text:
Today's workforce will further thrive in a 'fluid' model than the earlier 'rigid' model: Rajesh Sinha, Fulcrum Digital Inc.
In an exclusive interaction with ETHRWorld International, Rajesh Sinha, Founder and Chairman, Fulcrum Digital Inc., talks about the value of new, young talent and the importance of workforce upskilling in the age of digital transformation. He also deliberates upon the various leadership and management strategies that will leapfrog and help recalibrate hiring practices, retention tactics, and acquisition techniques.
Rajesh Sinha, Founder and Chairman, Fulcrum Digital Inc.
By Saachi Gupta Ghosh
An uprising of new, tech-savvy talent is penetrating the market globally, with companies across industries scouting for rich talent in every domain. With digital skills being a priority in recruitment, it's imperative for organisations to frame a complete do-over, and strategise a realignment of talent acquisition and planning. This transformation, powered by the bouts of talent, raises many questions about talent management, leadership, workforce skilling, and new hiring, retention, and acquisition strategies. How will this transition unfold, and what must leaders do to establish their strategic stealth?
Rajesh had envisioned the product "Kaleidoscope" for the education sector to support next generation collaborative learning and research. It has won several awards and recognitions in the USA and UK's higher education sector. He was also instrumental in building "iContesto" - a portal framework for the insurance industry, which was awarded the best project in Asia. Currently, he is working on the launch of a new age product, "Culinary Suite" for the culinary industry.
Under his leadership, Fulcrum Digital Inc. was recognised as one of the best employers by the DQ TOP 20 in 2008, 2011 and 2012, and as the fastest growing company by Inc. Magazine. Rajesh was nominated for the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year, and has been ranked amongst the top 50 CEOs of 2013 in the Greater New York area by SmartCEO.
Here are some of the most interesting excerpts from the interview:
With digital transformation destroying geographical boundaries, new, young, and tech-savvy talent has penetrated the talent market globally. How should organisations better prepare themselves for grooming freshers and incorporating new talent?
Talented and passionate employees are a valuable resource to any organisation. The workforce today is more driven towards purposeful companies, and they want to make the planet a better place to live and work. The millennials and Gen Alpha wish to join a small or large platform where their potential can directly influence the market. Money is essential but more important is discovering their passion and interest. A high-potential workforce gives any business a competitive edge. Hence, companies across the globe – from start-ups to conglomerates - take a keen interest in grooming young talent by designing special development programs. The importance of sustaining a healthy company culture will take precedent for organisations to attract and retain young talent and plant the seeds of a growth mindset.
At Fulcrum Digital, 'trust' and 'transparency' are at the core of our operating model. We have curated an Individual Career Development Programme (ICDP) and Individual Career Training Programme (ICTP) to identify areas of growth and improvements for promising young employees. As a part of the program, we also work with them to map their short and long-term career goals, featuring well-defined milestones and a process to track these. This initiative enables all of us to ensure there is regular mentoring and coaching. Constant feedback and appreciation, rewards program keeps them connected with its purpose. As a result, ICDP has tremendously helped our employees accelerate their careers. The other clear advantage is that, in this era of remote working, a process like this goes a long way in guaranteeing alignment across multiple levels. It gives employees a clear vision of where they are headed, and it provides the senior management with a view of overall employee progress.
Post-pandemic, recruitment is now wholly focused on scouting new talent that possesses multiple skill sets, with digital skills being a priority. Organisations are now mainly grappling with designing programmes that help the present talent move beyond tactical work. What are the key strategies in designing said programmes?
We look at any business challenge or internal processes with a Doctor's approach. In this context, employers must identify - develop (through training programs) and nurture (here's where the secret ingredient, culture comes into play) existing talent as future leaders.
Based on our learnings and experiences, here are some of the things that companies should keep in mind while designing development programmes:
Talent Identification Programme: Devise a precise method that can measure employees on skills that are critical to growth, such as entrepreneurial spirit, analytical skills, innovation, and leadership skills. This process should go beyond technical knowledge and gauge individuals based on their potential.
Continuous mentoring: Mentoring programmes also play a crucial role in grooming talent. Leveraging the senior leaders' knowledge helps employees learn through real-life experiences of their seniors. It helps them integrate well into the organisational culture because they will get to know what is expected of them and how to relate to other team members if there is a need for doing so.
Manager development training: This is the most important layer and often overlooked. As creating future ready leaders in today's world is the need and demand of the hour.
Leadership training: To deal with the hyper-competitive market in today's global economy, one needs to be adept at using the right perspective at the right moment, besides being flexible enough to deal with the changing economic situations. Leadership training goes a long way in grooming top-notch business leaders. It enables the in-house talent of an organisation to develop strong leadership qualities to inculcate adequate confidence in themselves and make profitable decisions during tough times.
As the demand for IT and tech talent shot up in every vertical of virtually every industry, competition has soared through the roof. As a prolific leader in the IT industry, what are the main leadership challenges you have observed organisations face in retaining the top talent in the tech industry?
We believe in a holistic approach that's not limited to technical or software skills, but looking at it as a platform model with a 360 degree perspective. At the core of the platform lies skills and passion. We encourage employees to go over and beyond their routine tasks and find their 'Ikigai'. The mantra lies in exploring two approaches. One is subjective - this is your immediate, short term goals; and two is transformative - finding new pathways for a better future to truly create a difference.
This is based on three design principles: Commit, Communicate, and Collaborate with your workforce.
As companies learn to work remotely, they are essentially forced to learn how to support and retain talent. To combat these challenges, organisations will need to develop employee retention strategies that are centered on the workforce's needs. The best outcomes include employees being involved in the development. Here are some of the challenges that organisations face in talent retention:
Lack of flexibility
Not prioritising employee's wellbeing
Low preference for latest technology and digital tools
The war on talent has never been more prevalent, especially when it comes to tech talent. With most IT companies requiring the same tech skill sets and talent, the expectations for acquiring new talent has also increased. Please share your thoughts on the war on talent in the tech industry.
Over a decade ago, more than half of CEOs expressed concern over the shortage of talent for digital roles. By 2019, 79% had doubts. COVID severely exacerbated the skills gap, and there's no end in sight. Moreover, many of the changes brought by the pandemic aren't going to fade with lowering infection rates, which means companies will need to continue investing in tech and modernised ways of working to survive.
Instead of just looking at talent outside, companies should look at high performers within the organisation as mentors to upskill, train and scientifically design programs for the mid and junior layer. Mentor-mentee, buddy programs are excellent ways to meet the ever changing market demands. Citing the platform example, a business platform comprises assets that can be reused and enhanced as per customer's demands, similarly high skilled existing workforce are brand champions who understand the 'ethos' of the organisation.
Skilling is imperative to design business goals and write the future of successes. Today's talent must be equipped with all-rounded skills, which should be imparted through various learning and development programmes, along with regular training sessions. How can organisations in the IT sector further prioritise skilling for their workforce?
In nearly every industry, employees look for an encouraging environment with advancement opportunities. People want the room to learn and grow professionally, so training and preparing current workers for these shifts is necessary to stay ahead. Today's workforce will further thrive in a 'fluid' model than the earlier 'rigid' model. Employees feel valued when they are heard and nurtured in the right atmosphere.
Identify tasks/activities that can be automated where employees don't have to get bogged down with mundane work, instead use their creative energies to create sustainable plans for future
Promote digital mindset and leadership
Emerging tech solutions for new world of work
The transformation of talent
Commit to your skilling culture
You have won many accolades for your thought leadership in the IT industry. And with digital transformation upending the way we work and navigate life, IT has a larger role to play than ever before. What, according to you, are the most important skill sets for leaders in tech today?
I truly believe 'Flexibility' is the name of the game. As you cannot command respect you 'gain' it, you should not instruct you should 'inspire' your most valuable assets i.e. employees to discover, develop, and demonstrate their passion and creativity. This will help them find new paths to ideate, industrialise and innovate business and life challenges.
It is imperative to create an environment where your workforce is inspired to make a difference than forced to follow the grind
Openness and risk taking ability. If you fail, take it as an experience if you succeed, celebrate
Fluidity vs Rigidity
Emphasis on data over emotions
Agility to access, adopt and disrupt
rajesh sinha
fulcrum digital


Andries really did a good job today.
I hope Part goes home.
We never found out what happened to Susanne.
Tell Elvis to get back here as soon as he can.
Oliver went swimming in the ocean.
"I guess it's too late now." "No, Spock. It's never too late!"
Betty left a note for Raj.
There's nothing any of us can do for Nathaniel now except let him die with dignity.
I'm responsible for Francois's safety.
Stan is being very brave.
Torsten promised to come, but he hasn't turned up yet.
Are you saying that the accident was Byron's fault?
Sanche explained the reason he was late to Tandy.
Blake can't take on any more work.
How bad did Marcos get hurt?
Kerri just wanted to say thanks.
I told Ken what to do.
Frederick doesn't seem to have much of anything.
Vern's very presence inspired Hughes.
Clark picked up a paintbrush and started helping Byron paint the fence.
Rudy said he's been here before.
I think you might've been proud of Erik.
Patty ran for the door.
Kees just wants us to be quiet.
Annie has something to say.
Sanand and Syd are doing their homework.
I bought that off Nick.
I met Case when I was working in Boston.
They aren't happy to see Stewart.


text:
Master Theses and Dissertations(MST)
MST-School of Education
MST-Department of Educational Management Policy & Curriculum Studies
Household and School-Related Determinants of School Dropout among Students in Mixed Day Secondary Schools in Bomet County, Kenya
Fulltext Project (1.543Mb)
Chebet, Winny
The Education Sector in Kenya and other parts of the world has faced many challenges particularly dropouts, which is an indicator of low internal efficiency during the past two decades. The Kenyan government introduced Free Day Secondary Education in 2008 to increase access rates to secondary education which will in turn result in increased completion rates hence increased transition rates. This study sought to determine and analyze the dropout levels of Mixed Day Secondary Schools in Bomet East Constituency of Bomet County Kenya for the period between the year 2012 and 2015. This study examined why students drop out of school and what can be done about it. This study was guided by three objectives, namely; to determine the characteristics of students dropping out from day secondary schools, to determine the school-related factors leading to school dropout and to determine the household factors that lead to school dropout. The study was based on The Classical Theory of Equal Opportunities and Social Darwinism which assert that each person is born with a given amount of capacity, which, to a large extent, is inherited and cannot be substantially changed. Descriptive Survey Research Design was used to collect data from Head teachers, teachers and students of the sampled Mixed Day Secondary schools in the constituency. Piloting was carried out in two mixed-day secondary schools in the County. Primary data on dropout levels was obtained from the respondents using structured questionnaires and interview schedules. Percentages and Frequencies were used to analyze the data. Statistical analysis was done using MS Excel Spreadsheet. The findings of the study are expected to benefit the school managers especially the Board of Management (BOM), the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) and Schools" Principals, as well as the Ministry of Education (MOE) in making decisions about efficient management of Mixed-Day schools in order to curb the problem of dropout. It was found that the characteristics of students who drop out are students who get pregnant when in school, financial problems, family factors, wars, family child labour, over age students, operating motorcycle business, drug abuse, peer influence, migration to other areas and negative attitude to schooling. It was also found that certain school characteristics lead to students drop out namely; poor performance, expulsion, and school dislike, long distance to school, gender violence, inadequate learning resources, harsh punishment and hatred towards a teacher. The identified household factors that lead to dropout are female genital mutilation, early marriages, family income and cultural beliefs. It was recommended that all the principals, teachers, and parents to undertake professional guidance and counseling courses. It was also recommended that schools and the community should support the needy students. Schools should also acquire relevant teaching and learning resources.
http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/19394
MST-Department of Educational Management Policy & Curriculum Studies [1052]
Designed by Library ICT Team copyright © 2017

