que cette dimension nouvelle va considérablement valoriser les technologies OGM&GMO . maîtrisées par la société d'Oxford. Félicitations à Hadyn Parry son équipe de brillants ingénieurs. Pas très franco-français tout ça !!!!
Intrexon Corporation (NYSE : XON), a leader in synthetic biology, announced today an agreement to acquire Oxitec Ltd., a pioneer in biological insect control solutions. Oxitec's safe, innovative, self-limiting approach to control mosquitoes that spread disease and to limit pest-related crop damage is well aligned with Intrexon's growth and investment strategies.
Utilizing advanced genetics and molecular biology, Oxitec has developed a new and innovative solution to controlling insect populations through the production of 'sterile', self-limiting insects whose offspring do not survive. Unlike conventional approaches to insect control using insecticides that can affect the broader ecosystem, Oxitec programs are exquisitely directed at a single species. Intrexon intends to integrate its synthetic biology platform to advance Oxitec's existing initiatives to protect communities from diseases like dengue fever as well as against agricultural pests that impact food supply worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization, dengue is the world's fastest growing mosquito-borne disease spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. A recent estimate indicates a potential 390 million dengue infections per year, of which 96 million manifest clinically. Dengue continues to grow in both prevalence and severity as current methods, relying mostly on insecticides, have not been adequate to control the spread of the mosquitoes. Open field trials with Oxitec's mosquitoes have taken place in Brazil,Panama, Grand Cayman and Malaysia, with over 90% reduction of the Aedes aegypti pest population reported in each efficacy trial. Brazil's National Technical Commission for Biosecurity (CTNBio) approved the safety of Oxitec's mosquitoes in 2014, an important step towards full commercialization of this groundbreaking, and potentially life-saving, technology.
In addition to health programs, Intrexon will work on furthering Oxitec's technology applications in agriculture as an estimated 20% to 40% of food production is lost every year to insect pests despite widespread pesticide use. Oxitec's approach is ideal for use as part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs, which many growers around the world are adopting to produce food in a more sustainable manner. Due to its species-specificity and low environmental impact, Oxitec solutions are ideal for use in IPM by making insect control more cost effective, safer, and applicable to a wider range of crops and pests.
Pursuant to the definitive agreement, Oxitec's stockholders will receive approximately $80 million in Intrexon common stock and$80 million in cash. Consummation of the transaction, anticipated in the second half of 2015, is subject to customary closing conditions.
Intrexon Corporation (NYSE : XON) is Powering the Bioindustrial Revolution with Better DNA™ to create biologically-based products that improve the quality of life and the health of the planet. The Company's integrated technology suite provides its partners across diverse markets with industrial-scale design and development of complex biological systems delivering unprecedented control, quality, function, and performance of living cells. We call our synthetic biology approach Better DNA®, and we invite you to discover more at www.dna.com.
Oxitec is a pioneer in using genetic engineering to control insect pests that spread disease and damage crops, and was founded in 2002 as a spinout from Oxford University (UK).
L'avis sur les moustiques OGM......Que c'est dur !
Antidote à la française pensée unique..