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Today's weather is turning out to be partly cloudy. The visibility is going to be around 19 km i.e. 11 miles and an atmospheric pressure of 1022 mb . The daytime temperature is going to reach 22 °c and the temperature is going to dip to 12 °c at night. It will be dry with no precipitation and cloud covering 31% of the sky, the humidity will be around 55%.
Tomorrow weather is forecasted to be moderate rain at times. The visibility is going to be around 19 km i.e. 11 miles and an atmospheric pressure of 1023 mb. The daytime temperature is going to reach 21 °c and the temperature is going to dip to 9 °c at night. It will be mostly dry with little or no precipitation and cloud covering 31% of the sky, the humidity will be around 65%.
On Sunday weather will be patchy rain possible with daytime temperature reaching 18 °c. Night time temperature are expected to be 10 °c.It will be mostly dry with little or no precipitation. The visibility is going to be around 18 km i.e. 10 miles and an atmospheric pressure of 1017 mb. It will be mostly dry with little or no precipitation and cloud covering 49% of the sky, the humidity will be around 72%.
Monday seems to be overcast. Souillac, France visibility is going to be around 20 km i.e. 12 miles and an atmospheric pressure of 1004 mb. The daytime temperature is going to reach 21 °c and the temperature is going to dip to 9 °c at night. It will be dry with no precipitation and cloud covering 46% of the sky, the humidity will be around 65%.
Moderate or heavy rain shower will be the weather pattern for the Tuesday. The visibility is going to be around 18 km i.e. 10 miles and an atmospheric pressure of 997 mb. The daytime temperature is going to reach 19 °c and the temperature is going to dip to 10 °c at night. We expect around 4.8 mm of precipitation to fall and cloud covering 50% of the sky, the humidity will be around 77%.
Looking at the weather in Souillac, France over the next 7 days, the maximum temperature will be 22℃ (or 71℉) on Friday 19th April at around 1 pm. In the same week the minimum temperature will be 8℃ (or 46℉) on Wednesday 24th April at around 7 am.
The national weather service for Souillac, France is reporting Wednesday 24th April to be the wettest day in the coming week with around 5.10mm (or 0.2 inches) of rainfall. Make sure to carry an umbrella if you are out and about in Souillac, France.
The windiest of all days will be Wednesday 24th April as wind will reach 13mph (or 22kmph) at around 10 pm.


↵* Gene identification number designated by the Arabidopsis Information Resource.
↵† Silent site divergence between duplicate gene pairs (substitutions per site).
↵‡ Nucleotide polymorphism levels based on silent sites.
↵§ Figure in parentheses based on exclusion of Ita-0 ecotype.
↵¶ Unable to amplify in two ecotypes.


The WannaCry global outbreak gave the world a glimpse into a new wave of highly effective cyber threats that leveraged a number of pre-existing system vulnerabilities and combined threat capabilities. Two years on, we're now seeing new strains of ransomware that are smarter, stealthier and more consolidated from the cybercriminals' perspective.
Ryuk and Globalmposter are two such new stains.
In this webinar, Malwarebytes Senior Systems Engineer ASEAN, Adran Yoong will share the latest findings from research that Malwarebytes has conducted over the past year to give an overview of the current state of ransomware in the ASEAN region. Adran will explain how the threat of ransomware has evolved, focusing on some of the most prevalent attacks that are already causing massive damage, such as the Ryuk and GlobeImposter ransomware variants.
Listen in as the industry expert shares ransomware remediation and protection tips as well as something called the "Ransomware Emergency Kit" that will greatly help you and your organisation to boost your cyber defences and be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
CSA's own cybersecurity journalist Syed will also be sharing information on how the cybercriminals are stepping up their game, increasing both their collaborative efforts and the sophistication of their attacks.
This webinar will give you a deeper understanding of the inner workings of today's ransomware attacks (and what the criminals are looking for when they carry out these attacks) in order to give you a much better chance of avoiding a ransomware infection.
Malwarebytes Webinar: You Got Breached. Now What? Are You Secure in Your Security Strategy?
You Got Breached.Now What? Are You Secure in Your Security Strategy?


Guildhall, Vermont in located in the Northeast Kingdom. Early settlers from Massachusetts withstood numerous attacks by Tories and Indians in what is now called Guildhall, Vermont. Guildhall is directly across the Connecticut River and New Hampshire and is where the Essex County Court House is located, the old courthouse is still in use today.
To share any Guildhall, VT information, contact us. Learn more about advertising in VTLiving.


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text:
JAMIE ROSADO
HOSPITALIZED AFTER FOUND UNCONSCIOUS IN HIS LA HOME FOLLOWING NIGHT OF PARTYING
Early morning July 1st, first responders were called to the Los Angeles residence of musician Jamie Rosado. Sources claim that Rosado was attending a private party the evening before, and was found at his home unconscious the following morning. The reports were unable to be confirmed, until Rosado was released from Cedars Sinai early morning on July 9th.
One source claims that Jamie invited a few friends over for an afterparty on June 30th, but the party goers left shortly after Jamie went to bed. The following morning, it is unclear who discovered Jamie, but first responders were called and someone was taken from the home, unconscious but stable, to Cedars Sinai Hospital.
Reports have now confirmed that someone was Jamie, as he was seen checking out of the hospital early morning and returning to his home in Los Angeles. Source say paramedics on the scene administered an antidote for overdose, but there's no additional information on what Jamie had taken.
Law enforcement claims that Jamie did not divulge what he had taken, and no drugs were found in his home, so no criminal investigation will take place.


text:
\section{Introduction}
In the past two decades,  a lot of progress has been made
in applying nonperturbative approaches based on principles of effective field theories to
understand low-energy strong interaction phenomena. One prominent example is the combination of chiral Lagrangians with unitarization techniques, i.e., the  so-called unitarized chiral perturbation theory (UChPT)~
\cite{ Kaiser:1995eg,Dobado:1996ps,Oller:1997ti,Oset:1997it,Oller:1998hw,Kaiser:1998fi,Oller:1998zr,Oller:2000fj,Lutz:2001yb}. Compared to other phenomenological methods, UChPT has a more transparent link to the theory underlying the strong interactions, quantum chromodynamics (QCD), and, as a result, is in principle improvable in a systematic manner.  Over the years, it has provided new insights into  the nature of various hadrons,  from the well-established hadrons, such as the $\Lambda(1405)$ or the $N^*(1535)$~\cite{ Kaiser:1995eg,Oset:1997it}, to those of the newly observed  $XYZ$ particles, such as the $X(2175)$~\cite{MartinezTorres:2008gy} or the $X(3872)$~\cite{Wang:2013kva}.

At the heart of UChPT are the interaction kernels provided by chiral Lagrangians, which are
constrained by QCD and its approximate symmetries, such as chiral symmetry and heavy quark spin/flavor symmetry and their breaking pattern.  Exact two-body ($s$-channel) unitarity can be implemented in different ways and a widely adopted approach is the Bethe-Salpeter (BS) approach~\cite{Salpeter:1951sz}. It is well known that the BS approach provides exact unitarity but loses crossing symmetry, compared to
conventional chiral perturbation theory.

To simplify the solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation,  the so-called on-shell approximation~\cite{Oller:1997ti,Oset:1997it} is often adopted. It assumes that the interaction kernel can be put on the mass shell with the argument that the off-shell terms can be absorbed by the available coupling constants and physical hadron masses. A vast amount of applications has shown that such an approximation works very well.
Nevertheless, from a formal point of view, one may prefer to take into account the full off-shell effects to have an order-to-order correspondence with the underlying results of chiral perturbation theory. Such off-shell effects have been studied
 for  pion-pion interactions up to next-to-leading order (NLO)~\cite{Nieves:1998hp,Nieves:1999bx} and for
the interactions between the pseudoscalar octet and the ground-state baryon octet up to leading order (LO)~\cite{Nieves:2000km,Nieves:2001wt,Djukanovic:2006xc,Borasoy:2007ku}  and NLO~\cite{Bruns:2010sv,Mai:2012wy}. These studies mainly focused on the description of physical observables such as phase shifts over a wide range of  energies, except in Ref.~\cite{Djukanovic:2006xc} where the contribution to the nucleon mass as a function of the pion mass was studied.

In the present work, we aim to explore whether the off-shell effects in UChPT can lead to an improved description of the light-quark mass dependence of physical observables.\footnote{In the past few years, it has been argued that the light-quark mass dependence of the pole positions of hadronic states may play an important role in revealing their nature. See, e.g., Refs.~\cite{Hanhart:2008mx,Cleven:2010aw}.}  For this purpose, we perform a study of the scattering lengths of Nambu-Goldstone bosons (NGBs) off $D$ mesons~\cite{Liu:2012zya} in  UChPT up to next-to-leading order. To our knowledge, this is the first
of such studies performed in the heavy-light sector, thus extending many previous studies performed with the on-shell approximation~\cite{Guo:2009ct,Liu:2012zya,Wang:2012bu,Altenbuchinger:2013vwa}.  We will show that by taking into account the off-shell terms of the chiral potentials, one can achieve an improved description of the LQCD data~\cite{Liu:2012zya}. On the other hand,
no qualitative difference is observed and therefore our results provide further support to the on-shell approximation for the light-quark mass evolution of  the scattering lengths.

This article is organized as follows. In Sec. II, the relevant chiral  potentials up to NLO are summarized and the formalism to solve the Bethe-Salpeter equation with the
full off-shell dependence is explained.
In Sec. III, we study the latest LQCD simulations of the scattering lengths of  Nambu-Goldstone bosons off $D$ mesons and discuss the implications on the pole position of the dynamically generated $D^*_{s0}(2317)$ resonance.  A short summary is given in Sec. IV.

\section{Theoretical Framework}
\subsection{Chiral potentials up next-to-leading order}
We refer to Ref.~\cite{Altenbuchinger:2013vwa} for the details of the chiral Lagrangians describing the interaction of Nambu-Goldstone bosons and $D$ mesons. As explained there, the $s$ and $u$ channel exchange terms play a negligible role at least in the on-shell approximation. Since our main interest in the present work is to compare the results of the on-shell approach and the off-shell approach, we consider only  the LO (Weinberg Tomozawa) and NLO contact potentials\footnote{It should be noted that
such choices have been adopted as well in Refs.~\cite{Djukanovic:2006xc,Borasoy:2007ku,Bruns:2010sv,Mai:2012wy} since an exact solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation with general $u$ channel exchange terms has not yet been worked out in UChPT.} of the following form:
\begin{eqnarray}
 \mathcal V_{\rm{WT}}(D(p_1)\phi(p_2)\rightarrow D(p_3)\phi(p_4))&=
\frac{1}{4 f_0^2}\mathcal C_{\text{LO}}
   \left((p_1+p_2)^2-(p_1-p_4)^2\right)\,,
   \label{LOPot}
   \end{eqnarray}
 \begin{eqnarray}
 \mathcal V_{\rm{NLO}}(D(p_1)\phi(p_2)\rightarrow D(p_3)\phi(p_4))&=&
-\frac{8}{f_0^2} C_{24} \left(c_2\, p_2\cdot p_4-\frac{c_4}{m^2_P}\left( p_1\cdot p_4\, p_2\cdot
   p_3+ p_1\cdot p_2\, p_3\cdot p_4\right)\right)
   \nonumber\\&
    - \frac{4}{f_0^2} \mathcal C_{35}
   \left(c_3\, p_2\cdot p_4-\frac{c_5}{m^2_P} \left(p_1\cdot p_4 \,p_2\cdot
   p_3+p_1\cdot p_2 \,p_3\cdot p_4\right)\right)\nonumber\\
   &
   -\frac{8}{f_0^2}
   \mathcal C_0\,c_
   +\frac{4}{f_0^2} \mathcal C_1\,c_1\, ,
   \label{NLOPot}
\end{eqnarray}
where $p_1(p_3)$ and $p_2(p_4)$ are the four-momenta of the incoming (outgoing) $D$ mesons and Nambu-Goldstone bosons $\phi$, and the coefficients $\mathcal C_{\rm{LO}}$ and $\mathcal C_i$  for different strangeness and isospin combinations $(S,I)$ are listed in Table II of
Ref.~\cite{Altenbuchinger:2013vwa}.

\subsection{Full Bethe-Salpeter equation}
The Bethe-Salpeter equation for a channel of good isospin and strangeness has the following form\footnote{We limit our discussion to a single channel. Extension to coupled channels is straightforward by
promoting $T$, $V$ to matrices.}
\begin{equation}\label{eq:BS}
T(q,Q,P)=V(q,Q,P)+i\int\frac{d^n\tilde{Q}}{(2\pi)^n}V(q,\tilde{Q},P)\frac{1}{(P+\tilde{Q})^2-m^2+i\epsilon}\frac{1}{\tilde{Q}^2-M^2+i\epsilon}T(\tilde{Q},Q,P),
\end{equation}
where $P=p_1+p_2=p_3+p_4$, $q=-p_1$, $Q=-p_3$, and $n$ is the dimension of space-time. To solve the above equation with the kernel $V$ provided by the  chiral potential $V=V_\mathrm{WT}+V_\mathrm{NLO}$, we introduce the following
matrix representation of the potentials:
\begin{equation}
V_{\mathrm{WT}/\mathrm{NLO}}=B(q,P,M_1,\nu,\nu')^T\cdot \hat{V}_{\mathrm{WT}/\mathrm{NLO}}(\nu,\nu',\mu,\mu',P,M_1,M_3)\cdot B(Q,P,M_3,\mu,\mu'),
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
\hat{V}_\mathrm{WT}=\frac{\mathcal{C}_\mathrm{LO}}{4} \left(
\begin{array}{cccc}
 0 & 0 & 0 & -1\\
 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\
 0 & 0 & -2g^{\mu \nu} & 0 \\
 -1& 0 & 0 & \frac{1}{f_0^2}\left(2 P^2-M_1^2-M_3^2\right)
\end{array}
\right),
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
\hat{V}_\mathrm{NLO}=
f_0^2\left(
\begin{array}{cccc}
 A_1 & 0 & \frac{A_1 P^\mu}{f_0} & \frac{A_1(M_3^2-P^2)}{f_0^2} \\
 0 & A_1g^{\mu \nu'}g^{\mu'\nu} & \frac{ -A_1 P^\nu g^{\mu \nu'}}{f_0} & 0 \\
 \frac{A_1P^\nu}{f_0} & \frac{-A_1 P^\mu g^{\mu'\nu}}{f_0} & \frac{(-8C_{24}c_2-4C_{35}c_3)g^{\mu \nu}+2A_1 P^\mu P^\nu }{f_0^2} & \frac{P^\nu A_1 (M_3^2-P^2)}{f_0^3} \\
 \frac{A_1(M_1^2-P^2)}{f_0^2} & 0 & \frac{P^\mu A_1 (M_1^2-P^2)}{f_0^3} & \frac{-8C_0 c_0+4 C_1c_1 + A_1(P^2-M_1^2)(P^2-M_3^2)}{f_0^4}
\end{array}
\right),
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
B(q,P,M_1, \nu,\nu')^T=\left(\frac{q^2-M_1^2}{f_0^2},\frac{(P+q)_\nu (P+q)_{\nu'}}{f_0^2},\frac{(P+q)_\nu}{f_0},1\right),
\end{equation}
where $P$ is the center of mass momentum, $M_1$ and $M_3$ are the masses of the initial and final $D$ mesons,  $f_0$ is the pseudoscalar decay constant in the chiral limit, and $A_1=\frac{4}{m_P^2}(2c_4 C_{24}+c_5 C_{35})$. It should be noted that the mapping of the chiral potential into
a matrix form is not unique, but as long as the matrix form allows us to rewrite the BS equation to an  algebraic equation, they are all equivalent.

With the introduction of the matrix representation, the Bethe-Salpeter equation of Eq.~(\ref{eq:BS}) becomes an algebraic equation  of the following form
\begin{equation}\label{eq:BSA}
\hat{T}^{\nu\nu'\mu\mu'}=\hat{V}^{\nu\nu'\mu\mu'}+\hat{V}^{\nu\nu'\rho\rho'} \cdot \hat{G}^{\rho\rho'\sigma\sigma'} \cdot \hat{T}^{\sigma\sigma'\mu\mu'},
\end{equation}
where we have neglected the explicit dependence on $P$, $M_1$, and $M_3$.

The loop function matrix $\hat{G}$ is defined as
\begin{equation}
\hat{G}^{\rho\rho'\sigma\sigma'}=i\int\frac{d^n\tilde{Q}}{(2\pi)^n} \frac{B(\tilde{Q},P,M,\rho,\rho')B(\tilde{Q},P,M,\sigma,\sigma')^T}{[(P+\tilde{Q})^2-m^2+i\epsilon][\tilde{Q}^2-M^2+i\epsilon]},
\end{equation}
and it is now a $4\times4$ matrix.  With the Passarino-Veltman reduction technique, one can easily obtain a representation of $\hat{G}$ in terms of the center of mass momentum $P^\mu$, the metric tensor $g^{\mu\nu}$, and
one-loop scalar 1-point and 2-point functions~\cite{'tHooft:1978xw}.

Upon iterating  the kernel $V_{\mathrm{WT}/\mathrm{NLO}}$, one can identify the most general  solution of Eq.~(\ref{eq:BSA}), $\hat{T}$, to be of the following form

\begin{eqnarray}{}
\footnotesize
&&\hat{T}^{\nu\nu'\mu\mu'}=\nonumber\\
&&\hspace{-0.5cm}\left(
\begin{array}{cccc}
t_{11} & g^{\mu \mu '} t_{12 a}+P^{\mu } P^{\mu '} t_{12 b} &
  P^{\mu } t_{13} & t_{14} \\
g^{\nu \nu '} t_{21 a}+P^{\nu } P^{\nu '} t_{21 b} & P^{\mu }
  P^{\nu } P^{\mu '} P^{\nu '} t_{22 a} +A^{\nu \nu '\mu
  \mu '}+ C^{\nu \nu '\mu \mu' }& P^{\mu } P^{\nu }
  P^{\nu '} t_{23 a}+ B^{\mu \nu \nu' }_{23} & P^{\nu } P^{\nu
  '} t_{24 a}+g^{\nu \nu '} t_{24 b} \\
P^{\nu } t_{31} & P^{\mu } P^{\nu } P^{\mu '} t_{32 a}+
  B^{\nu \mu \mu' }_{32} & g^{\mu \nu } t_{33 a}+P^{\mu } P^{\nu }
  t_{33 b} & P^{\nu } t_{34} \\
t_{41} & P^{\mu } P^{\mu '} t_{42 a}+g^{\mu \mu '} t_{42 b} &
  P^{\mu } t_{43} & t_{44}
\end{array}
\right)\nonumber
\end{eqnarray}
where
\begin{eqnarray*}
C^{\nu\nu'\mu\mu'}&=&g^{\mu \mu'} g^{\nu \nu'}t_{22b}+g^{\nu
  \mu'} g^{\nu'\mu }t_{22c}+g^{\nu \mu } g^{\nu'\mu'}t_{22d},\nonumber\\
B_{23}^{\mu\nu\nu'}&=& P^{\nu'} g^{\nu \mu }t_{23b}+P^{\nu } g^{\nu'\mu }t_{23c}+P^{\mu } g^{\nu \nu'}t_{23d},\nonumber\\
B_{32}^{\nu\mu\mu'}&=& P^{\mu'} g^{\nu \mu }t_{32b}+P^{\mu } g^{\nu\mu' }t_{32c}+P^{\nu } g^{\mu \mu'}t_{32d},\nonumber\\
A^{\nu\nu'\mu\mu'}&=&P^{\mu'} P^{\nu'} g^{\nu \mu }t_{22e}+P^{\nu }P^{\nu'}g^{\mu \mu'}t_{22f}+P^{\nu } P^{\mu'} g^{\nu'\mu }t_{22g}\\
                            &&+P^{\mu } P^{\nu'} g^{\nu \mu' }t_{22h}+P^{\mu}  P^{\mu'}g^{\nu \nu' }t_{22i}+P^{\mu } P^{\nu } g^{\nu' \mu'}t_{22j},
\end{eqnarray*}
and the 36 $t_i$'s are scalar functions of the  squared center-of-mass energy $s=P^2$. A more detailed exposition on how the $t_i$'s are determined is given in the appendix for the LO kernel case.