The LatitudeLearning Management System comes standard with language support for English (United States, United Kingdom, Australia), Canadian French, Mexican Spanish, Italian, German, Brazilian Portuguese, and Chinese (Simple) translations. This document explains how portal administrators can customize their LMS with translated content.
Once translated content has been uniformly established, users whose preferred language is something other than the default English can change their "Preferred Language" settings from their homepage, under the My Details tab.
We offer additional student-view language packs as paid LMS Add-On options. For more information, please contact the LatitudeLearning Sales Team.
The LMS Login page displays text in the language selected within your browser language settings. Refer to your browser's online help or your organization's IT support for details.
LMS Administrators should continue to use English for their browser language, as many of the administration pages do not provide content translated in any other language.
After logging in, the settings on a user's My Details page control the language shown. While LMS menus, tab titles, and other standard texts may reflect an updated language setting, custom texts on login screens, home pages, and other areas must be manually translated and entered into the LMS according to this steps outlined below.
If a user sets a non-English Preferred Language, they will only see custom content translations for pages in which the Portal Administrator provided matching language text.
The LMS does not translate SCORM content for eLearning courses. If you wish to provide language-specific course content, you must author the course in the desired language, and create an eLearning course with matching language settings in the LMS.
You can provide language-specific information for editable HTML pages. Placeholders for translated HTML content are provided for the Custom_Left_Nav, login_page, home_page, and register_page content files.
To provide a translation for an existing HTML content file, follow the steps below, which show an example of adding a Canadian French translation to the Home page.
1. From the left navigation menu, select Site Management > Edit HTML Content .
2. In the "HTML Content File" field, select the file entry for the translation you want to provide.
3. In the "Content" text box, remove the placeholder text and type or paste the translation you want to show. You can author your own text or copy the English version of the content file and use it as the basis for your translation. Format the text as desired using the HTML Rich Text Editor buttons or click Source to edit the HTML code directly.
4. Click Submit. When users with that Preferred Language log into the LMS portal, they will see the translated page.
There are a number of LMS pages that provide Language Control settings. These settings allow Portal Administrators to provide language-specific information for learners who have Canadian French or Mexican Spanish selected in their LMS profile settings.
Note: All translated content must be written and saved in English before other translations can be saved.
You'll find a complete list of language-controlled pages at the end of this document. The instructions on how to use the controls are similar for each of the pages in the list.
1. Go to the page for which you want to provide a translation.
2. In the Language field, select the language for which you want to provide a translation, such as Français-Canada or Español-México. For pages with tabs, Language is normally found on the "General Information" tab.
3. After selecting the language, most editable fields will become blank or will contain placeholder text you can replace. On some pages, like those managing the rules in the Certification process, the original text may remain. You must type over it with the translation.
4. Click Submit (or depending on the page, the appropriate alternative).
5. Test your entries by toggling between the English and other versions and viewing the text.
If you are translating pages with required fields, as noted by an asterisk (*), you must provide translated text for those fields. As a courtesy to users who are working in non-English versions of the LMS, you should provide a translation for all fields in which there is an existing entry in English. For instance, if a course has a "Description" in English, you should provide a description in the other language. If you do not, users logged in using the other language will not see a course description at all.


Located on the edge of Ireland 's western waters, glittering on the horizon of Galway Bay , the Aran Islands have a weathered history and rugged landscape which folds together ancient and modern in three green, stone walled jewels of land.Inishmore is the largest of the three Aran Islands . Its principal village is Kilronan where there is a good, deep harbour. An excellent Visitor's Centre, Ionad Arainn, provides a solid introduction to the history and culture of the island. Sites to see include the interesting remains of Arkin's Castle, a Cromwellian fort that maintained a garrison during the 17th and 18th centuries. At Saint Ciaran's Monastery, east of the village, you can see several early cross-slabs, pillars and a holy well dedicated to the early saint.To the west of Kilronan is the church of Saint Enda, the saint most closely identified with the spread of Christianity on Aran.


text:
Q: Output of Deep Learning models using GradCAM. 1 neuron with sigmoid function or 2 neurons with softmax? I am training a neural network for binary classification with time series. I want to use Grad-CAM to check the decisions taken by the model. However, I don't know if I should use as output a Dense layer with one neuron at the end and a sigmoid activation function or a Dense layer with two neurons and the softmax activation function. I have seen many solutions that use softmax and two neurons as output even though it is a binary classification.
Thank you!
In my opinion, if it is a binary classification, a neuron should be used as the output with a sigmoid function.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
"""Support for Verisure binary sensors."""
from __future__ import annotations

from typing import Any, Callable, Iterable

from homeassistant.components.binary_sensor import (
    DEVICE_CLASS_CONNECTIVITY,
    DEVICE_CLASS_OPENING,
    BinarySensorEntity,
)
from homeassistant.config_entries import ConfigEntry
from homeassistant.core import HomeAssistant
from homeassistant.helpers.entity import Entity
from homeassistant.helpers.update_coordinator import CoordinatorEntity

from .const import CONF_GIID, DOMAIN
from .coordinator import VerisureDataUpdateCoordinator

async def async_setup_entry(
    hass: HomeAssistant,
    entry: ConfigEntry,
    async_add_entities: Callable[[Iterable[Entity]], None],
) -> None:
    """Set up Verisure binary sensors based on a config entry."""
    coordinator: VerisureDataUpdateCoordinator = hass.data[DOMAIN][entry.entry_id]

    sensors: list[Entity] = [VerisureEthernetStatus(coordinator)]

    sensors.extend(
        VerisureDoorWindowSensor(coordinator, serial_number)
        for serial_number in coordinator.data["door_window"]
    )

    async_add_entities(sensors)

class VerisureDoorWindowSensor(CoordinatorEntity, BinarySensorEntity):
    """Representation of a Verisure door window sensor."""