Several comments on the computation of $\hat{G}$ are in order. Relativistic loop functions involving a heavy particle, whose mass does not vanish in the chiral limit, contain the so-called power-counting breaking (PCB) terms. In the one-baryon sector, various approaches have been proposed to remove the PCB terms, such as the heavy-baryon (HB) formulation~\cite{Jenkins:1990jv}, the infrared (IR) formulation~\cite{Becher:1999he}, and the extended-on-mass shell (EOMS) approach~\cite{Fuchs:2003qc} (see, Ref.~\cite{Geng:2013xn} for a short review about their respective advantages and limitations). Traditionally, in UChPT with the on-shell approximation, no attention is paid to this particular fact since the effects of the PCB terms are effectively absorbed by the so-called subtraction constants (for a recent discussion see Ref.~\cite{Altenbuchinger:2013vwa}). In the studies taking into account the off-shell terms of the chiral potentials, the heavy-baryon formalism is adopted in Refs.~\cite{Nieves:2000km,Nieves:2001wt}, the IR formulation in Ref.~\cite{Djukanovic:2006xc}, and an approach similar in spirit to the EOMS formulation was adopted in Refs.~\cite{Borasoy:2007ku,Bruns:2010sv,Mai:2012wy}. One should note that, however, because of the loss of exact crossing symmetry, in principle one cannot remove the PCB terms by a redefinition of the available low-energy constants (LECs) at the working order in UChPT. Therefore, all the three formulations, the HB, the IR, and the EOMS, should be viewed only as an ansatz to calculate the loop diagrams.

In the present work, in order to compare with the results of the on-shell approximation, we calculate the loop functions $\hat{G}$ in the modified minimal subtraction ($\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$) scheme as in the on-shell approximation~\cite{Altenbuchinger:2013vwa}. Furthermore, we set the renormalization scale at 1 GeV and add one single subtraction constant to the one-loop scalar 1-point and 2-point functions for all the channels, i.e.,
replacing $\log(\mu^2)$ by $\log(\mu^2)+a$. It is well known that in the off-shell scheme the loop functions become more divergent compared to the on-shell loop function. Nevertheless, these loop functions are uniquely regularized in the modified minimal subtraction scheme. Since in the off-shell scheme, an order by order matching to the perturbative ChPT results is possible, one can introduce (at least) a subtraction constant for each scalar function, which can vary between different coupled channels (determined by isospin and strangeness). Then matching to the perturbative results at the appropriate order will allow one to fix or constrain these subtraction constants. J. Nieves and collaborators have studied this in great detail for both the pion-pion and pion-nucleon interactions. See, e.g., Refs.~\cite{Nieves:1998hp,Nieves:1999bx,Nieves:2000km,Nieves:2001wt}. However, such studies are only possible if one has enough experimental data which allow the extra subtraction constants to be fixed. The situation in the present sector does not allow us to perform such a study. As we will see, even with only one common subtraction constant (or renormalization scale) we can already obtain a $\chi^2/\mathrm{d.o.f}$ smaller than 1. Therefore, we will leave such a comprehensive study for a future work once more LQCD/experimental data become available.

\section{Results and discussions}
The scattering lengths of Nambu-Goldstone bosons off $D$ mesons have recently been studied on the lattice~\cite{Liu:2012zya,Mohler:2012na,Mohler:2013rwa} and the $D^*_{s0}(2317)$ is found to be a bound state in the $DK$ channel~\cite{Mohler:2013rwa}.  For our purpose, we focus on the $n_f=2+1$ simulations of Ref.~\cite{Liu:2012zya}, where scattering lengths in five isospin-strangeness channels are obtained at four pion (light-quark) masses with $m_\pi=301,364,511,617$ MeV. They  have obtained the corresponding $D$ and $D_s$ masses as well. Using these heavy-light meson masses, together with those of their physics counterparts, we are able to determine the values of the  LECs $c_0$ and $c_1$ (for details see Ref.~\cite{Altenbuchinger:2013vwa}). As a result, at NLO, we have five unknown LECs to determine, $c_2$, $c_3$, $c_4$, $c_5$, and a subtraction constant $a$, while at LO, only $a$ is unknown. As in Ref.~\cite{Altenbuchinger:2013vwa}, the pseudoscalar decay constant $f_0$ is fixed to that of the pion, 92.21 MeV~\cite{Beringer:1900zz}, unless otherwise stated.

In the present framework, the scattering length of a physical channel  with strangeness $S$ and isospin $I$ is
related to the $T$-matrix element $T$ via
\begin{equation}
a^{(S,I)}=-\frac{1}{8\pi(M_1+m_2)}T^{(S,I)} (s=(M_1+m_2)^2),
\end{equation}
with
\begin{equation}
T^{(S,I)}=B(q,P,M_1,\nu,\nu')^T\cdot \hat{T}^{\nu\nu'\mu\mu'}\cdot B(Q,P,M_3,\mu,\mu')
\end{equation}

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{LONLOExtrOffShell.eps}
\caption{The $n_f=2+1$ LQCD data~\cite{Liu:2012zya} vs. the  UChPT fits. The black and red solid lines show
the NLO off-shell and on-shell UChPT fits. The black  and green dashed lines are the LO off-shell UChPT fits with $f_0=92.21$ MeV and $f_0=106.04$ MeV, respectively. \label{fig:lat}}
\end{figure}

\begin{table*}[t]
      \renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.2}
     \setlength{\tabcolsep}{0.1cm}
     \centering
     \caption{\label{tab:fit2} Low-energy constants, the subtraction constants, and the $\chi^2/\mathrm{d.o.f}$ from the best fits to the LQCD data~\cite{Liu:2012zya} in the
     off-shell UChPT. }
     \begin{tabular}{ccccccc}
     \hline\hline
     & $a$ & $c_{2}$ & $c_{3}$ & $c_4$ & $c_5$ & $\chi^2/\mathrm{d.o.f}$ \\
  LO & $-0.453(11)$ & $$ & $$ & $$ & $$ & 17.9 \\
NLO&0.639(131) & $0.382(181)$ & $0.653(345)$ & $0.597(92)$ & $-2.084 (276)$ & 0.79\\
\hline\hline
    \end{tabular}
\end{table*}
Fitting these unknown LECs to the lightest 15 LQCD data, we obtain the results shown in Fig.~1, with the corresponding LECs tabulated in
Table I. At leading order, the $\chi^2/\mathrm{d.o.f}\approx17.9$ is rather poor, indicating the failure of a quantitative description of the LQCD data.\footnote{The same is true for the on-shell approach.}
On the other hand, if one would use the SU(3) average of the pseudoscalar decay constants, $f_0=1.15 f_\pi$, instead of $f_\pi$, the $\chi^2/\mathrm{d.o.f}$ would be  reduced to about $3.9$.  At next-to-leading order, we obtain a $\chi^2/\mathrm{d.o.f}\approx0.79$, which should be compared to that obtained in the on-shell approximation, $\chi^2/\mathrm{d.o.f}=1.23$~\cite{Altenbuchinger:2013vwa}.\footnote{It should be mentioned that one could still obtain a $\chi^2/\mathrm{d.o.f.}\approx0.89$ by fitting the whole 20 LQCD data points in the off-shell approach.}  Furthermore, it is interesting to note that the off-shell results and the on-shell results differ most for $a_{D_s\pi}$ in the $(S=1,I=1)$ channel, which couples $D_s\pi $ to $D K$~\cite{Liu:2012zya}.

Clearly, the off-shell effects seem to  improve  the description of the LQCD data of Ref.~\cite{Liu:2012zya}. This result should not be a total surprise. In Refs.\cite{Oller:1997ti,Oset:1997it}, it was pointed out that the off-shell effects, which manifest themselves through diagrams renormalizing the vertices and the hadron masses,  can be absorbed by the available LECs and physical masses. Of course, such ``renormalizations'' are only possible at the physical point, because otherwise one may have to use light-quark mass dependent couplings.\footnote{The hadron masses have to be light-quark mass dependent anyway.} Therefore, to study the light-quark mass evolution of physical observables, one may wish to explicitly keep all the off-shell effects.  Our results  show that this may indeed improve the description of light-quark mass dependence. Nevertheless, more studies are needed in order to confirm that this is generally true.

The LQCD simulations of Ref.~\cite{Liu:2012zya} did not include the ($S=1,I=0)$ channel where the $D^*_{s0}(2317)$ appears. The studies in Refs.~\cite{Liu:2012zya,Altenbuchinger:2013vwa} show that a fit to the LQCD data yields naturally the $D^*_{s0}(2317)$ in UChPT. It will be interesting to check whether this still holds in the present formalism. Searching for a pole in the complex plane, we find a bound state at $\sqrt{s}=2.295$ GeV, which is not so far away from the $D^*_{s0}(2317)$ pole position from the on-shell approach, $\sqrt{s}=2.317$ GeV, which coincides with the experimental measurement. The discrepancy of about 22 MeV provides another  indicator on the magnitude of the off-shell effects.

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{PeakmpimKDepShift}
\caption{Pion (left) and kaon (right) mass evolution of the $D^*_{s0}(2317)$ pole position in $(S=1,I=0)$. The black and red lines are obtained in the off-shell and on-shell UChPT, while the off-shell results have been shifted by 22 MeV to agree with the on-shell results at the physical point. \label{fig:pole}}
\end{figure}

In Fig.~\ref{fig:pole}, we show the pion mass and kaon mass evolution of the $D^*_{s0}(2317)$. To facilitate the comparison, we have shifted the off-shell results  by $22$ MeV so that the on-shell and off-shell results agree at the physical point. The figure in the left panel is obtained by fixing the strange quark mass to its physical value using the leading-order ChPT, while the figure in the right panel is obtained by
fixing the pion mass to its physical value. The dependences of the $D$ and $D_s$ masses on the pion and kaon masses are provided by the next-to-leading-order ChPT as in Ref.~\cite{Altenbuchinger:2013vwa}. It is clear that for the light-quark mass evolution of the $D^*_{s0}(2317)$ pole position
 there is no appreciable difference between the on-shell and off-shell UChPT.
\section{Summary}
We have solved the Bethe-Salpeter equation in unitarized chiral perturbation theory by taking into account the off-shell terms of the chiral potentials up to next-to-leading order. To quantify the magnitude and impact of the off-shell effects, we have studied the latest $n_f=2+1$ LQCD simulations of the scattering lengths of Nambu-Goldstone bosons off $D$ mesons. In comparison with the widely used on-shell approximation, we have shown that taking into account off-shell effects can indeed improve the description of the LQCD data, in terms of light-quark mass evolution. On the other hand,  both descriptions look qualitatively similar, at least for the observables we studied. Therefore, unless the LQCD data become more precise, the on-shell approximation may still be confidently used, given its simplicity.