    coordinator: VerisureDataUpdateCoordinator

    def __init__(
        self, coordinator: VerisureDataUpdateCoordinator, serial_number: str
    ) -> None:
        """Initialize the Verisure door window sensor."""
        super().__init__(coordinator)
        self.serial_number = serial_number

    @property
    def name(self) -> str:
        """Return the name of this entity."""
        return self.coordinator.data["door_window"][self.serial_number]["area"]

    @property
    def unique_id(self) -> str:
        """Return the unique ID for this entity."""
        return f"{self.serial_number}_door_window"

    @property
    def device_info(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
        """Return device information about this entity."""
        area = self.coordinator.data["door_window"][self.serial_number]["area"]
        return {
            "name": area,
            "suggested_area": area,
            "manufacturer": "Verisure",
            "model": "Shock Sensor Detector",
            "identifiers": {(DOMAIN, self.serial_number)},
            "via_device": (DOMAIN, self.coordinator.entry.data[CONF_GIID]),
        }

    @property
    def device_class(self) -> str:
        """Return the class of this entity."""
        return DEVICE_CLASS_OPENING

    @property
    def is_on(self) -> bool:
        """Return the state of the sensor."""
        return (
            self.coordinator.data["door_window"][self.serial_number]["state"] == "OPEN"
        )

    @property
    def available(self) -> bool:
        """Return True if entity is available."""
        return (
            super().available
            and self.serial_number in self.coordinator.data["door_window"]
        )

class VerisureEthernetStatus(CoordinatorEntity, BinarySensorEntity):
    """Representation of a Verisure VBOX internet status."""

    coordinator: VerisureDataUpdateCoordinator

    @property
    def name(self) -> str:
        """Return the name of this entity."""
        return "Verisure Ethernet status"

    @property
    def unique_id(self) -> str:
        """Return the unique ID for this entity."""
        return f"{self.coordinator.entry.data[CONF_GIID]}_ethernet"

    @property
    def device_info(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
        """Return device information about this entity."""
        return {
            "name": "Verisure Alarm",
            "manufacturer": "Verisure",
            "model": "VBox",
            "identifiers": {(DOMAIN, self.coordinator.entry.data[CONF_GIID])},
        }

    @property
    def is_on(self) -> bool:
        """Return the state of the sensor."""
        return self.coordinator.data["ethernet"]

    @property
    def available(self) -> bool:
        """Return True if entity is available."""
        return super().available and self.coordinator.data["ethernet"] is not None

    @property
    def device_class(self) -> str:
        """Return the class of this entity."""
        return DEVICE_CLASS_CONNECTIVITY


The UK must invest up to £25bn in new waste treatment plants by 2025 to divert residual waste from landfill, Sita UK has said in a new report on infrastructure capacity.
In the study Mind the Gap (file right), the waste management company claimed that, without new investment, there will be not enough capacity in the UK to deal with residual waste.
This will result in waste being landfilled or used as refuse derived fuel in other countries.
Sita said a lack of data, particularly for commercial and industrial waste, was hindering investment in the sector.
Using statistics that it compiled from its own operations, the company estimated that the forecasted infrastructure gap will narrow from 17.8 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.7 million tonnes in 2025.
But this will be mainly due to the volume of residual waste dropping against the proportion of materials that have been recycled and waste that have been prevented.
Incentivise the use of heat produced in energy recovery from waste.
The study reignited the debate on whether the UK has sufficient capacity to treat residual waste.
In October, a report by the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management and consultancy Ricardo-AEA suggested that the UK would be facing a potential capacity gap of 15.3 million tonnes by 2020.
In contrast, another study published by consultancy Eunomia in June concluded that in 2020 there would be potentially some 12 million tonnes capacity in excess as a result of new facilities coming online.
Veolia Executive vice-president UK and Northern Europe Estelle Brachlianoff told MRW Veolia was also preparing its own study on infrastructure capacity, which was due to be published at the end of last year. A spokesperson said the project was still underway.