\section{Acknowledgements}
M. A. and L. S. G. thank Norbert Kaiser and Wolfram Weise for enlightening discussions and a careful reading of the manuscript. This work is supported in part by BMBF, by the A.v. Humboldt foundation, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11005007),  the
New Century Excellent Talents in University Program of Ministry of Education of China under
Grant No. NCET-10-0029, the DFG  Cluster of Excellence ``Origin and Structure of the Universe,"
and by DFG and NSFC through the Sino-German CRC 110 ``Symmetries and Emergence of Structure in QCD."

\section{Appendix}

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width
0.9\textwidth]{BSequation.eps}
\caption{Diagrammatical representation of the Bethe-Salpeter equation.
The dashed lines represent Nambu-Goldstone bosons and the solid lines the heavy-light mesons.
The momenta $q$ and $Q$ are related to those of the external mesons $p_1$, $p_2$, $p_3$, and $p_4$ via the following relations: $p_1=-q$, $p_2= q+P$, $p_3= -Q$ and $p_4= Q+P$. }
\label{DiaBS}
\end{figure}
In this appendix we present more details on how the Bethe-Salpeter equation with full off-shell potentials is solved. For the sake of simplicity, we restrict ourselves to the case with the kernel being the leading-order Weinberg-Tomozawa term. In this case, one only needs to introduce a three-component vector $B$,
\begin{equation} \label{BVec}
B(q,P,M,\mu)^T=\left(\frac{q^2-M^2}{f_0^2},\frac{P_{\mu }+q_{\mu }}{f_0},1\right)\,,
\end{equation}
instead of a four-component vector as done in the main text. The Weinberg-Tomazawa potential can then be represented in the
following way:
\begin{eqnarray}
V_{\mathrm{WT}}(q,Q,P)&=&\frac{\mathcal C_{\mathrm{LO}}}{4 f_0^2}(2 P^2-2 (P+q)\cdot (P+Q)-q^2-Q^2)\nonumber\\
&=&B(q,P,M_1,\nu)^T\cdot \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}(\nu,\mu)\cdot B(Q,P,M_3,\mu)\nonumber\\&\equiv& B(q)^T\cdot \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}\cdot B(Q)\,,
\label{ItLOMat}
\end{eqnarray}
where
\begin{equation}
\hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}(\nu,\mu)=
\mathcal C_{\textrm{LO}}\left(
\begin{array}{cccc}
 0 & 0 & -\frac{1}{4} \\
 0  & -\frac{g^{\mu \nu }}{2} & 0 \\
 -\frac{1}{4} & 0  & \frac{1}{4f_0^2} \left(2P^2-M_1^2-M_3^2\right)
\end{array}
\right)\,.
\label{LoPotMat}
\end{equation}
In the last line of Eq.~(\ref{ItLOMat}) we have introduced a brief notation such that the summation over Lorentz indices and the dependence on $P$, $M_1$, and $M_3$ are implicit. The idea behind this matrix representation of the potential is that the dependence on the loop momenta, here $q$ and $Q$, can be absorbed into the vector $B$ or the loop matrix $\hat G$ as defined in Eq. (9). In the present case,
the loop matrix becomes a $3\times 3$ matrix (instead of $4\times4$),
\begin{eqnarray}
\hat G(\nu,\mu)&\equiv&\left(
\begin{array}{ccc}
 G_{11}(s)  & 0 & G_{13}(s)\\
 0&g^{\mu\nu} G_{22a}(s)+P^{\mu}P^{\nu} G_{22b}(s) & P^\nu G_{23}(s) \\
 G_{13}(s)  & P^\mu G_{23}(s)&G_{33}(s)
\end{array}
\right)\,.
\label{LoopFunct}
\end{eqnarray}

With these definitions, the leading one-loop diagram of the infinite sum illustrated in Fig.~\ref{DiaBS} simply reads
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{NNLObubble}
&&B(q,P,M_1,\nu)^T\cdot \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}(\nu,\rho)\cdot \hat G(\rho,\sigma)\cdot \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}(\sigma,\mu)\cdot B(Q,P,M_3,\mu)\nonumber\\&\equiv& B(q)^T\cdot \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}\cdot \hat G\cdot \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}\cdot B(Q)\,,
\end{eqnarray}
and the Bethe-Salpeter equation becomes
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{MatrixBS}
B(q)^T\cdot\hat T\cdot B(Q)&=& B(q)^T\cdot (\hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}+ \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}\cdot \hat G\cdot \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}+ \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}\cdot \hat G\cdot \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}\cdot \hat G\cdot \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}+\ldots)\cdot B(Q)\nonumber\\
&=& B(q)^T\cdot (\hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}+ \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}\cdot \hat G\cdot \hat T)\cdot B(Q)\,.
\end{eqnarray}
 It is clear that $\hat T$ still corresponds to a geometric series, as in the on-shell approximation case. One can easily deduce that $\hat T$ is of the following form
\begin{eqnarray}
&\hat T(\nu,\mu)\equiv\left(\footnotesize{
\begin{array}{cccc}
 t_{11}  &
   P^{\mu } t_{12} & t_{13}\\
 P^{\nu } t_{21}& g^{\mu \nu } t_{22 a}+P^{\mu } P^{\nu }
    t_{22 b} & P^{\nu } t_{23} \\
 t_{31} &
   P^{\mu } t_{32} & t_{33}
\end{array}
}\right)\,,
\label{Ansatz}
\end{eqnarray}
where the functions $t_i$ depend on the involved masses and the total four-momentum squared $s=P^2$. One should notice that Lorentz indices in  $\hat T$ can only be carried by the metric tensor $g^{\mu\nu}$ or the total momentum $P^{\mu}$ ($P^\nu$). More explicitly, for a single-channel process ($M_1=M_3=M$), the Bethe-Salpeter equation
\begin{equation}
\hat T= \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}+ \hat V_{\mathrm{WT}}\cdot \hat G\cdot \hat T
\end{equation}
gives a set of coupled linear equations,
\begin{eqnarray}
\begin{array}{lll}
 t_{11}&=&-\frac{1}{4} \mathcal{C}_\mathrm{LO} \left(G_{23} P^2 t_{21}+G_{13} t_{11}+G_{33} t_{31}\right) \\
 t_{12}&=&-\frac{1}{4} \mathcal{C}_\mathrm{LO} \left(G_{23} \left(t_{22 a}+P^2 t_{22 b}\right)+G_{13} t_{12}+G_{33} t_{32}\right)\\
 t_{13}&=&-\frac{1}{4} \mathcal{C}_\mathrm{LO} \left(G_{23} P^2 t_{23}+G_{13} t_{13}+G_{33} t_{33}+1\right) \\
 t_{21}&=&-\frac{1}{2} \mathcal{C}_\mathrm{LO} \left(t_{21} G_{22 a}+P^2 t_{21} G_{22 b}+G_{23} t_{31}\right)\\
 t_{22a}&=&-\frac{1}{2} \mathcal{C}_\mathrm{LO} \left(G_{22 a} t_{22 a}+1\right)\\
 t_{22b}&=&-\frac{1}{2} \mathcal{C}_\mathrm{LO}  \left(G_{22 b} \left(t_{22 a}+P^2 t_{22 b}\right)+G_{22 a} t_{22 b}+G_{23} t_{32}\right) \\
 t_{23}&=&-\frac{1}{2} \mathcal{C}_\mathrm{LO} \left(t_{23} G_{22 a}+P^2 t_{23} G_{22 b}+G_{23} t_{33}\right)\\
 t_{31}&=&-\frac{1}{4} \mathcal{C}_\mathrm{LO} \left(-2 \Delta  G_{23} P^2 t_{21}-2 \Delta  G_{33} t_{31}+G_{13} \left(t_{31}-2 \Delta  t_{11}\right)+G_{11} t_{11}+1\right)\\
 t_{32}&=&-\frac{1}{4} \mathcal{C}_\mathrm{LO} \left(-2 \Delta  \left(G_{23} \left(t_{22 a}+P^2 t_{22 b}\right)+G_{33} t_{32}\right)+G_{13} \left(t_{32}-2 \Delta  t_{12}\right)+G_{11} t_{12}\right) \\
 t_{33}&=&\frac{1}{4} \mathcal{C}_\mathrm{LO} \left(2 \Delta  \left(G_{23} P^2 t_{23}+G_{33} t_{33}+1\right)+G_{13} \left(2 \Delta  t_{13}-t_{33}\right)-G_{11} t_{13}\right)\,,\nonumber
\end{array}
\end{eqnarray}
with $\Delta=(P^2-M^2)/f_0^2$.  These equations determine all the $t_i$'s introduced in Eq.~(\ref{Ansatz}). The generalization to coupled channels is straightforward.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
A Comerford countess
with links to the Fitzgerald
family of Askeaton Castle
The ruins of Askeaton Castle … the brother of the 'Sugán' Earl of Desmond married a Comerford from Danganmore, Co Kilkenny (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
It is almost four years ago since I moved to Askeaton I have often pointed out that I have no immediate family connections with this part of west Limerick. There are other branches of the Comerford family that lived for short periods in Pallaskenry and near Castleconnell, and one Comerford family that lived for generations in Limerick City. But I am a complete 'blow-in' when it comes to this part of west Limerick.
However, as I was going back over my notes of my visit late last summer to Dromana House, outside Cappoquin, Co Waterford, I realised that there was one – albeit remote – connection between my side of the Comerford family and Askeaton and this part of Co Limerick. And this link involves the story of a Comerford woman who became a countess and fled into exile in Barcelona 400 years ago.
Richard 'Boy' Comerford was a younger son of Richard 'Oge' Comerford of Ballybur Castle, Co Kilkenny, who died ca 1579/1580, and a younger brother of Thomas Comerford of Ballybur. In the late 1560s, and certainly by the early 1570s, this Richard 'Boy' Comerford was living at Danganmore Castle, and probably worked as the equivalent of a legal clerk to the Butlers of Kilkenny Castle, witnessing numerous Ormond legal documents.
Richard was the father of two sons – Edmund Comerford and Richard Comerford, who eventually inherited Danganmore Castle – and one daughter, whose name has been forgotten in time, but who married John FitzThomas FitzGerald, who became the claimant to the title of Earl of Desmond at the end of the last Desmond rebellion.
John FitzThomas FitzGerald was a younger brother of James FitzThomas FitzGerald, the 'Súgán' Earl of Desmond, and they were the sons of Sir Thomas FitzGerald, commonly called 'Thomas Roe,' 'Tomás Ruadh' or 'Red Thomas,' and his wife Ellice Le Poer, daughter of Richard Le Poer, Baron Le Poer.
Thomas Rue FitzGerald, in turn, was the son of James FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond and Joan Roche, daughter of Maurice Roche, Lord Fermoy. As Joan Roche was his own grandniece, their relationship fell within the proscribed limits of consanguinity. Because of this, their marriage was annulled and their son, Thomas Roe FitzGerald, father of James and John FitzGerald, was declared illegitimate and disinherited.
Instead, the title of Earl of Desmond was handed to Thomas's younger, but decidedly legitimate, half-brother, Gerald FitzJames FitzGerald, who was recognised as Earl of Desmond by the Parliament in Dublin.
However, Gerald first entered into a bloody conflict with the Ormond Butlers of Kilkenny, and was heavily defeated at the Battle of Affane, near Cappoquin, by 'Black' Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London until 1570.
After his release, Gerald returned to Ireland and rebelled in 1579. He was killed in battle on 11 November 1583 and his severed head was displayed on London Bridge.
After the suppression of the rebellion in 1583, Thomas Roe FitzGerald and his son James FitzThomas claimed the title and estates of the Earl of Desmond. Their petitions failed, however, and Thomas Roe died in 1595 and was buried in Youghal.
His son, James FitzThomas FitzGerald, assumed the title of Earl of Desmond. He became known as the 'Sugan' Earl of Desmond. He soon gathered an 8,000-strong force and engaged in a three-year struggle. He took Desmond Hall and Castle in Newcastle West in 1598, but lost them the following year. In 1599, the Earl of Essex also brought to an end the 147-day siege of Askeaton Castle the 'Sugan' Earl of Desmond.
After escaping from Kilmallock, he was finally captured on 29 May 1601 while he was hiding in a cave underground, near Mitchelstown.
FitzGerald was placed in irons and taken to Shandon Castle, where he was found guilty of treason. He was then brought to England, and he was made a prisoner in the Tower of London. Historians suggest that he died sometime in 1608, and was buried in the chapel of the Tower.
Richard Comerford's tomb in the ruined church in Kilree, south of Kells, Co Kilkenny … his daughter married John FitzThomas FitzGerald, 'Earl of Desmond,' and they fled to Barcelona (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The next male heir in this line of the Desmond FitzGeralds was his younger brother, John FitzThomas FitzGerald, who had taken part in the Desmond rebellion. John fled Ireland in 1603 with his wife, the daughter of Richard Comerford of Danganmore, Co Kilkenny, to Spain. There he was known as the Conde de Desmond. John died a few years later in Barcelona, probably after 1615.
Meanwhile, his father-in-law, Richard Comerford, continued to live at Danganmore Castle, Co Kilkenny. He died at an advanced age on 5 October 1624, and was buried against the wall in the north-west chancel of Kilree Church, Co Kilkenny, with his wife Joanna St Leger, who had died on 4 October 1622.
Their grandson, Gerald FitzJohn FitzGerald, claimed the title as 17th Earl of Desmond, according to the family tree in Dromana House, and was also known as the 'Conde de Desmond.' He served in the Habsburg armies of the Emperor Ferdinand in Spain and Germany, and died in Germany in 1632. As he had no male children as heirs to his claims, with him ended the male heirs of the four eldest sons of Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond.
As for Richard Comerford, brother of the exiled 'Countess of Desmond,' he inherited Danganmore Castle in 1624, and was the ancestor of the Ryan and Langton families who later lived there.
Richard Comerford of Ballybur Castle, first cousin of this exiled Comerford countess, died in 1637, five years after the death of her son Gerald in Germany. The descendants of this Richard and his wife Mary (Purcell) include the Bunclody branch of the family, and so they are my immediate ancestors.
The connections with Askeaton – and with Dromana – are distant and may even seem obscure. But, almost 400 years later, they are still there.
The FitzGerald connection with the Comerford family … a corner of one of the family trees in Dromana House (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)
Labels: Affane, Askeaton, Barcelona, Cappoquin, castles, Co Limerick, Danganmore, Dromana, Family History, Genealogy, Local History, Newcastle West
Saint Mary's: The Parish Church that Looks Like Pa...
A Comerford countess with links to the Fitzgerald ...


This summer, my partner and I travelled to discover Eastern Europe. Given that FIFA World Cup was held in Russia, we made it a point to visit Saint Petersburg and Moscow. I had one post dedicated to our experience exploring the heritage of the Russian Empire. That said, aside from its imperial past, Saint Petersburg also has its prominent communist history worth exploring. When planning the trip to Saint Petersburg, I did consider going to the Museum of Political History of Russia, Museum of Defense and Siege of Leningrad as well as few others. With only few days allocated to Saint Petersburg visit, two – hour communist tour was all that we managed to squeeze into our itinerary.
Cruiser Aurora is mostly known as the symbol of the October Revolution: A blank shot fired from Cruiser Aurora signaled the start of the assault on the Winter Palace which was to be the beginning of the October Revolution.
Cruiser Aurora has been decommissioned from the Russian nave fleet and now serves as a museum ship. In case you are interested in the details of the revolt on this ship and its overall story, you can schedule your visit while in Saint Petersburg.
Bolshoy Dom was originally constructed in 1931 for the secret police of the Soviet Union. Bolshoy Dom is usually referred to as headquarters building of KGB; however, the Bolshoy Dom building is part of a large complex which also includes detention facility located further away in the city.
According to the Imperial design of the city, St Isaac Church was to be the tallest building of the city. No other building in the city center was allowed to rival it during the Imperial Russia. The same standard is upheld by Russian Federation. However, at the time of the Soviet Union, there was no regard for religion and will of the tzars. As such, Bolshoy Dom is prominently featured on the skyline of Saint Petersburg. It is also said that Bolshoy Dom contains a large number of underground floors, leading to jokes that Bolshoy Dom is the tallest building in the city of Saint Petersburg. Being the two tallest buildings in the city center area, St Isaac Cathedral and Bolshoy Dom are said to be the two agencies overseeing the city's peace.
Field of Mars is a large park located in the center of Saint Petersburg and named after Mars, Roman god of war. It was originally built as a training ground for military troops. Later, it became burial grounds commemorating the participants of February and October Revolutions. In November 1957 the first Eternal Flame in the history of Russia was lit in the center of the Field. From here the Flame was brought to the Tomb of Unknown Soldier near Kremlin Wall in Moscow.
If you are familiar with the collective vision of the future living as per communist party, then you probably heard about communal apartments. In Imperial Russia, Saint Petersburg was the city with the biggest amount of spacious and luxurious apartments. With introduction of housing reforms and strict enforcement of communal apartments, Saint Petersburg became the capital of communal apartments in Russia. In fact, Saint Petersburg is still the capital of communal apartments on the territory of CIS countries.
Communal apartments appeared in tsarist Russia; however, the concept grew predominantly at the time of Soviet Union as a response to housing crisis in urban areas. Within the context of communal apartments, one room of the apartment was an assigned living space for one family. That room served as a living room, dining room and bedroom for the family. Hallways, kitchen, bathroom, washroom and telephone were the facilities shared by all residents of the communal apartment. The communal apartment became the predominant form of housing in the USSR for generations, between 1917 – 1950. After Stalin's death, Khrushchev's regime "embarked upon a mass housing campaign" which meant to address housing shortages, improve peoples' attitudes and boost enthusiasm for the communist system in place. Many things have changed over the years of housing reforms in Russia; however, the examples of communal apartments still exist in "the most fashionable central districts of large Russian cities" and Saint Petersburg is a living testament to this statement.
Saint Petersburg was the birthplace and the capital of the Russian Empire. There are numerous palaces, hermitages and gardens to tell you the story of lavish living of that time. That said Saint Petersburg saw the downfall of Russian Empire and the rise of communism headed by Lenin. In order to give dimension to your Saint Petersburg adventure, I would strongly suggest visiting one of the communal apartments.
Having suggested the visit to the communal apartments, I should mention that such adventures are usually sanctioned as part of the tour package of some sort. We took a tour with communistleningrad.com so our visit to the communal apartment was authorized by them. I picked this tour operator based on the fact that they are the only ones who specialize on communist – related tours; however, I found their narration of the story to be rather incoherent and poorly executed. If I were to repeat my visit to Saint Petersburg, I would have taken the same tour package but with a different tour provided.


Showing signs of sluggishness in economy, services sector grew at its slowest pace in six months in May as flow of new orders ebbed, adding to the clamour for the Reserve Bank to lower its rates.
The services sector data follows another monthly survey showing a similar trend in the manufacturing sector where output growth fell to five-month low in May.
The Nikkei/Markit Services Business Activity index, which maps the services sector activity, fell from 53.7 in April to 51.0 in May, pointing to a slight expansion in business activity which has been the weakest since last November.
A reading above 50 represents expansion, while one below this level means contraction. The Nikkei India Composite PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) Output Index, which maps both manufacturing and services sectors, also fell to a six-month low of 50.9 in May, from 52.8 in April.
"Latest PMI numbers raise doubts about the effectiveness of economic and monetary policies," Pollyanna De Lima, economist at Markit, which compiles the survey, said.
Manufacturing production growth eased in May, which combined with the slowdown in services resulted in a weaker increase in private sector output, the survey said. Lima further said that "ongoing weakness in manufacturing and services was evident in May, with output growth losing momentum for a second straight month.
Overall expansion across the two sectors was the lowest since last November, as was the case for new orders".
The confidence of service providers also dipped to a three-month low. Though services companies expect output to increase over the coming 12 months, but the degree of optimism weakened to the lowest since February.
"The gloomy growth picture will be a concern to policymakers and will raise the chances of further cuts in interest rates by the RBI," Lima said, adding "this would be supported by subdued inflationary pressures, with May data pointing to weaker increases in both costs and charges".
Earlier in April, the RBI cut its policy rate by 0.25 per cent to 6.5 per cent. While this was the first rate cut after a gap of six months, the RBI has lowered its rate by 1.5 per cent cumulatively since January 2015.
However, the industry wants further rate cuts from the apex bank to boost investment. The RBI is scheduled to hold its next monetary policy review next week on June 7. The PMI survey results show contrasting trends from what is being talked about the policymakers and several industry leaders, who are confident about an 8 per cent GDP growth in the current fiscal. The official data released this week showed that the Indian economy grew at 7.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015-16 taking the overall GDP growth to a five-year high of 7.6 per cent in the fiscal on the back of strong growth in manufacturing and services sectors.
Ahead of the RBI's policy, National Real Estate Development Council's Chairman Rajeev Talwar said that the latest GDP data shows that "the economy is at an inflection point and the recovery will only strengthen from here on".
"While monsoon, oil prices, and action of US Fed are imponderables for the RBI, the time is just right for another 25 basis points rate cut to give a fillip to India growth story that has started to gain momentum.
"Along with the rate cut, I also expect measures to make transmission of monetary actions more smooth and effective.
"We are already seeing signs of recovery in the housing industry and a rate cut at this juncture will surely give a boost to consumer confidence, encouraging them to invest in a home as loan rates soften," he added.


text:
Q: How to use middleware, asyncData, fetch in Nuxt.js v2 with typescript and Option API I'm working hard to introduce typescript to Nuxt.js with Option API.
In Current Code, we use middleware, asyncData and fetch methods.
After I switched lang to ts (<script lang="ts">), typescript says error for the above methods.
like this (about middleware)
 Object literal may only specify known properties, and 'middleware' does not exist in type 'ComponentOptions<Vue, DefaultData<Vue>, DefaultMethods<Vue>, DefaultComputed, PropsDefinition<DefaultProps>, DefaultProps>'.