text:
About Living Magazines Cardiff
Advertising Cardiff – Some Testimonials
Cardiff Business Directory
Community Awards 2019
Free, multi award-winning magazines for North Cardiff
Line up of fantastic festivals to bring summer to North Cardiff
By Editors Living Magazines
North Cardiff will be the place to be this summer as a string of local festivals brings music and laughter to the area.
This year's Whitchurch and Tongwynlais Festival gets underway in the shadow of the iconic Castell Coch on 20th June with the Sunset Fayre.
Organisers have been keen to build on last year's success and the 2018 programme is bursting with events for all the family.
The 10 day celebration culminates in the Festival Fête that takes place on Whitchurch Common on Saturday 30th June. Festival organiser Linda Morgan told Whitchurch and Llandaff Living:
"The Festival is put on each year by the committee and a small group of volunteers, to bring an enjoyable start to the summer and to celebrate the great communities of Whitchurch and Tongwynlais.
Please come along and enjoy the events, get involved and tell others what is going on."
This year's programme includes picnics, duck races, charity auctions, quizzes, concerts, treasure hunts, and lots more. You can find out more here.
Meanwhile, the unique Vintage For Victory takes place in Whitchurch Library Gardens the weekend of July 14th and 15th, celebrating vintage nostalgia, fashion and music from the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
Visitors can take a step back in time and a trip down memory lane in aid of Cancer Research Wales. Dressing up will be part of the experience while the selection of vintage-inspired bands and acts playing over the weekend are there to keep toes-a-tapping and hips swaying.
Classic cars and bikes, and military vehicles of yesteryear will join the mighty Spitfire and Hurricane replicas alongside a Vintage Carnival of traditional sideshow acts. There will also be a good selection of clothes stalls, food and drink outlets, and even a planned flyby of a military Dakota on the Sunday.
2018 will also see the introduction of camping facilities, which will be located less than one mile away. An exclusive after party will be held at the camp site, where there will be live music and running water, toilets and showers.
Men's Shed Rhiwbina
Starlight: A Christmas Story
Beulah United Reformed Church Christmas services and events
Promote your business with us
10 Years of Rhiwbina Living
Ten years ago, two Rhiwbina friends decided to create their own community magazine. This...
The Men's Shed in Rhiwbina offers a place for a group of men to...
By Alice Morgan If you were stood outside a particular church in the early...
Short Story: Summer's End
Community Business of the Year at the Cardiff Business Awards 2017 Winners of Best Editorial Award and Best Magazine Website Award at the 2014 Independent Publisher Awards
Copyright © 2018 Living Magazines Cardiff


Notes: Conductor plate for transmission solenoid valves. Referred to by Mercedes as an "electrics kit".
Detailed Notes: Conductor plate for transmission solenoid valves. Referred to by Vehicle Manufacturers as an "electrics kit".


text:
College Clinical Adviser makes Queen's Birthday Honours List
We are delighted to announce that our Clinical Adviser, Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom, has been awarded an MBE.
The College is delighted to announce that our Clinical Adviser, Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom, has been awarded an MBE for services to optometry in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours List.
Colin Davidson FCOptom, President of The College of Optometrists, said: "On behalf of the College, I would like to send my enormous congratulations to our College Clinical Adviser, whose services to eye health and care are being recognised through this award, and at such an important time for the nation as we mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
"It's wonderful to see the work of our profession celebrated. Not only does the award represent outstanding personal achievement, but it also reflects growing recognition, by decision-makers and the public, of the vital contribution to public health that all optometrists and optical teams make, and their tireless work and commitment throughout the pandemic.
"We hope this inspires the whole profession as we gain ever greater recognition, and continue to bring optometry to the forefront of primary care."
Read the full Queen's Birthday Honours List.


Alloy 6063-T5,6061-T6 , We will never use aluminum scrap.
500 kgs. Usually 10-12 tons for a 20'FT; 20-23 tons for a 40HQ.
600-3600 tons all together 6 extrusion lines.
Opening new mould about 7-10 days, absolutely moulds cost can be refund.
2 using the hot and cold treatment of two processes, has a strong corrosion resistance.
3 global aluminum content is very high, abundant reserves.
4 has a very good ductility, can be made with many metal elements of light alloy, high quality materials.
5 strong plasticity, good production, for the production of a good advantage.
8 chemical stability, non magnetic, can be recycled, is a kind of good recycling of metal materials.
9 elastic coefficient is small, the collision friction sparks, only the best performance in the automotive technology.
11 there is no metal pollution, no toxicity, the surface oxide layer is not volatile metal.
12 have good thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity, outstanding performance in short distance transmission.


text:
package org.lwjgl.vulkan;

import javax.annotation.*;

import java.nio.*;

import org.lwjgl.*;
import org.lwjgl.system.*;

import static org.lwjgl.system.Checks.*;
import static org.lwjgl.system.MemoryUtil.*;
import static org.lwjgl.system.MemoryStack.*;

/**
 * Structure specifying additional allocation parameters for descriptor sets.
 *
 *
Description

 *
 *
If {@code descriptorSetCount} is zero or this structure is not included in the {@code pNext} chain, then the variable lengths are considered to be zero. Otherwise, {@code pDescriptorCounts}[i] is the number of descriptors in the variable-sized descriptor binding in the corresponding descriptor set layout. If the variable-sized descriptor binding in the corresponding descriptor set layout has a descriptor type of {@link VK13#VK_DESCRIPTOR_TYPE_INLINE_UNIFORM_BLOCK DESCRIPTOR_TYPE_INLINE_UNIFORM_BLOCK} then {@code pDescriptorCounts}[i] specifies the binding's capacity in bytes. If {@link VkDescriptorSetAllocateInfo}{@code ::pSetLayouts}[i] does not include a variable-sized descriptor binding, then {@code pDescriptorCounts}[i] is ignored.

 *
 *
Valid Usage

 *
 *

 *
If {@code descriptorSetCount} is not zero, {@code descriptorSetCount} must equal {@link VkDescriptorSetAllocateInfo}{@code ::descriptorSetCount}

 *
If {@link VkDescriptorSetAllocateInfo}{@code ::pSetLayouts}[i] has a variable-sized descriptor binding, then {@code pDescriptorCounts}[i] must be less than or equal to the descriptor count specified for that binding when the descriptor set layout was created

 *

 *
 *
Valid Usage (Implicit)

 *
 *

 *
{@code sType} must be {@link VK12#VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_VARIABLE_DESCRIPTOR_COUNT_ALLOCATE_INFO STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_VARIABLE_DESCRIPTOR_COUNT_ALLOCATE_INFO}

 *
If {@code descriptorSetCount} is not 0, {@code pDescriptorCounts} must be a valid pointer to an array of {@code descriptorSetCount} {@code uint32_t} values

 *

 *
 *
Layout

 *
 *

 * struct VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo {
 *     VkStructureType {@link #sType};
 *     void const * {@link #pNext};
 *     uint32_t {@link #descriptorSetCount};
 *     uint32_t const * {@link #pDescriptorCounts};
 * }

 */
public class VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo extends Struct implements NativeResource {

    /** The struct size in bytes. */
    public static final int SIZEOF;

    /** The struct alignment in bytes. */
    public static final int ALIGNOF;

    /** The struct member offsets. */
    public static final int
        STYPE,
        PNEXT,
        DESCRIPTORSETCOUNT,
        PDESCRIPTORCOUNTS;

    static {
        Layout layout = __struct(
            __member(4),
            __member(POINTER_SIZE),
            __member(4),
            __member(POINTER_SIZE)
        );

        SIZEOF = layout.getSize();
        ALIGNOF = layout.getAlignment();

        STYPE = layout.offsetof(0);
        PNEXT = layout.offsetof(1);
        DESCRIPTORSETCOUNT = layout.offsetof(2);
        PDESCRIPTORCOUNTS = layout.offsetof(3);
    }

    /**
     * Creates a {@code VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo} instance at the current position of the specified {@link ByteBuffer} container. Changes to the buffer's content will be
     * visible to the struct instance and vice versa.
     *
     *
The created instance holds a strong reference to the container object.