Then, I googled this problem and found this solution, but it does not work maybe because this solution is about Nuxt with Class API...
summary of my .vue file:
<script lang="ts">
import Vue from 'vue'

export default Vue.extend({
  async middleware({store, params, from}) {
    // Error is occuring here...
    // Object literal may only specify known properties, and 'middleware' does not exist in type 'ComponentOptions<Vue, DefaultData<Vue>, DefaultMethods<Vue>, DefaultComputed, PropsDefinition<DefaultProps>, DefaultProps>'.
  },
  asyncData({params}) {
    ~~~
  },
});
</script>

tsconfig.json:
{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2018",
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "Node",
    "lib": [
      "ESNext",
      "ESNext.AsyncIterable",
      "DOM"
    ],
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "allowJs": true,
    "sourceMap": true,
    "strict": true,
    "noEmit": true,
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "~/*": [
        "./*"
      ],
      "@/*": [
        "./*"
      ]
    },
    "types": [
      "@types/node",
      "@nuxt/types"
    ]
  },
  "exclude": [
    "node_modules"
  ]
}

Is there any way to use those methods in Nuxt with Option API ?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
End The Fed
By Ron Paul
Narrated by Bob Craig / 6 hours 4 minutes
A provocative and controversial treatise that argues we cannot actually fix the broken economy without discussing the 800-lb gorilla in the room: the Federal Reserve.
Most people think of the Fed as an indispensable institution without which the country's economy could not properly function. But in End the Fed, Ron Paul draws on American history, economics, and fascinating stories from his own long political life to argue that the Fed is both corrupt and unconstitutional. It is inflating currency today at nearly a Weimar or Zimbabwe level, a practice that threatens to put us into an inflationary depression where $100 bills are worthless. What most people don't realize is that the Fed -- created by the Morgans and Rockefellers at a private club off the coast of Georgia -- is actually working against their own personal interests. Congressman Paul's urgent appeal to all citizens and officials tells us where we went wrong and what we need to do fix America's economic policy for future generations.
Author Ron Paul
Narrator Bob Craig
Length 6 hours 4 minutes


text:
Back to Belek
Belek, Belek, Turkey
Golfing breaks to
Kaya Palazzo Golf Resort
Tulipano Restaurant
Kaya Palazzo Cabanas
Travel February 2022
Our highlight 4 rounds on Kaya Palazzo GC
Group Price
Group Price from £1099pp
Our highlight 4 rounds on Kaya Palazzo GC....DEPARTS MARCH AND APRIL 22
Travel May 2022
Our highlight Hold luggage, Club carriage and pre-booked seats included on the flight. 4 rounds on Kaya Palazzo GC....DEPARTS MAY 22
Travel October 2022 - November 2022
Our highlight Hold luggage, Club carriage and pre-booked seats included on the flight. 4 rounds on Kaya Palazzo GC....DEPARTS OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 21
View Special Group Prices
The Kaya Palazzo conveniently sits between the beach and the 18-hole golf course.
The hotel has a great choice of restaurants and bars as we have come to expect from Belek hotels. From November to March there are 3 a la cartes (Asian, Italian and Lebanese - all with a 20 Euro cover charge) in addition to the main buffet restaurant called The Palazzo and 4 bars to choose from.
During the summer season, from April to October, there are 5 a la cartes (Asian, Italian, Lebanese, Seafood and Steak - all with a 20 Euro cover charge) in addition to the main restaurant and 7 bars to choose from.
All the rooms have a minibar with drinks and snacks included as part of your All Inclusive Concept.
The Kaya Palazzo Golf Course has gone from strength to strength in recent years and has been consistently well presented. The course itself opens with a straight forward Par-5 followed by some tricky dog legs that required position rather than distance. The back nine comes to life after the simple 10th and provides a great stretch of holes to finish including the dangerous 17th with an elevated two tear green guarded by a ditch.
Kaya Palazzo
Kaya Palazzo Golf Club was designed by Ireland's David Jones and was opened in November 2007. Formerly known as Kaya Eagles Golf, the course is located very close to the Antalya Golf Club and the Pasha and Sultan Courses, but is easily accessible from any of the Hotels.
View more information on the Kaya Palazzo
Gloria Golf Old Course
With the addition of the Gloria Golf New Course in 2005, Gloria Golf now offers a total of 45 holes set in stunning natural surroundings.
The Old Course opened for play in 1997 and gained instant recognition when it was awarded the 1998 Seniors Tour Open Golf Tournament. At just over 7000 yards from the back tees, it is fairly long but enjoyed by players of all standards. The fairways are fairly generous with the main danger being the seven man-made lakes that dominate the course.
View more about the Gloria Old Course
Designed by renowned course architect Dave Thomas, the Nobilis stands adjacent to the river Acisu and winds its way through the natural terrain and surrounding forest.
View more Nobilis Golf Course information
National Golf Course
The most established course in Turkey, co-designed by former Ryder Cup player David Feherty and has played host to the PGA European Tour Seniors Open on two occasions. The National was also voted in Europe's top 50 courses by Golf World Magazine in the year 2000.
More information about the National
Titanic Golf Club
Located on the West side of Belek and bordered by the Besgoz River, Titanic Golf Club (formerly known as Tat International Golf) offers three different loops of 9 holes and offers challenges for players of all levels.
View more information on the Titanic
The first of Antalya Golf Club's two 18 hole courses to be opened, the Pasha Course is relatively short by modern standards. Measuring just over 6300 yards, this David Jones designed course offers a wide range of challenges to test golfers of all abilities
View more Pasha Golf Course information
Sultan Golf Course
The newer of Antlaya Golf ClubÂ's two courses, the Sultan Golf Course opened for play in 2003 and provides a stiff but rewarding test that any keen player will relish. Every golf trip to Turkey should include one of these two fantastic courses.
View more Sultan Golf Course information
Gloria Golf New Course
The Gloria Golf New Course opened in November 2005 and is a slightly tougher challenge than the Old Course.
View more information on the Gloria New Course
Cornelia Faldo
Nick Faldo created an outstanding course at Cornelia Golf Club and since its opening in 2006 it has been regarded as the toughest test of golf in Turkey.
The 27 hole layout is crafted through Umbrella Pines and is very much a strategic course with a range of doglegs and three shot par 5s.
View more information on the course
Montgomerie Maxx Royal
The Montgomerie Maxx Royal is one of the most exciting additions to golf in Europe, and has been described as one of the finest courses in the world.
Guests of Maxx Royal Belek Golf Resort and the Voyage Belek Golf & Spa enjoy preferential rates on the Montgomerie Maxx Royal Belek Course and are the ideal venue for your Turkey golf holiday.
View more about the Montgomerie
Sueno Dunes
Sueno Dunes opened in November 2007 and like its sister course is mature beyond its years. The Dunes is more open than the Pines Course but it is still well guarded by umbrella pines.
View more Sueno Dunes details
Sueno Pines
The Pines Course at Sueno Golf Hotel is the tougher of the two courses measuring over 7000 yards from the back tees. The course is also visually challenging with rugged fairways sculpted through the pine trees.
Opened in October 2007 Sueno Pines is mature beyond its years and a great addition to golf in Turkey. The set up at Sueno is so good that it is destined to hold some major golf events in the years to come. Watch this space...
Click here for more Sueno Pines information
Carya Golf Course
Opened in November 2008, Carya Golf Course is a great addition to golf in Turkey. It was designed by Thomson Perrett and Lobb, which was founded by five-time Open Champion, Peter Thomson. The course has been carved through a mature Pine and Eucalyptus forest and has rolling sand hills that further define the course.
View more Carya details
The 18 hole Kaya Palazzo Golf Club is a really enjoyable set up. Shorter than many of the courses but a great challenge and fun holiday golf.