     */
    public VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo(ByteBuffer container) {
        super(memAddress(container), __checkContainer(container, SIZEOF));
    }

    @Override
    public int sizeof() { return SIZEOF; }

    /** the type of this structure. */
    @NativeType("VkStructureType")
    public int sType() { return nsType(address()); }
    /** {@code NULL} or a pointer to a structure extending this structure. */
    @NativeType("void const *")
    public long pNext() { return npNext(address()); }
    /** zero or the number of elements in {@code pDescriptorCounts}. */
    @NativeType("uint32_t")
    public int descriptorSetCount() { return ndescriptorSetCount(address()); }
    /** a pointer to an array of descriptor counts, with each member specifying the number of descriptors in a variable-sized descriptor binding in the corresponding descriptor set being allocated. */
    @Nullable
    @NativeType("uint32_t const *")
    public IntBuffer pDescriptorCounts() { return npDescriptorCounts(address()); }

    /** Sets the specified value to the {@link #sType} field. */
    public VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo sType(@NativeType("VkStructureType") int value) { nsType(address(), value); return this; }
    /** Sets the {@link VK12#VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_VARIABLE_DESCRIPTOR_COUNT_ALLOCATE_INFO STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_VARIABLE_DESCRIPTOR_COUNT_ALLOCATE_INFO} value to the {@link #sType} field. */
    public VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo sType$Default() { return sType(VK12.VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_VARIABLE_DESCRIPTOR_COUNT_ALLOCATE_INFO); }
    /** Sets the specified value to the {@link #pNext} field. */
    public VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo pNext(@NativeType("void const *") long value) { npNext(address(), value); return this; }
    /** Sets the address of the specified {@link IntBuffer} to the {@link #pDescriptorCounts} field. */
    public VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo pDescriptorCounts(@Nullable @NativeType("uint32_t const *") IntBuffer value) { npDescriptorCounts(address(), value); return this; }

    /** Initializes this struct with the specified values. */
    public VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo set(
        int sType,
        long pNext,
        @Nullable IntBuffer pDescriptorCounts
    ) {
        sType(sType);
        pNext(pNext);
        pDescriptorCounts(pDescriptorCounts);

        return this;
    }

    /**
     * Copies the specified struct data to this struct.
     *
     * @param src the source struct
     *
     * @return this struct
     */
    public VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo set(VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo src) {
        memCopy(src.address(), address(), SIZEOF);
        return this;
    }

    // -----------------------------------

    /** Returns a new {@code VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo} instance allocated with {@link MemoryUtil#memAlloc memAlloc}. The instance must be explicitly freed. */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo malloc() {
        return wrap(VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.class, nmemAllocChecked(SIZEOF));
    }

    /** Returns a new {@code VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo} instance allocated with {@link MemoryUtil#memCalloc memCalloc}. The instance must be explicitly freed. */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo calloc() {
        return wrap(VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.class, nmemCallocChecked(1, SIZEOF));
    }

    /** Returns a new {@code VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo} instance allocated with {@link BufferUtils}. */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo create() {
        ByteBuffer container = BufferUtils.createByteBuffer(SIZEOF);
        return wrap(VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.class, memAddress(container), container);
    }

    /** Returns a new {@code VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo} instance for the specified memory address. */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo create(long address) {
        return wrap(VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.class, address);
    }

    /** Like {@link #create(long) create}, but returns {@code null} if {@code address} is {@code NULL}. */
    @Nullable
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo createSafe(long address) {
        return address == NULL ? null : wrap(VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.class, address);
    }

    /**
     * Returns a new {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer} instance allocated with {@link MemoryUtil#memAlloc memAlloc}. The instance must be explicitly freed.
     *
     * @param capacity the buffer capacity
     */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer malloc(int capacity) {
        return wrap(Buffer.class, nmemAllocChecked(__checkMalloc(capacity, SIZEOF)), capacity);
    }

    /**
     * Returns a new {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer} instance allocated with {@link MemoryUtil#memCalloc memCalloc}. The instance must be explicitly freed.
     *
     * @param capacity the buffer capacity
     */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer calloc(int capacity) {
        return wrap(Buffer.class, nmemCallocChecked(capacity, SIZEOF), capacity);
    }

    /**
     * Returns a new {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer} instance allocated with {@link BufferUtils}.
     *
     * @param capacity the buffer capacity
     */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer create(int capacity) {
        ByteBuffer container = __create(capacity, SIZEOF);
        return wrap(Buffer.class, memAddress(container), capacity, container);
    }

    /**
     * Create a {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer} instance at the specified memory.
     *
     * @param address  the memory address
     * @param capacity the buffer capacity
     */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer create(long address, int capacity) {
        return wrap(Buffer.class, address, capacity);
    }

    /** Like {@link #create(long, int) create}, but returns {@code null} if {@code address} is {@code NULL}. */
    @Nullable
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer createSafe(long address, int capacity) {
        return address == NULL ? null : wrap(Buffer.class, address, capacity);
    }

    /**
     * Returns a new {@code VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo} instance allocated on the specified {@link MemoryStack}.
     *
     * @param stack the stack from which to allocate
     */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo malloc(MemoryStack stack) {
        return wrap(VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.class, stack.nmalloc(ALIGNOF, SIZEOF));
    }

    /**
     * Returns a new {@code VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo} instance allocated on the specified {@link MemoryStack} and initializes all its bits to zero.
     *
     * @param stack the stack from which to allocate
     */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo calloc(MemoryStack stack) {
        return wrap(VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.class, stack.ncalloc(ALIGNOF, 1, SIZEOF));
    }

    /**
     * Returns a new {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer} instance allocated on the specified {@link MemoryStack}.
     *
     * @param stack    the stack from which to allocate
     * @param capacity the buffer capacity
     */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer malloc(int capacity, MemoryStack stack) {
        return wrap(Buffer.class, stack.nmalloc(ALIGNOF, capacity * SIZEOF), capacity);
    }

    /**
     * Returns a new {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer} instance allocated on the specified {@link MemoryStack} and initializes all its bits to zero.
     *
     * @param stack    the stack from which to allocate
     * @param capacity the buffer capacity
     */
    public static VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer calloc(int capacity, MemoryStack stack) {
        return wrap(Buffer.class, stack.ncalloc(ALIGNOF, capacity, SIZEOF), capacity);
    }

    // -----------------------------------

    /** Unsafe version of {@link #sType}. */
    public static int nsType(long struct) { return UNSAFE.getInt(null, struct + VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.STYPE); }
    /** Unsafe version of {@link #pNext}. */
    public static long npNext(long struct) { return memGetAddress(struct + VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.PNEXT); }
    /** Unsafe version of {@link #descriptorSetCount}. */
    public static int ndescriptorSetCount(long struct) { return UNSAFE.getInt(null, struct + VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.DESCRIPTORSETCOUNT); }
    /** Unsafe version of {@link #pDescriptorCounts() pDescriptorCounts}. */
    @Nullable public static IntBuffer npDescriptorCounts(long struct) { return memIntBufferSafe(memGetAddress(struct + VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.PDESCRIPTORCOUNTS), ndescriptorSetCount(struct)); }

    /** Unsafe version of {@link #sType(int) sType}. */
    public static void nsType(long struct, int value) { UNSAFE.putInt(null, struct + VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.STYPE, value); }
    /** Unsafe version of {@link #pNext(long) pNext}. */
    public static void npNext(long struct, long value) { memPutAddress(struct + VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.PNEXT, value); }
    /** Sets the specified value to the {@code descriptorSetCount} field of the specified {@code struct}. */
    public static void ndescriptorSetCount(long struct, int value) { UNSAFE.putInt(null, struct + VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.DESCRIPTORSETCOUNT, value); }
    /** Unsafe version of {@link #pDescriptorCounts(IntBuffer) pDescriptorCounts}. */
    public static void npDescriptorCounts(long struct, @Nullable IntBuffer value) { memPutAddress(struct + VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.PDESCRIPTORCOUNTS, memAddressSafe(value)); ndescriptorSetCount(struct, value == null ? 0 : value.remaining()); }

    /**
     * Validates pointer members that should not be {@code NULL}.
     *
     * @param struct the struct to validate
     */
    public static void validate(long struct) {
        if (ndescriptorSetCount(struct) != 0) {
            check(memGetAddress(struct + VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.PDESCRIPTORCOUNTS));
        }
    }

    // -----------------------------------

    /** An array of {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo} structs. */
    public static class Buffer extends StructBuffer<VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo, Buffer> implements NativeResource {

        private static final VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo ELEMENT_FACTORY = VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.create(-1L);

        /**
         * Creates a new {@code VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer} instance backed by the specified container.
         *
         * Changes to the container's content will be visible to the struct buffer instance and vice versa. The two buffers' position, limit, and mark values
         * will be independent. The new buffer's position will be zero, its capacity and its limit will be the number of bytes remaining in this buffer divided
         * by {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo#SIZEOF}, and its mark will be undefined.
         *
         *
The created buffer instance holds a strong reference to the container object.