text:
Saturday, December 27th, 2008 at 4:33pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager
[Source: Darth Vader]
It is time to return to 2009 sets for our set reviews. Today BZPower Blog Assistant Darth Vader shares his thoughts on the Glatorian Gresh. Is this green warrior right for you? Read on!
Should old acquaintance be forgot, and the days of auld lang syne?
Ah, the canister. With one, single, sordid exception, these have been a veritable hallmark of what differentiates the Bionicle line from so many others, while still paying a clear homage to its forerunners, the Throwbots and, more specifically, the Roborider. Ignoring that one exception, every Bionicle grouping of six has come inside some form of canister, whether cylindrical, triangular, or just merely roughly trapezoidial.
And folks, the Glatorian, thankfully, have not changed this wonderful hat-hanging instrument on us. Though 2009 is a new direction, one anyone can just jump right into, old fans will be pleased to know the canister has not fallen by the wayside.
Cheers all around!
Gresh comes in one of these plastic oases of heritage, resembling most directly those belonging to the Inika. The lime lid stands in bright contrast to the solid black canister, creating a brilliant beacon that shall thrill the eyes.
Seriously, this lime means business.
The canister image is the same CGI'd promo image we've been feasting on for the past few months, and it looks familiar here, like an old friend. The large "BIONICLE" logo resides in typical fashion at the top, with a Thornax fruit dotting the first "I". At the bottom is the new "GLATORIAN" branding, and to the left the age, uh, 'guidelines.' Reminiscent of the 2001 canister images, here Gresh proudly stands, amidst a jungle, firing his Thornax launcher into the unknown. Behind him is a staircase of stone stairs, looking positively ancient, and mysterious. Words cannot express how neat it is to experience that sort of landscape awe again.
The Gresh image is somewhat more subdued than his can, his lime not quite matching the lime on the canister, which is a shame, as the lime on the canister is the same lime inside the canister, covering Gresh's parts. Oddly enough, unlike some of the other set images, Gresh looks almost like an artistic rendering rather than that done by a computer. Slightly puzzling, but all the way awesome.
Unlike some of the canister and box imaged from last year (anything blue, really), Gresh's images and lid help him stand out from the rest of the toy shelf, and that's fantastic.
The back of the canister has the usual legal hocus-pocus that I, and you, never really read. Also adorning the rear canister visage is a simple picture of Gresh and his Agori compatriot, Tarduk, standing in front of the same sandstone temple-esque entrance seen on the back of the other Glatorian canisters. An advertisement for the "SUPER NEW ACTION FIGURE GAME" is in the top right corner, and the BIO code rests in the near-absolute middle. Strangely, the code on the back of Gresh is the same as that on Malum (you can tell, because it seems these codes might be the ones Binky mentioned he had created, and if so, props to him for creating neat, leet versions of the set names for the BIO codes. Just remember that leet is not allowed on the BZP forums. Wicked, Bink, wicked.)
Raised on the right (from the front!) side of the canister is the word "BIONICLE". The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Ah, the instruction book. Here you'll find the same image that adorns the front of the box, in a slightly more widescreen format. Open the canister up, flip the pages, and in no time, a Glatorian is born.
The build is pretty easy, and pretty straightforward. Veteran Bionicle fans should have no problem building great portions of Gresh without even cracking open the instructions manual. And let's all admit it, that's kind of boring, right?
There are a few things you'll need it for, of course, but not many! And you'll notice that the instuctions have you putting his weapons on as either arm-blades, or a shield. I prefer the arm-blades, personally.
Overall, there's not a lot to say here. He's pretty straightforward, as most Inika-esque builds have been. There are a few differences caused by the shoulder blades, and the life-counter (on his back), but overall, same old, same old. I guess the more things change, the more they really do stay the same. Brought that one on myself!
New and recolored pieces are plentiful, and that's fantastic. The new 'mask' (which I'm probably just going to refer to as a helm, really) is an interesting mix of old and new, with sleek curves, character-defining eye holes, and molded lines. Not a bad aesthetic, LEGO. I love the molded eyes, as they remind me of Tahu's original Hau, with an almost stern scowl. Very cool. The bladed prongs that extend from the back are molded to match the lime claws on both his shoulders and thighs, and that's a really nice feature. It fits onto the new head via molded pin, not into the mouth as we have been so accustomed, but into the top of the head. The head does have the ability to flip down and act as a head for the older Metru-era + mask holder, but it's far too small to be of any good.
And that's mildly disappointing.
The new head also has the both neat and unsettling face. I think it is the huge nostrils that add the unsettling factor into it for me.
The new heads are much smaller than anything prior, though they also fix my awkward neck issue from the Av-toran heads, with a socket built more directly into the neck, like a, well, neck.
The new blades are a stunningly goregeous mix of lime and Metru green, and they look simply lovely.
Also included is a new, straightened ball joint mold, similar to the Hordika necks we've seen only in bley for the past four years. This, thankfully, is black.
The Thornax launchers are two simple pieces, and they are both simple and small enough that I have seen many rejoicing, as this is a launcher that only barely registers on the set, unlike the disastrously large and obtrusive Cordak and Midak launchers. It seems that LEGO has listened to some of the launcher gripes, and for that, I am thankful.
The new launchers shoot a rubberized near-Zamor, with a hard plastic strip running down the middle. These, apparently, are Thornax fruit, and they may, or may not, explode. I also hear they taste like tires. Who knew? The spikes are rubbery, so no injuries there.
Next are the new hand pieces. Molded into these pieces are three fingers, and an awkwardly-placed (yet mostly necessary) thumb opposite. The pieces are symmetrical when looking at the inside of the hand, so the same pieces is used for both hands. That's a big plus for LEGO, as they only have to produce one mold. The new hands are sort of interesting, and sort of unsettling. They look rather large on the figure, almost comical, really. Also disappointingly (though expectedly), they are molded much like the old hand sockets of yore, and can only take one pin length before being forcibly stopped, as they are not molded to allow a rod to go all the way through. A slight minus.
And of course, the newly-coloured old pieces. Lime spiked Inika feet, lime Tahu Nuva Mistika thigh claws, lime Piraka thigh armour, solid-dark-green Jaller-style Inika chest armour, and a printed system/technic tread that is now a life-counter for the "SUPER NEW ACTION FIGURE GAME".
Gresh isn't all that different from an Inika/Mahri/Phantoka/Mistika. He's just not. But I'll give it up to TLG, he looks so much cooler than any of them ever hoped to. The lime claws add a fantastic flair to Gresh, helping acheive this gloriously lithe and dangerous look. He's sharp, and he's athletic. And the claws help sell this. Wonderfully, as I mentioned, his helm prongs match the claws, and really bring home the spiked awesomeness. I really like this.
As I mentioned, the hands look goofy. I really can't get over how much more so they look in person than in images. While it's interesting to finally see TLG give us molded, symmetrical hands, something about the length bothers me. I think that where the socket is now is too far back, giving Gresh these silly-long wrists. I wonder if he would look better with the traditional socket pieces.
But back to the shoulder spikes. Luckily, these do even more than just add flair to a flairsome figure. They also add an extra dimension to the torso, forcing the Inika torso armour out one pin length further, and I adore this. Long have I complained about the lack of depth in the Inika torso design, and this rectifies the problem almost completely.
Almost. Because of these shoulder spikes, the torso is now also woefully empty from the side. Let's hope Gresh uses these unsightly gaps to avoid being struck by an oppoent's blade, shall we?
The life counter doesn't look that bad on Gresh. It's placed onto his back, using a Metru chest-piece, and visually homages the Toa Olda and the Toa Nuva while also providing an outlet for children looking to play with their new gladiators using the "SUPER NEW ACTION FIGURE GAME."
This also adds some depth to the torso, and I'm not complaining. The colours don't look too terrible here, as the red tends to fade into the back of the new Glatorian head, allowing for a sort of colour-matching happiness.
That to say, on Gresh, it's not an eyesore.
And of course, the obligatory Av-Matoran, er, Agori comparison. He's about twice the size of Atakus (who is a boring Av-Toran. Boo LEGO.)
Overall, while there is some ingenuity to Gresh's designs, he's really still more of the same. Luckily, he happens to look infinitely cooler than any other Inika-esque sets have, so I'm prone to almost-forgiving this. Almost.
The Thornax launchers aren't bad. I'll say it.
Depending on where you press down on the launcher, the fruit will fly out, either not very far, or way out there, almost Zamor and Midak far.
And that's awesome. No silly gimmicky launcher, this is a plain old pressure launcher made with two pieces and ammo. I really hope LEGO stays with this sort of launcher idea, if we are indeed stuck with them.
Gresh is, of course, just as posable as his other Inika-style brethren. His shoulders, elbows, wrists, neck, hips, knees, and ankles all possess some sort of movement point, though both his neck and shoulders can be slightly hindered by the shoulder spikes.
His arms can also swing into his thigh spikes too, if one is not too careful.
His weapons are sort of dual purpose, being either arm blades or shield. Unfortunately, in shield form, he is forced to hold it in such a way that I am sure a normal being's wrist would snap upon impact. It doesn't really fit well on his arm in a resting position, and gets in all sorts of the way when posing.
As for the "SUPER NEW ACTION FIGURE GAME"? LAME. You basically set two Glatorian up, across from one another next to their canisters. Take turns shooting Thornax at one another, and you get points based on whether you hit the other figure or the canister. These points are then subtracted from the opponent's life-points (counted using the life counter, conveniently enough!), until one hits 'SKULL'. This is dead.
Like I said, kind of lame. Apparently instructions on a multi-figure game are on-line, but I'm not interested, so I didn't check.
I don't feel like that's anyone's loss.
And we'll take a cup o� kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
Neat mask/helm/thing
Recolored parts
VERY aesthetically AWESOME
Better designed Inika build
Small, simple launcher
He's pretty
Hands are goofy
Launchers still exist
Still an Inika build
New heads don't work well with old masks, not at all with 2001 and 2002 era masks
Gappy design
Still cost 13 USD, at the least
So, in the end, go for it. Gresh is awesome, he really is. I'm not the biggest fan of the Inika build, I find that it fast became boring and stale, but Gresh tends to overcome this by being absolutly lovely, colourwise, aesthetic-wise, and he allows me to make up lots of words in reviews. He's really a nice looking figure, and the Thornax are the best launchers that I feel we've seen yet. His mask is awesome, and he just oozes personality and character, and that is, I think, the biggest plus of them all. Get him. I don't think you'll be all that sorry. I really don't.
Be sure to thank Darth Vader for his review of Gresh, or else he'll force choke you. Hopefully you found it informative and insightful. We should have another 2009 review up in the next couple of days, so keep checking back for that and the latest Bionicle news!


On June 18, during the first meeting, the Supervisory Board of the Foundation nominates Iain Mattaj Director of Human Technopole.
Professor Iain Mattaj is the current Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), an intergovernmental organization based in Heidelberg. EMBL is the European flagship laboratory for the life sciences, world-renowned for its outstanding research in molecular biology and for hosting a significant number of Nobel Prize winners over the last twenty years, including the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017 for the cryo-EM.
His research over the years gave relevant contributions in the field of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles that function in the processing of messenger RNA precursors. More recently, Mattaj demostrated the critical role of the Ran GPTase enzyme in the regulation of mitotic events.
Thanks to these important results, Iain Mattaj received many awards such as the Louis-Jeantet for Medicine Prize in 2001, and this year he was elected NAS foreign associate.
Professor Iain Mattaj is the favourite candidate selected by an international and independent committee chaired by the Nobel prize for chemistry Martin Chalfie. The selection procedure started in April 2017, with the international competition announcement for the director position. 46 candidatures has been submitted, half of which from foreigners and the 80% from candidates working abroad. On February 2018 the Coordination Committee ratifies the evaluation of the international committee, approving their job and confirming Iain Mattaj best candidate for the position. On June 18, the Supervisory broad officially nominates Iain Mattaj Director of Human Technopole.