         */
        public Buffer(ByteBuffer container) {
            super(container, container.remaining() / SIZEOF);
        }

        public Buffer(long address, int cap) {
            super(address, null, -1, 0, cap, cap);
        }

        Buffer(long address, @Nullable ByteBuffer container, int mark, int pos, int lim, int cap) {
            super(address, container, mark, pos, lim, cap);
        }

        @Override
        protected Buffer self() {
            return this;
        }

        @Override
        protected VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo getElementFactory() {
            return ELEMENT_FACTORY;
        }

        /** @return the value of the {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo#sType} field. */
        @NativeType("VkStructureType")
        public int sType() { return VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.nsType(address()); }
        /** @return the value of the {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo#pNext} field. */
        @NativeType("void const *")
        public long pNext() { return VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.npNext(address()); }
        /** @return the value of the {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo#descriptorSetCount} field. */
        @NativeType("uint32_t")
        public int descriptorSetCount() { return VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.ndescriptorSetCount(address()); }
        /** @return a {@link IntBuffer} view of the data pointed to by the {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo#pDescriptorCounts} field. */
        @Nullable
        @NativeType("uint32_t const *")
        public IntBuffer pDescriptorCounts() { return VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.npDescriptorCounts(address()); }

        /** Sets the specified value to the {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo#sType} field. */
        public VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer sType(@NativeType("VkStructureType") int value) { VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.nsType(address(), value); return this; }
        /** Sets the {@link VK12#VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_VARIABLE_DESCRIPTOR_COUNT_ALLOCATE_INFO STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_VARIABLE_DESCRIPTOR_COUNT_ALLOCATE_INFO} value to the {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo#sType} field. */
        public VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer sType$Default() { return sType(VK12.VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_VARIABLE_DESCRIPTOR_COUNT_ALLOCATE_INFO); }
        /** Sets the specified value to the {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo#pNext} field. */
        public VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer pNext(@NativeType("void const *") long value) { VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.npNext(address(), value); return this; }
        /** Sets the address of the specified {@link IntBuffer} to the {@link VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo#pDescriptorCounts} field. */
        public VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.Buffer pDescriptorCounts(@Nullable @NativeType("uint32_t const *") IntBuffer value) { VkDescriptorSetVariableDescriptorCountAllocateInfo.npDescriptorCounts(address(), value); return this; }

    }

}


This article describes how to permanently remove the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder from your computer. Watch a video about how to delete the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder yourself.
Follow these steps according to your version of Windows.
Select the General tab, and then select Delete under Browsing history.
Select Delete all > Yes > OK.
Select Start > Control Panel > Network and Internet > Internet Options.
Exit any instances of Windows Explorer.
Select Start > Control Panel, and then double-click Internet Options.
On the General tab, select Delete Files under Temporary Internet Files.
In the Delete Files dialog box, click to select the Delete all offline content check box.
If the Temporary Internet Files folder contains a large amount of webpage content, this process may take several minutes to complete.
The Temporary Internet Files (or cache) folder is used by Windows Internet Explorer and by MSN Explorer to store webpage content on the computer hard disk for quick viewing. This cache lets Internet Explorer or MSN Explorer download only the content that has changed since you last viewed a webpage, instead of downloading all the content every time that the page is displayed.
An administrator might have customized the settings for your Temporary Internet Files folder to prevent you from changing the settings. For example, the administrator can remove the General tab from the interface in the Internet Options dialog box. If you cannot access the Internet Options dialog box or the General tab, contact your administrator for more information.


What follows is the odds for every team in the field of 68 advancing through each round of the NCAA tournament using log5 methodology and my ratings.
Big West Conference March 10-12. All games at Anaheim. kPOY: Michael Bryson, UC Santa Barbara. The Big West tournament begins Thursday with quarterfinal action at the Honda Center.
Western Athletic Conference March 10-12. All games at Las Vegas. kPOY: Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State. The WAC tournament gets underway Thursday with three quarterfinal games at the Orleans Arena.
Sun Belt Conference March 10-13. All games at New Orleans. kPOY: Shawn Long, Louisiana Lafayette. The Sun Belt tournament begins on Thursday with two first-round games at Lakefront Arena.
American Athletic Conference March 10-13. All games at Orlando. kPOY: Daniel Hamilton, Connecticut. The American tournament gets underway Thursday with two first-round games at the Amway Center.
Big Ten Conference March 9-13. All games at Indianapolis. kPOY: Denzel Valentine, Michigan State. The Big Ten gets underway on Wednesday with two first-round games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.